Just about an hour and 15 minutes away from Pittsburgh in Youngstown, Ohio, you can spend the day exploring the trails of Mill Creek Metro Park.
We picked a beautiful fall day. Since it is Youngstown, I didn’t have high hopes, but was pleasantly surprised at the unique bridges, surprise rock formations, and the old mill, Lanterman’s Mill. The park wasn’t well marked, but it was clean and safe. The terrain was easy to medium level of difficulty.
We love to hike and to photograph nature on those hikes. I picked up two books that I am using for planning our 2013 trips. Continue reading “Two Books for Summer Camp and Hike Planning”
Some people dream of Hawaii and Jamaica. I have dreamt of Cook Forest State Park. I have always had a picture of it in my mind as being just perfect. Well after many years of dreaming, we headed northeast and went. I was not disappointed. The park itself is beautiful… just breathtaking (but remember, I don’t get out much). I’m going to review the park and our hike first and will cover our camping experience in another post. Continue reading “Cook Forest State Park Hiking – Part 1 Trail Review”
To properly review this hike, I’ve broken it down into two posts. See the first leg of the trip in Cook Forest Part 1.”So, where were we… ” (in the tone of the storyteller grandfather from Princess Bride…) “Oh, yes, the forest.” We crossed the road and headed toward the swinging bridge entering into what is known as the Cathedral Forest area of the park. A nice bridge… not quite a cool as the one at Trough Creek, but nice (I’ll tell you about Trough Creek another time.) Anyhow, from the swinging bridge we headed up the hill on Rhododendron Trail. This 1.2 mile trail is moderate hiking and a moderate climb. The trail is clear and well marked, making it an relatively easy climb. We found some nice large rocks to sit on and have a snack to try to get our sugar levels up so that we could keep going.
Continue reading “Cook Forest State Park Hiking – Part 2 Trail Review”
Get Out Camping & Hiking 