Cape May Point State Park

Wow, it has been a minute since I posted anything travel-related, but earlier this month, we took a short vacation to Wildwood and Cape May, New Jersey.  My grandparents lived in Wildwood Crest for a good portion of my life, so we spent many summer weekends there when I was a child.  I have so many happy memories from those times, so it was nice to be able to spend an extended amount of time there after being away for so long.  My sister invited us along on her vacation, and we were lucky to have mostly beautiful weather while we there, especially the day we decided to go for a walk at Cape May Point State Park!

 

Cape May Point State Park has a little something for everyone - bird watching, trails, beaches, dunes, ponds, a WWII bunker, and the Cape May lighthouse, which you can climb for a small fee.  For more information about the park, visit this site.  The park has three trails: Red (0.5 miles), Yellow (1.5 miles), and Blue (2 miles).  They somewhat overlap, so we started with the Blue Trail, with the dunes on one side and two ponds on the other.  The trail here is a sandy, rocky mix.

The beach is just on the other side of the dunes and there is a connector trail.

There are great views of the lighthouse from everywhere along the trail!

Once we moved away from the dunes/beach, the trail turns into a combination of boardwalk and dirt path, and the feel of the park sometimes even feels like forest.

The Red Trail is a short offshoot from the Blue Trail and is quite shady until you reach a bird blind/viewing area.  There are a couple other bird blinds/viewing areas along the Blue Trail.

These flowers called swamp rose-mallows were in bloom during our visit.  They were enormous and beautiful and everywhere!  Even though the trails weren't long, Cape May Point State Park was a great place to meander for a little while.  The trails are all flat, making them easy for all levels of walkers/hikers.  There's also no entrance fee, which is nice.  Definitely a must-see when you're in the area!

Trexler Nature Preserve

Tom and I hadn't done any any traveling or hiking this year, for obvious reasons, but to celebrate our anniversary, we decided to do a little weekend getaway in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.  Honestly, I felt a little selfish and guilty about it, because now is not the best time to travel, but we had a good time.  I wanted to spend time outdoors, and I came across Trexler Nature Preserve, not far from Bethlehem in Schnecksville.

 

The Trexler Nature Preserve was established as a game preserve and today offers 18 miles of hiking trails, mountain biking, and wildlife observation.  Extra bonus, the Lehigh Valley Zoo is also within the borders of the Preserve!

We parked at an area called "the Ford," which we used as a jumping off point for two trails.  We started with the Elk Viewing Trail, a 1.7 mile loop.  The first section of the trail was pretty steep, but the view at the top was so worth it!

One of the points of interest on this trail is Schlicher's Covered Bridge, which we saw on the way down from the top.

 

 

The last part of the trail is flat and at least partially paved in some areas, close to the shore of Jordan Creek.  This made for a lovely walk and views of the fall foliage.

We then made our way down the Covered Bridge Trail, a 1.2 mile loop that, yes, features another covered bridge, Geiger's, built in 1860!  I really liked this trail; it was an easy walk along the creek, one side more woodsy and the other more open.

 

 

We wore masks when other hikers and walkers were close by, and pretty much everyone else was also respectful with mask use.  I'm glad we were able to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather and changing leaves!

My Favorite Wanderings of 2018

Today I wanted to take a look back at the places Tom and I traveled and hiked this year.  Although it wasn't a great year for hiking, we crossed off two more states in our quest to visit all 50!

In April, we spent a couple days in Chicago and had an awesome time, even though it snowed!

We ventured over to Rutgers Gardens and Frank G. Helyar Woods.

We tried out a new hiking spot at Six Mile Run, which we've been wanting to try since we moved to our new house.

We also hiked Sourland Mountain Preserve, which was another new-to-us spot close to home.

The Morris Arboretum was a beautiful and fun place to spend a couple hours.

Lastly, we traveled to Tennessee for the first time for a family vacation in Memphis!

I'm so grateful for all of these wonderful experiences, and I can't wait to see where we go next!



Sourland Mountain Preserve

Ever since we moved to our new house last year, I've been wanting to check out the nearby Sourland Mountain Preserve, and we finally got a chance to!



Sourland Mountain Preserve is a 4,000 acre preserve located in Hillsborough. For more information about the park and to get a trail map, visit the Somerset County Park Commission here.

The preserve has a couple major trails and then a few connector trails that you can take to visit other areas or make your hike shorter or longer.  Our plan was to take the 5-mile Ridge Trail around the outer limits.  From the trailhead, we started moving up the eastern portion of the trail.  It had a pretty steady incline up to Devil's Half-Acre Boulders.  The trail had an outcropping of rocks and roots through this entire climb, so we definitely had to watch our footing.

Just a small portion of Devil's Half-Acre Boulders

Once we passed the boulders, the trail mellowed out a bit and we were able to move a lot quicker.  Even though there were a lot of cars in the parking lot, we only came across a group of Boy Scouts and it was really quiet most of the way.  That's something that always surprises me when we hike - even though I know we're in the middle of a pretty populated area, it can feel entirely isolated and peaceful.

