Sunday, June 29, 2014
The other weekend, I went to Raccoon Creek State Park & Wildflower Reserve by myself. Ever since returning from Japan, I pretty much stopped going places by myself. I let the fact that I was now surrounded by friends prevent me from going places when I couldn't convince anyone to tagalong. Well. No more. I go hiking with or without your cooperation!
I started off near the Park Office and caught the Forest Trail which enjoyed going up and down moderate ascents (read: kicked my flabby self's rear end) to meet with various creek beds. When it met up with the Lake Trail, I caught that back along the lake until it returned me to my origin. 5 miles in 2.5 hours, A nice little custom loop. A look at the map will show you lots of potential little custom loops like the one I took. And the lake even seemed to have boat rentals for kayaking and the like.
After my 5 mile jaunt, I drove to the Wildflower Reserve and ambled around a variety of additional trails for 2 miles (Henrici, Jennings, Meadow Trail, Hickory Trail). There weren't an overwhelming number of flowers out (late April & August are said to be best), but it was still pleasant. My goal was to get outdoors and hike up hills until I had to take a breather, and I'd say my day was fairly successful.
At only 40 minutes from Pittsburgh, this looks like a potentially handy little spot to have around for camping and day hiking.
Although, admittedly, I got quite lost trying to find the park and it probably took me an extra 30 minutes.
2 comments:
What a pretty hike! And I am pro-doing things on your own. Just make sure you're safe and someone knows where you are, especially if you're out and about in nature where you won't run into that many people
Hey! That looks like a nice place to hike! :) I wish I had known that you were going! :) I would have loved to tag along!
- Payal
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