The Highland Scenic Highway — WV 150 / WV 39-WV 55 — runs 43 miles through the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia, meandering along the mountain ridges and reaching an elevation of more than 4500 feet. If you plan on spending a day exploring the Highland Scenic Highway (easily doable, since it’s only 43 […]
ecotourism
Exploring a Lake in the Sky: Lake Minnewaska
Although originally we’d come to Minnewaska State Park, located in the Shawangunk Mountains in Ulster County, NY, for its water falls — Awosting Falls, Stoney Kill Falls, and another waterfalls that we ended up not going to — we came back simply to hike around Lake Minnewaska itself. Minnewaska State Park Preserve is nestled within […]
Shenandoah Caverns Brings the Bacon!
Rainbow Lake, within Shenandoah Caverns. There are eight commercial caverns in Virginia, and each has unique formations inside and tours available. Each cavern has its own personality. Luray has the mostest — both in age and rock formations and other things to do right there. Grand Caverns has Civil War history that is cool and […]
Living Large at Lake Raystown Resort
If you’re looking for a peaceful escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life — just over a couple hours away from several major cities, including Baltimore and Washington DC — then look no further than lovely Raystown Lake. Located on over 400 acres of waterfront property, Lake Raystown Resort is a great place […]
The Best Kept Secrets of Laurel Hill State Park
Like its sister park, Linn Run State Park, one county to the west, Laurel Hill State Park area was a desolate mess a hundred years ago. The lumber boom that swept through the hills and forests of Pennsylvania missed Laurel Hill Valley until 1886. But the lumber industry came for the old-growth forests of hemlock and […]
The Hidden Catskills Waterfalls Along the Vernooy Falls Hike
The Vernooy Kill Falls Hike is a short, out-and-back hike — either 2 miles or 3.6 miles, depending where you pick up the trailhead — to a very pretty waterfall. The falls is a series of picturesque little waterfalls with pools, dropping about 30 feet in 4 stages. During the warmer months, this would be […]
Exploring West Virginia’s Best State Park: Watoga State Park
There is so much to see and do in and around Watoga State Park, that it seems like the ideal location to set up a home base for your exploration of the area. The park covers more than 10 thousand acres, and began as a state forest designated as a wildlife and timber preserve. Franklin […]
Cool Ruins and a Waterfall Along the Madam Brett White and Red Trail
Madam Brett Park is a tranquil little park on Fishkill Creek in Beacon NY, alongside the Hudson River in Dutchess County, not far away from the Hudson Highlands Park. We were there to hike the “Madam Brett White and Red Trail, an out-and-back trail to a waterfall and marsh overlook. This area is noteworthy because […]
Take the Shawangunk Scenic Drive to Enjoy Autumn Color!
Going leaf peeping is one of my favorite fall activities — and last year’s pandemic just made going on long drives sound even better! We were in upstate New York — in the Catskills — at just about peak autumn foliage color, and, because of the pandemic, a number of our intended hiking destinations (lovely […]
Two Hikes You Shouldn’t Miss at Linn Run State Park
Once an ecological disaster — as with many areas of the East Coast that were clear cut by the lumber industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries — Linn Run State Park is now a thriving second growth forest. Mountain laurel and native rhododendron cover the slopes — we caught the tail end […]
Old Forge Loop Trail, Foundry Park and a Little Surprise Civil War History!
The Old Forge Loop Trail was billed in AllTrails.com as being great for kids, and so I was about to dismiss this walk, until I noticed that there were ruins and a waterfall. The Hudson River from Foundry Dock Park They had me at ruins. Turns out, the waterfall is meh, but the history and […]
West Virginia’s Best Kept Secret: The Highland Scenic Highway
The Highland Scenic Highway — WV 150 / WV 39-WV 55 — runs 43 miles through the Monongahela National Forest, meandering along the mountain ridges, reaching an elevation of more than 4500 feet. Along the northeastern part of the scenic highway — where it’s more a parkway than a highway. Like its more famous sisters […]
See the Secret Place Where Eagles Soar Aboard the Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad
The Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad is a heritage railroad based in Romney, WV. The railroad operates excursion trains over a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line that runs between Green Spring and Petersburg. Since 1991, Potomac Eagle has operated scenic rail excursions through the South Branch Valley in West Virginia. As you wind along […]
Hiking in the Patuxent Research Refuge
The Patuxent Research Refuge offers several nearly level hikes that include a lot of interest, including a the 1.8 mile Cash Lake Loop Trail, the 4.9 mile North Tract Loop, and the 2.4 mile Forest Trail. Stretched for time, we chose the shorter “hike” (more like a walk, although there were a few muddy spots […]
Mysteries of the Hudson Highland State Park: Cornish Ruins Hike
Why are ruins so fascinating? Do we expect to see the ghosts of the people who lived or worked there to suddenly appear? I don’t know the answer to that, but I’m fascinated by ruins. There’s something sad and creepy and symbolic about beautiful places that have been abandoned. There’s almost a fairytale set of […]