To learn more about Duke Farms and get a map, visit their website here. The Duke family purchased land in the area to create an estate and farm, but they eventually turned it into a public park, and today, "Duke Farms is a leader in environmental stewardship and inspires visitors to become informed stewards of the land. It is a place of education, enjoyment and research that enhances the environmental health of the region."
Duke Farms is a beautiful place to walk around, with 18 (!) miles of paved, gravel, wood-chip, and grass trails. There are several man-made lakes and structures scattered around the property.
Besides walking, there are other ways to get around Duke Farms. A tram picks passengers up near the visitors center and travels around the estate, with other pick-ups/drop-offs at various points. It's a nice way to tour the park. Visitors can bring their bikes and Duke Farms also provides a Bikeshare service. For $5, you can rent a bike for two hours. This is a great service for condo-dwellers like us who don't have room to keep bikes at home! It's so much fun to zip around Duke Farms on a bike.
As many times as we've been here, we still discover new things to see, as well as visiting old favorites, like the Orchid Range with its beautiful garden of flowers and the Old Foundation, with its awesome views of the Great Meadow. There's even a small sculpture garden in the repurposed Hay Barn!
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| Looking down into the Great Meadow |
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| Orchid Range |
LOVE Duke Farms... cannot wait to go back!
ReplyDeleteI think if I could live there, I would.
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