We fell for the Falls of Hills Creek! This was a delightful find, along the north half of the Allegheny Scenic Highway. As we drove by, we saw the sign for Falls of Hills Creek and wondered what we were missing, so we turned to check it out. Turns out, it was a breath-taking (in […]
hiking
Hiking the Lower Susquehanna Ridge Trail: a Perfect Morning Hike
It was the best way to spend a morning — hiking in the mountainside above the Susquehanna River in Harford County, where the river is wide and calm(er) and beautiful glimpsed through the trees, before it opens into the Chesapeake Bay just a mile or two away. We chose the Lower Susquehanna Ridge Loop Trail. […]
Bear Town State Park — West Virginia’s Hidden Gem
Bear Town State Park is a relatively small state park in West Virginia, on the border of Pocahontas and Greenbrier counties. Its 110 acres encompass a really cool geological rock maze of deep crevices that form alleyways and rooms — all traversed by a boardwalk that leads you to cool vantage points in, among, and […]
Maryland’s Amazing Rock Maze
Get lost in Maryland’s very own rock maze! No, I’m kidding — you can’t get lost in Maryland’s rock maze, but you can definitely have a lot of fun exploring all the cracks and crevices. This short hike — not even a mile total there and back — is at first a lovely walk (slightly […]
Following in the Footsteps of a Virginia Pioneer Woman: The Ann Bailey Trail
The hike begins and ends with an outstanding view. With delight, we realized we were the only ones on the Ann Bailey Trail, which carries hikers 3 miles to a scenic view overlooking the Greenbrier River valley. This delightful trail in Watoga State Park almost guarantees you solitude as you follow an old roadbed across […]
Cranberry Glades Boardwalk, One of the Coolest Spots You’ll Encounter!
You should definitely check out the Cranberry Glades Botanical Area if you’re in Pocahontas County, WV. One of West Virginia’s largest wetlands, this 750-acre area features open bogs, with the surrounding moutains — Black, Cranberry and Kennison — creating a natural bowl. With an elevation of 3400 feet, the Glades resemble an Artic tundra, only […]
Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Site
The Walkway over the Hudson is a steel cantilever bridge spanning the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie on the east bank and Highland on the west bank. You’ll enjoy beautiful views 212 feet above the Hudson as you walk across the span. When the train bridge opened in 1889 it connected to a nationwide network of […]
A Treasure of a Hike — the Harford Glen Loop Hike
Mysterious bridges leading over the river, waterfalls, the relaxing sound of rushing water — the Harford Glen Loop Hike has it all! Plus, with an approximate elevation gain of 800 feet, your heart will get pounding during the first half of the hike. During the second half, you get to cool down in deep shade […]
Bear Pen Hike Is All About the Journey
This enjoyable hike in Watoga State Park, near Marlinton WV, is all about the journey and not the destination. Some hikes show-off their payoffs — gorgeous views, outstanding waterfalls, ruins and the like — but this loop hike is all about the walk itself. You start just off of Watoga Park Road, near Cabin 11, […]
Eight Great Hikes, Kayaking, Ruins, Forgotten Cemeteries and even Ghost Hunting in Patapsco Valley State Park
Maryland’s first — and largest — state park (not to be confused with much larger state forests) is strung out like glittering glass beads on a necklace along the Patapsco River south and west of Baltimore. Established in 1912, the Patapsco Valley State Park (PVSP) was Maryland’s first state park. It’s also Maryland’s most visited […]
Cloudy Day Hike on the Soapstone Loop Trail in PVSP
Patapsco Valley State Park is near my home — at least part of it is: it’s strung out along 36 miles of the Patapsco River like exquisite glass beads on a necklace. Because of its location, it’s my go-to park for a hike, especially when I only have a couple of hours. PVSP is a […]
Hike to Dark Hollow Falls
IT sounds like an ominous thing, Dark Hollow Falls — there should be a ghost story or something associated with it, but I couldn’t find any mention of ghosts, nor how Dark Hollow Falls got its name, although I could well imagine how shady and dark the falls would be if the leaves still fluttered […]
Kaaterskill Falls in Catskill Park
Kaaterskill Falls is a two-stage waterfall on Spruce Creek in the eastern Catskill Mountains of New York, in the Kaaterskill Wild Forest. Kaaterskill Falls is one of the country’s oldest tourist attractions and has been depicted in many paintings, poems, and books since the 1800s. The popular hike out to see the falls from Laurel […]
Hiking on the Sweet Air Loop in Gunpowder Falls State Park
The hike we’d picked out was loop in the Sweet Air Area of the Gunpowder Falls State Park, following first the Little Gunpowder Trail, marked in white blazes, and then a yellow-blazed trail, picking up a red-blazed trail, and ending with a portion of the yellow-blazed Barley Pond Loop trail. The trails within the Sweet […]
Book T Washington National Monument
“We all should rise, above the clouds of ignorance, narrowness, and selfishness.” ― Booker T. Washington, The Story of My Life and Work Booker T Washington was born into slavery, probably on April 18, 1856, as that’s the date that John Burroughs, who enslaved him, recorded the birth of a male […]