Minnewaska State Park’s Must See Falls: Awosting Falls Hike

Awosting Falls are a spectacular water fall within the Minnewaska State Park, itself a very popular day-use park. The short and sweet Awosting Falls Hike is simply a must-do hike if you visit this park. The state park features a couple of “sky lakes,” as well as as about 50 miles of trails. With the […]

The Secret Flower in Skyline Caverns You Must See to Believe!

Skyline Caverns is a series of geologic caves and a tourist attraction located in Warren County, Virginia, one mile south of Front Royal. Unlike other caverns in the area, Skyline Caverns were discovered on purpose — a retired geologist went searching for them. Walter S. Amos went sniffing around for caverns that could be commercialized […]

A November Visit to Blackwater NWR

I’ve been to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) before, but never in November, when a lot of the waterfowl are there. The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, located 12 miles south of Cambridge, includes more than 28,000 acres of rich tidal marsh, mixed hardwood and loblolly pine forests, managed freshwater wetlands and farmland.  What drew […]

Four Stops You Should Make Along the Highland Scenic Highway

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]