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 […]
ruins
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 […]
Minnewaska State Park: Rainbow Falls Hike
I rely on AllTrails.com almost as much as I rely on AllRecipes.com. I have no idea whether the two are related. But they’re both great resources! Lake Minnewaska, one of the parks several “sky lakes” and for which, the state park is named. So during our visit to the Hudson Valley area, I’d planned out […]
What Haunts the Patapsco Female Institute?
The Patapsco Female Institute, at least what’s left of it, is haunted of course, like any self-respecting ruins would be. I got two VERY interesting photographs almost as soon as I was out of the car. I shared these on a paranormal enthusiasts site (Haunted Nation), and the comments and interpretations were quite interesting: one […]
Five Locks Walk: Learning About the D&H Canal in High Falls, NY
There are some interesting ruins along the canal. I walked in the steps of a hoggee. Yes, you read that correctly: a hoggee, or boys or girls (usually boys) who led the mules that pulled the boats along the 108-mile Delaware and Hudson Canal, which ran from Honesdale, PA to Kingston, NY. In one of the […]
Blooms and Butterflies at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens
Despite its location in the heart of northern Virginian suburbs, few know about this wonderful garden oasis. Meadowlark Botanical Gardens is part botanical garden, part sculpture garden (there are a number of striking sculptures around the grounds, part arboretum. There are pretty little ponds with lotuses and waterlillies, and other water plants growing in and […]
Seven Fabulous Forts in the Mid-Atlantic States You Should Visit!
Everyone’s probably heard of famous Fort McHenry in Baltimore, which tells the story of the War of 1812 and is immortalized in Francis Scott Key’s “Star-Spangled Banner.” But seven other fabulous forts are worth exploring in the mid-Atlantic region: three in Maryland, and two each in Delaware and Pennsylvania. Each fort has a unique history […]
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 […]
Overlook Mountain Trail Hike
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. […]
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 […]
Walking on History Along the Old Main Line Trail
The Old Main Line Trail follows the Patapsco River. It’s always exciting to discover something close to home that I’m definitely going to go back to visit, over and over again. A pair of Mallard ducks make use of a semi-permanent puddle along the Old Main Line Trail. That happened when I discovered the Old […]
Biking the Lehigh Gorge Rail-Trail
The 26-mile Lehigh Gorge Rail-Trail is a popular rail trail that winds along the Lehigh River between White Haven and Jim Thorpe, PA. A good portion of the trail brings you through the Lehigh Gorge State Park and is notable for its gorgeous mountain and river scenery as well as the numerous tumbling waterfalls. The […]
Daniels Old Main Line and Ruins Loop Trail
Patapsco Valley State Park is a park strung out like beads on a necklace, extending along 32 miles of the Patapsco River south and west of the city of Baltimore. The Maryland Forestry Act of 1906’s provisions formed the park, to protect newly completed (and now destroyed) Bloede Dam from silting from nearby farm erosion. […]
Incredible Scenery While Biking in Cape Henlopen State Park
I wished the Gordons Pond Trail would never end. The scenery — marshes on one side, and sand dunes and the ocean, and then Gordons Pond and the ocean on the other — was refreshing and beautiful. Although a crowded trail, everyone we encountered was friendly and just plain happy to be there. The Gordons […]
Snowy Hike to a Maryland Ghosttown
On Friday, a lovely, powdery snow fell, and I knew I wanted to go on one particular hike the next morning: to see the ruins of St Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church in the snow. To get there, we’d have to follow the Alberton Road Trail in Patapsco Valley State Park into the ghosttown of Daniels. […]