Our first stop was the Billy Dreher Trail, this is a small trail that starts at a nice pavilion, there's an outside basketball court and a playground.
The trail runs through the woods and down to the old home site of Billy Dreher, all that's left is a pile of bricks and this fireplace, a nice piece of history, he picked a great spot for his home!
From here you can continue on the trail as it runs along the lake or you can branch off on another short trail that leads to lake and a nice beach spot. We came to the beach and saw some Osprey fishing! One of the great things about this park is the amount and variety of wildlife you'll find here! Remember to check out my website to see more - higher quality - pictures of them.
After hanging out at the beach we headed back and continued the trail back to the parking area.
We headed to the old ranger building, there is a boardwalk out to a small island with a short trail. You can fish out here or enjoy the wildlife, we saw more Osprey and a buzzard. Don't forget to enjoy the wide variety of cool foliage and trees in this park!!
After enjoying this area we headed down to the longer trail, this trail runs down a peninsula and then loops back, there is a lot to see on this trail and some good ups and downs, so be prepared.
Make a wish?!
The trail doesn't always run along side the lake but there are a few parts that do and there's a few small offshoots that will take you to small beach areas. There are plenty of great scenic views along the trail!
There are also "Indian Guide Trees" or "Indian Marker Trees" along the trail and in different spots in the park, these are really cool and have a lot of history to them. When you finish reading this blog, Google it and read about them!! Be on the lookout and see if you can spot any!
There is an area on the loop where an old house stood, like the Billy Dreher house, all that's left is some bricks and a fireplace. What's the story behind this one? Can you find the ruins?
All the trails in this park are very well maintained, there was one tree down but it looked pretty fresh, I would guess from the recent storms we had in the area.
We had a special treat coming back from the loop... Deer! We heard some noises up ahead on the trail, we thought another hiker with a dog, came around a corner and there looking at us were four deer. We froze and waited to see if they would run, they just continued grazing and walking away, so we carefully and quietly followed them! With all the boats and the noise from them it was easy to close the distance and follow them good. Be on the lookout everywhere you go, you never know what you could come across!!
Be sure to check out my video, I was able to get the Osprey fishing some and a little of the deer we ran into!
There's so much to do and see at this park, it is one of our favorites. With the lake, many trails, very nice campground, several playgrounds, shelters, history and all the great wildlife you'll love this park. You'll be hard pressed to be bored here. As with all the parks we've visited the rangers here are very nice and informative. The ranger I spoke with educated me about the guide trees and also helped me locate where they were! As always, be sure to read the rest of this blog to see our other state park adventures and then visit our website to see the higher resolution pictures - and the ones that didn't make it into the blog! Fine art prints are available for purchase at my site also. Be sure to connect with us on social media! All this can be found at our site: http://www.centerlightstudios.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment