Today we visit the historic Landsford Canal! This park makes for a great day trip and has plenty to see and enjoy. This park has the remains of the historical canal (built around 1820!!) as well as plenty of nature and wildlife. There are even eagles that nest here! The canal trail is worth the hike. Try to hike the whole trail if you can, just be prepared as it's a long hike there and back! With parts of the canal still intact, you get a glimpse of what it was like over 200 years ago.
The main park area is nice with picnic tables and great view of the river. Both trails at the park start here on one main trail and split at the first canal locks.
You can take the shorter nature walk which follows the river or take the canal trail which follows the old canal. Since both trails connect at the end of the nature trail, you can hike a loop and cover part of the canal trail on your hike. Most of the nature trail is level and is paved with crushed gravel pavement. The park ranger told us that the eagles nest near the end of the nature trail.
The start of the canal trail has part of the locks still intact. It's really cool getting to see the intricate stone work that's stood up over time. This is just a small section before the trail follows the canal.
From here the trail follows the canal. You will pass a few spots where they built bridges over the canal (some of the stonework still stands!) and interpretive signs. The signs are very informative and tell the history of the park and canal system. There are benches on the trail but not a whole lot and they are spread out.
The canal trail meets the nature trail about a half mile in. You can loop back here on the nature trail or continue on to the spider lily observation point and the rest of the canal. The lily station has a great view of the river and lily plants. There are several benches to rest and enjoy the view. The lilies weren't in bloom when we were here this time but we'll be back when they are!
Continuing on past the spider lilies is the old mill complex. There's not much left but some culverts and a few stone walls. When you reach this you're a little over halfway to the end, keep going!!
When you get to the locks you're greeted with a beautiful sight! A large portion of the locks and a bridge are still intact. This area is part of an Indian trading path as well, a lot of great history. There is a second entrance to the park here, if you can't hike the whole trail (It is a long trail there and back, we logged over 4 miles) make sure to drive down to this area and check it out.
We love this park, the trail is very diverse and offers plenty of history lessons. The park is very well maintained and offers plenty to do, see and learn. Make sure you bring your camera, there will be plenty of great shots! Make sure you check out the state park website for when the best times are for eagle sightings and events. As always I ended up with more pictures than room so be sure to scroll down past this to see a few more pictures. Be sure to read the rest of this blog to see our other state park adventures and then visit our website to see the pictures that didn't make it in the blog and in higher (Blog pics are reduced quality to help with space/load times) resolution. 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.
Very nice park... Thank you for sharing this blog and the pictures. Since I can't walk much these days, I'm enjoying your walks through the parks!
ReplyDeleteThank you, glad to be able to bring the beauty of the parks to you!
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