Overlook Mountain is located just north of Woodstock, NY. In fact, if you walk down the main thoroughfare of Woodstock, you can see it clearly. It’s a popular trail — one of the most popular in the Catskills, in fact. You won’t get any solitude but that’s because the payoff is amazing. Three payoffs, actually. […]
hiking
Octagon Mountain House: Nature is Art
I’d always wanted to live in an octagon shaped house, and when I saw the Octagon Mountain House on AirBnB near where we were planning on vacationing in the Shenandoah Valley, I leapt at the chance to rent it for a week, to serve as our homebase while we explored the hiking trails, historic sites […]
Does Daniels, Maryland’s Ghost Town, Actually Have Ghosts?
Daniels is a little known ghost town sprawled on both sides of the Patapsco River within the Patapsco River Valley State Park, which we’ve written about before (several times actually). The hike along the old road into Daniels on the Baltimore County side of the river is about a 4.5 mile there-and-back hike, with a […]
Staying at Grandma’s Place — an AirBnB Vacation Fabulous Find
We were looking for a fairly inexpensive house to rent while we explored the Catskills and we found “Grandma’s Place” in Woodstock NY. Perfect for a couple or small family, Grandma’s Place is walking distance to the center of Woodstock. The house sleeps four comfortably: one double bed and one queen bed. The […]
White Rock Falls Hike in the Blue Ridge Mountains
White Rock Falls Hike is a hidden gem of a hike: moderate, 2.5-mile out-and-back, that offers very pretty views, hidden grottos amongst the rhododendron, wading pools, and a series of small water cascades that collectively form White Rock Falls. It’s located in central Virginia south of Humpback Rocks on the Blue Ridge Parkway at mile […]
Hiking the Serpentine Loop in Soldiers Delight NEA
It seems the only times I think to go hiking in Soldiers Delight Natural Environmental Area, a part of the Patapsco Valley State Park, is in the winter. And winter is a great time to hike there — it’s sunny and bright and really beautiful in the colder months; just walking there will lift your […]
Only the Really Cool Trees Have Knees: Secrets of Battle Creek Cypress Swamp
Bald cypress trees are an ancient tree that once covered parts of Delaware, Maryland, DC, and Virginia. Cypress trees have been dredged from the Baltimore Inner Harbor, and stumps thought to be a hundred thousand years old have been found at the mouth of the Patapsco River. Logs tens of thousands of years old have […]
Hiking the Buzzard Rock – Sawmill Trail Loop in Patapsco Valley State Park
Buzzards Rock and Sawmill Trail Loop is a 5 mile loop trail in the Patapsco Valley State Park that has multiple “pay-offs,” including a pretty view from Buzzards Rock, from which you can see the Patapsco River below; even from that distance you can hear the falls. There are some breath-taking inclines and declines, but […]
History and Wonder at the Natural Bridge
I remember a photo of my grandmother posing, pretending to hold up a rock bridge in Virginia. My grandfather would often tell my grandmother to “pack for cold” or “pack for warm” depending on whatever destination he had in mind. And then they would set off for an adventure. He took my Nana all over […]
Green Is the Theme on the Old Main Line Hike in PVSP
Hiking along the Old Main Line in Patapsco Valley State Park is one of my favorite hikes, and I’ve visited repeatedly, but, it seems, always during the winter. This time we returned just as summer was setting in, and everything was green, green, green. It was lovely! As we walked along the Patapsco River, trees […]
Three Great Hikes in Patapsco Valley State Park
Some of these hikes are really popular — so social distancing might be a bit difficult. But if you haven’t been on these hikes, these are three good ones to add to your bucket list! Patapsco Valley State Park extends along 32 miles of the Patapsco River, encompassing 16,043 acres and eight developed recreational areas. […]
Rooms and What a View! at the Iris Inn Bed and Breakfast
The Iris Inn, in Waynesboro,VA, is a low-key gem of a bed and breakfast inn offering travelers plenty of places to hang out and simply enjoy the views of the Blueridge Mountains — it’s a place to relax and unwind after a busy day of sight-seeing, or just because! The inn offers individual rooms in […]
Hiking and Bird Watching in the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge
Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife sanctuary expressly for migratory birds, located east of Milton, DE in southern Delaware. Translated from the Dutch words Priume Hoek, meaning Plum Point, Prime Hook was named by European settlers in the 1600s for the land’s abundance of purple beach plums. Established in 1963 on 10,000 acres along […]
Hiking Greenbriar State Park — Big Red and Rock Oak Fire Trails
Greenbrier State Park, just off I-70, is another of Maryland’s lovely state parks, and offers public recreation on South Mountain, just 3 miles northeast of Boonsboro in Washington County. The state park offers camping, fishing, a boat ramp, hiking trails, and a 42-acre man-made lake with picnicking areas and a sand beach that is quite […]
Adventure Awaits in Clearfield County!
Gaining in popularity as a weekend getaway, Clearfield County has a lot to offer folks seeking lovely scenery and outdoor adventures such as hiking, biking and kayaking. There’s also an historic car museum, local wineries, and plenty of places to enjoy some tasty meals. There’s more to do than meets the eye in Clearfield County, […]