Landscape Arch

Where: Arches National Park
Trail: Landscape Arch
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 1.6 miles round trip
Adventure Rating: 2 Stars
Pets: no


Even though the adventure rating is only a 2, it's still an awesome hike with a great view. The day we went, it was crazy windy at Arches NP. It was especially windy in the beginning part of the trail, where you walk through all narrow "hallway" of rock. Once we were out of that, the wind settled down considerably. It was an easy hike starting at the Devil's Garden Trailhead. The trail is well marked and easy to navigate with some uphill areas, but nothing too strenuous.

The Windows at Arches

Where: Arches National Park
Trail: The Windows Trail & Double Arch

Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 1 mile loop & 1/2 mile RT
Adventure Rating: 2 Stars
Pets: no


Note: I am a fan of going off-trail now and then, however, Arches National Park is one place you really need to stay on the trail or on rock. The desert floor is covered in microscopic cyanobacteria that "bind[s] together grains of sand, creating stable sites for algae, moss, and fungi to grow." Basically, that black crusty soil is alive and storing nutrients/water for the plant life. So, do NOT step on it.

Park in The Windows Section. We hiked to the North Window around to the South Window and finally around to the Turret Arch. It's an easy hike that can be made more fun by climbing on the rocks and boulders.

From the same parking lot, you can hike to the Double Arch. It's a short hike, but once you get to the arch, there is plenty of rock climbing/scrambling.

Pinnacles National Monument

Where: Pinnacles National Monument, California
Trail: Balconies Trail, Balconies Cave, Trail, Balconies Cliff Trail
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Distance: 2.4 mile loop
Adventure Rating: 3 Stars
Pets: Not allowed

There is no through road in Pinnacles National Monument. You can hike it, but that's a long trip. Last time we hiked the east side of the park. This time we decided to hike the west side. The Balconies Trail includes the Balconies Cave, which we was fun. We didn't get to see any bats, unfortunately.

Joaquin Miller Park

Where: Joaquin Miller Park, Oakland, California
Trail: Big Trees Trail
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: ?
Adventure Rating: 2 Stars
Pets: Allowed on leash

Joaquin Miller Park

Where: Joaquin Miller Park, Oakland, California
Trail: Sinawik Trail
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: ?
Adventure Rating: 2 Stars
Pets: Allowed on leash

Petroglyph National Monument

Where: Petroglyph National Monument, New Mexico
Trail: Piedras Marcadas Canyon
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 1.5 miles round trip
Adventure Rating: 2 Stars
Pets: Allowed on leash
 
The Petroglyph National Monument wasn't the most exciting hike, at first. The monument is located right outside Albuquerque, New Mexico. The parking lot for the monument is in a neighborhood, but once you get out there, you sort of forget about the city.

We hiked the Piedras Marcadas Canyon trail which is dog-friendly and free. According to the NPS website, the trail is "Easy to moderate unpaved trail." We didn't find anything even moderately strenuous about the trail--which is probably why we went off trail.

Along the 1.5 mile (out and back) trail, you can see hundreds of petroglyphs. They tend to be really cool at first, but by the 20th one, I was much less interested. Unless I saw a funny one like the one to the right.

Overlooking Albuquerque

Palo Duro Canyon State Park

Where: Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas
Trail: Lighthouse Trail
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Distance: 5.75 miles round trip
Adventure Rating: 3 Stars
Pets: Allowed on leash

The pictures of Palo Duro Canyon on the state park's website show majestic rock formations, which was what drew me to the park in the first place. On the drive from Amarillo, my friends and I kept wondering where the rock formations were because the land was flat as far as the eye could see. It was like driving through Oklahoma--flat nothing. It wasn't long before we soon realized that the reason we couldn't yet see it was that it was a CANYON.