Unfortunately, the trail conditions weren't the best the day we went (it had rained a lot the night before, so it was pretty muddy), so instead of doing the entire Ridge Trail, we took advantage of a connector trail that basically bisected the preserve.  Coming down a pipeline, this trail had a pretty good view of the area and was somewhat steep - going downhill can be just as hard as going uphill sometimes!

Connector Trail

We ended up doing almost 3 miles, and we're definitely planning on going back and hitting the rest of Sourland Mountain Preserve!

My Favorite Wanderings of 2017

Today I want to share my favorite parks and trails from the past year.  It wasn't the best hiking year for us - the weather was often an issue.  But, we got to see some gorgeous places!

We finally made our way out to Las Vegas, and we drove out to the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead National Recreation Area for a tour and some walking.

Also while we were in Vegas, we went out to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, which was one of the most unique and beautiful places I've ever seen.

While in Pennsylvania for my cousin's wedding, we took advantage of a free morning to take a quick hike at Rocky Ridge Park.

Also in Pennsylvania, we checked out Longwood Gardens.

During a family vacation to Missouri, we took a walk at Table Rock State Park.

And closer to home, we finally checked out Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

We finished the year by going back to Longwood Gardens for the holiday light show.

Happy trails!

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

One of the things my husband was most excited about during our Las Vegas trip was a visit to Red Rock Canyon.  Located less than a 1/2 hour west of the strip, Red Rock Canyon is a beautiful place to spend a few hours.


For more information, click here.

There is a $10.00 per car entrance fee.  A 13-mile one-way road loops around the canyon, offering several parking lots to pick up trailheads and locations to take some spectacular photos.

With 20+ trails of varying lengths and levels of difficulty, there's something for everyone here, even trails for small children.  The trails themselves range from dirt/gravel to sand to small rocks to large boulders.

Red Rock Canyon is so different from the hikes we usually go on.  We're used to being in the woods, surrounded by shade and trees.  This time, we were in the desert, wide open spaces with little in the way of shade (although, it was a little more green than I expected!).  They're pretty obvious, but I want to offer the following tips for hiking in Red Rock Canyon:

1. Wear a hat and sunglasses.  Don't be dumb like me and give yourself a headache by squinting the whole time.  You're in the desert, it's going to be very sunny.
2. Put on plenty of sunscreen.  It was only in the mid-50s when we were there, but it felt a lot warmer, so I didn't even wear a jacket.  Protect your exposed skin from the beating sun.
3. Bring plenty of water.  You should always have water when you're hiking, but even more so when you're in this type of terrain and weather.  Stay hydrated! 

First, we hiked the Calico Springs Trail.  The trails were marked way better than I expected.  There were some signs, and when it made sense, the trails were lined by rocks, marking the path.  Calico Springs featured all different types of terrain along the way, but it was still a pretty easy hike.

Is it just me, or does this rock formation look like an iguana?

We also hiked the Keystone Thrust Trail.  This trail had a pretty decent incline the whole way, as well as a path of small rocks, which made for rough going.  But, the view down into the canyon made it all worth it!

My photos don't do this beautiful place enough justice - Red Rock Canyon is a must-see if you're in the Las Vegas area!

Lake Mead National Recreation Area

I finally convinced my husband to go to Las Vegas last month, and while we were there, we drove 45 minutes to the Hoover Dam.  Located on Lake Mead, the Hoover Dam is within the boundaries of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.  We love to try new hiking spots when we're on vacation, so I was excited to do some research and find that the Historic Railroad Trail was really close to the Hoover Dam - so close, in fact, that the trail can be reached by walking out the back of the Hoover Dam parking garage!


For more information about the Historic Railroad Trail, visit the National Park Service here.

Approximately 3.5 miles long, the Trail historically featured a railroad track passing through 5 large tunnels.  The tracks are no longer there, but the trail still exists, with awesome views of Lake Mead.

After exiting the Hoover Dam parking garage, we walked over a mile before we got a glimpse of Lake Mead - I think Tom was getting a little nervous that we would never actually see it!

Tunnel 5, the first tunnel we encountered

Exiting Tunnel 5, with a view towards Tunnel 4

But, after we exited Tunnel 5, to our right we finally got our first view of Lake Mead, and it was spectacular.

The trail itself is a fairly easy walk, with nothing much in the way of hills.  Even on a Monday morning, we encountered lots of other people.

This hike was a great way to see a bit more of the sights after taking our tour of the Hoover Dam!

My Favorite Wanderings of 2016

Today I wanted to share my favorite parks and trails of the year.  We've been going to a lot of the same parks for years, because they're so close to our house, but in 2016 we branched out a bit and tried out some new spots.  I'm already making a list of places I want to check out next year when the weather gets nice again!

In June, we visited Watkins Glen State Park.  It was just as beautiful as I remember from visiting as a kid.

While in New York, we also visited Robert H. Treman State Park.  The views here were incredible!

Closer to home, we spent a couple hours hiking at Hacklebarney State Park.

And for an easy walk through the park, we loved Loantaka Brook Reservation.

We discovered a hidden gem in Greenwood Gardens.

And we ended the year in Oklahoma at Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness Area!