Family Hikes!
This page intends to encourage parents to get out with their kids, and kids
get out with their parents, in the greater Harrisburg area, by providing supplemental
information to this very nice effort:
See also the Appalachian Trail Conservancy's new family hiking page:
Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club offers
family friendly hikes, as our volunteers schedule them. Look here for
the scheduled hikes, and sign up for
the family hike list e-mail group where more might be scheduled on a shorter
lead time than our quarterly schedule.
For younger kids, we've found it's best to hike on shorter trails with interesting
things all along the trail. As you, the caregiver, might know, deferred gratification
(such as a boring trail to a great view) doesn't work with young kids. The
trade-off is that interesting trails require constant supervision - or if you
view the glass as half full, intensive quality time with your little ones.
As seen in the compendium of local hiking spots,
here are a few places to think of taking your preschoolers:
- Five Senses Gardens, on the Capital Area Greenbelt. Very close to Toys'R'Us
and the Harrisburg Mall for rewarding your strong little hikers. Watch out
for fast traffic crossing the street. Older kids may be able to walk with
supervision north across Paxton Street to the bridge under I-83 (yes that's
right), another point of interest.
- Boiling Springs, start by walking around Children's Lake, then cross PA
174 to "The Bubble" behind the post office, then head up behind the pool
to a nature preserve wedged between the Yellow Breeches Creek and the old
mill race. In June, watch for (and smell!) the thru-hikers, those who seek
to walk from Georgia to Maine in a continuous journey. Say hi to the hard
working staff and volunteers at the Appalachian Trail Mid-Atlantic Regional
Office, the little cottage with the welcoming porch. Best parking is at the
iron furnace on Bucher Hill Road around the southeast corner of the lake.
- Wildwood Lake and the Olewine Nature Center, at the north edge of the City
of Harrisburg. Even if the building isn't open, it's still fun for little
ones to walk around the boardwalks on the south end of the lake for a while.
But, trying to go around the lake (3.3 miles) is trying the patience of a
preschooler.
- Waggoners Gap: On PA 74 atop Blue Mountain between Carlisle and Landisburg
is a fun little rock hopping loop trail to a hawk watching point. The parking
lot on the north (Perry County) side is sometimes gated off.
- Shenks Ferry Wildflower Preserve: This favored spot in southwestern Lancaster
County is sufficiently amazing to interest your little botanist even before
they speak scientific Latin, from the end of March to mid-May. Hard to find,
but must be seen to be believed.
These spots might keep your elementary school kid interested:
- Thousand Steps, on US 22 near Mount Union on the Standing Stone Trail.
A bit of a drive to possibly the best hike in central PA. We got our 4 year
old to climb and to descend all 1,100 steps under her own power. Unfortunately
the Dairy Queen in Mt. Union has recently closed.
- Victoria-Whitetail Trails, off PA 325 between Dauphin and Tower City. These
relatively new trails in State Game Land 211 were masterfully laid out by
Tom Scully, R.L.A. and crafted by many hours of SATC volunteer labor. Hard
to spot the small Victoria Trail sign in the tiny parking area because folks
are usually going too fast past it. You can make a loop by going over the
mountaintop into the Ibberson Conservation Area, or prevent the re-climbing
and shorten the loop by crossing on the ridgetop Appalachian Trail.
- White Rocks, off Kuhn Road in Monroe Township, Cumberland County, is a
Pennsylvania Heritage Geology Feature and a blue-blazed side trail to the
Appalachian Trail.
To be continued...
NPF, Aug14 2011