We paid the $5 per person fee in the gift shop and then proceeded to the parking lot at the trail-head for the Lighthouse Trail. Palo Duro is dog-friendly and we were able to bring our little dogs with us. The trail is 5.75 miles round trip, hiking out to the lighthouse and back to the parking lot. The majority of the hike is pretty easy. The trail is hard-packed red dirt and easy to trek.

We started the hike in the afternoon (not taking into account that the sun sets earlier in the winter) and ended up hiking back to our cars in the dark. When we started, it was sunny and 60, but by the time we were done it was dark and 50. We didn't bring our jackets with us, so we were a bit chilly.

As we were hiking up the last bit (which was really climbing) we ran into a man and his son. The man urged us not to continue on, but to turn back because it would be dark in an hour. When we asked how far it was to the end, he said less than a quarter mile. So we said we wanted to continue. He then proceeded to tell us that a lot of people had died at the park this year... because of the heat. The guy meant well, but the info he gave us was completely irrelevant. We did hike to the end and saw the lighthouse formation (and we didn't die even though the last thirty minutes of the hike were in the dark).

Ludington State Park

Where: Ludington State Park
Trail: Lost Lake Trail, Island Trail, and Ridge Trail
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Distance: 1.5 miles, 4 miles (both)
Adventure Rating: 2 Stars
Pet: Allowed on leash

Bay City State Recreation Area

Where: Bay City State Recreation Area, Michigan
Trail: Lagoon Trail
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: less than 1 mile loop
Adventure Rating: 1 Star
Pets: Allowed on leash

If you're looking to go for a walk, it's a good place to do it. If you actually want to hike, it's pretty lame. The trail isn't very long and it's pretty uninteresting.

Ludington State Park

Where: Ludington State Park
Trail: Lost Lake Trail, Island Trail, and Ridge Trail
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Distance: 1.5 miles, 4 miles (both)
Adventure Rating: 2 Stars
Pet: Allowed on leash

We started at the parking lot near the beach and the boat launch. We started on the Island Trail, which involves boardwalks that span across the Lost Lake onto several tiny islands. The Lost Lake is peaceful and some day I'm going to go back without my dogs and kayak the lake.

We hiked the entire Lost Lake Trail until it ended at the Ridge Trail. Most of the Ridge Trail is on top of sand dunes which makes the trek a little more difficult. But from up there we saw a raccoon in a tree as well as a group of deer down in one of the valleys. We watched a couple of fawns hopping around playing for about ten minutes.

A flight of wooden stairs brought us down from the Ridge Trail and connected us to the Lost Lake Trail, which took us back to the parking lot. Of the three trails, the Island Trail is the most visually interesting. The Lost Lake trail is the easiest and the Ridge Trail is the more strenuous.

Ash Cave Gorge

Where: Hocking Hills, Ohio
Trail: Ash Cave Gorge
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 1/2 mile round trip
Adventure Rating: 1 Star
Pets: Allowed on leash

The Gorge Trail is easy, much of it being paved and wheelchair accessible. There is a small, but tall waterfall that makes for interesting pictures. Ash Cave also has a Rim Trail, but we didn't hike it.

Monument Hill & Kreische Brewery

Where: Monument Hill & Kreische Brewery State Historic Sites
Trail: all trails
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: less than 1 mile loop
Adventure Rating: 1 Star
Pets: Allowed on leash


We started in the parking lot and headed for the Kreische Woods Nature Loop, crossing a tiny bridge over a tiny creek. At the trail kiosk, we switched over to the Schulenburg Ferry Trail. We took that to the upper bridge and crossed over to the Brewery Lane Trail, which took us to the brewery ruins. After that, we took the Kreische Stairway Trail. This was pretty cool because it had stone stairs to climb. We passed a barn and a smoke house as we took the Scenic and Historic Trail to the Scenic Overlook. After that, we took the trail back around to the parking lot. This was a great hike for kids--it wasn't too strenuous and it was visually interesting with bridges, rocks, stones, stairs, etc.

Highbanks Trail to Iargo Springs

Where: Huron National Forest, Oscoda, Michigan
Trail: Highbanks Trail (Canoer's Memorial to Iargo Springs)
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 3.5 miles round trip
Adventure Rating: 1 Star
Pets: Allowed on leash

The Highbanks Trail is 7 miles long (one way). Because I was hiking with an 8-year-old and a small dog, I chose not to hike the entire length. Instead, we hiked from the Canoer's Memorial to Iargo Springs, which is about 1.75 miles one way. Iargo Springs was a good place to stop, rest, and have a snack, before hiking back to the car.

The hike is pretty easy, mostly flat dirt paths. We did wander off the path in a few places to check out the sand dunes.

The most strenuous part of the hike was when we took the 294 steps down to the river at Iargo Springs (and then had to climb back up them). After that, we still had to hike almost 2 miles back to the car at Canoer's Memorial.

Taughannock Falls State Park

Where: Taughannock Falls State Park, New York
Trail: Gorge Trail
Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 1.5 miles round trip
Adventure Rating: 1 Star
Pets: Allowed on leash

The trail is wide and well-groomed. Because of the short distance to the falls, there were a lot of tourists. The water was low and we ended up walking in the creek-bed--hopping rocks and wading in the water until we got closer to the falls, which made the "hike" a lot more fun than if we'd just stayed on the trail.

Generally, I am all about getting as close to the waterfalls as possible [which is probably why I almost fell off a waterfall once], but in this case, I heeded the warnings and stayed on the right side of the barrier. Rocks are constantly breaking and falling into the pool at the base of the waterfall (sometimes injuring or even killing tourists who decide to get too close). This is one place that I would highly recommend following the rules on.

Pine Haven Recreation Area

Where: Pine Haven Recreation Area, Sanford, Michigan
Trail: Pine Haven Loop, Mud Creek Loop, Riverside Ravine
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Distance: 1.5 miles, 1 mile, .2 miles
Adventure Rating: 1 Star
Pets: Allowed on leash

Pine Haven has over 13 miles of trails in its 325 acres. The main trails are wide enough to hike side-by-side as a group.

Here is the route we took: [see map] Parking lot to marker A to B to C to H to I to J to K to L to M to N to O to P to the parking lot.

Bluffs of the North Fork San Gabriel River

Where: Bluffs of the North Fork San Gabriel River, Lake Georgetown, Texas
Trail: Goodwater Trail
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Distance: ?
Adventure Rating: 3 Stars
Pets: Allowed on leash

We started at mile marker 11 of the Goodwater Hiking Trail and hiked out a couple miles (I'm not how far we went) and back. [The Goodwater Trail is a loop that goes all the way around Lake Georgetown and is 28 miles long.] Our hike started out along the San Gabriel River and then entered the surrounding forest. After a short distance, we came to a creek with a tree stretched across it. Judging by the boards attached to the tree, it was meant to be crossed.

A couple of the people in our hiking party were hesitant to cross [unlike me, who couldn't wait to cross it and wishes every hiking adventure had one of these]. They did make the crossing, but when it was time to turn around and hike back, they chose to cross the San Gabriel River, which was pretty cold.

Crockett Garden & Falls

Where: Crockett Garden & Falls, Lake Georgetown, Texas
Trail: Goodwater Hiking Trail
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Distance: 5 miles, out and back
Adventure Rating: 3 Stars
Pets: Allowed on leash









The Goodwater Trail is a loop that goes all the way around Lake Georgetown and is 28 miles long. We didn't have the time or the inclination to hike 28 miles. So, we did a short 5 mile section. We started in a parking lot and hiked through the woods toward the lake, which was a lovely greenish-blue color. We then hiked the rest of the trail to the Crockett Gardens and the spring-fed waterfall. [Note: the waterfall and spring are extremely delicate so don't enter the water or attempt to climb on the waterfall.] The trail is pet-friendly, though we did not bring our dogs for this adventure.