Tag Archives: hiking

Morristown National Historical Park

January 14, 2020 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

Not as famous as Valley Forge National Historical Park in Pennsylvania, Morristown was the winter camp for the Continental Army during the winter of 1776-77, following the successful Christmas surprise attack on Trenton, New Jersey. General George Washington again chose this site for his 10,000 troops during the winter of 1779-80, considered by historians as the harshest weather of the 18th century. Morristown was established as the nation’s first National Historical Park in 1933.

Highlights

Ford Mansion, films, Wick House, replica huts at Jockey Ridge

Must-Do Activity

In the town of Morristown, the Georgian-style Ford Mansion served as George and Martha Washington’s home during the winter of 1779-80. Tours inside the house start at the museum behind it, which also has exhibits and a film. Down the road, there are no remains of the earthworks built in 1777 at Fort Nonsense, but interpretive panels at the site explain its strategic position and how it later got its name.

Best Trail

A short trail leads from a parking area up a small hill to replicas of soldiers’ huts at Jockey Ridge. There are a total of 27 miles of trails in this section of the park that are also open to horseback riding and cross-country skiing.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The Wick House at Jockey Hollow has been restored to its 1750 appearance. It served as the quarters for Major General Arthur St. Clair during the winter of 1779-80. Costumed interpreters are sometimes on hand to take visitors inside the farmhouse.

Peak Season

Summer, though winter is more authentic to the American Revolution.

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/morr/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads paved and parking is free

Camping

Allamachy Mountain State Park is about 20 miles northwest of Morristown, New Jersey.

Gateway National Recreation Area (New York-New Jersey)

Thomas Edison National Historical Park (New Jersey)

Explore More – Morristown National Historical Park is part of which National Heritage Area and located along which National Historic Trail?

Utah

Bryce Canyon National Park

January 9, 2020 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

Bryce Canyon is not really a canyon at all, but instead a cliffside amphitheater eroded away into extravagant creamsicle-colored hoodoos. Your first view from Sunrise or Sunset Point will surely take your breath away and not just because you are standing above 7,000 feet in elevation. A portion of the main park road is only open during the busy summer season, but seeing the amphitheater under a fresh carpet of white snow makes the effort worthwhile to get here in the winter. Learn more about the logistics of a winter visit in our first travel guidebook to the National Parks (available on Amazon).

Highlights

Sunrise Point, Sunset Point, Navajo Loop Trail, Queens Garden Trail, Natural Bridge, Rainbow Point

Must-Do Activity

The amphitheater is beautiful from the overlooks, but to really experience this park you have to hike down from the rim. Peakaboo Loop is a strenuous four-mile hike with approximately 1,700 feet cumulative elevation gain that offers up close views of the hoodoos. It is accessed from Sunset Point or Bryce Point. You could easily spend your whole trip in this northern section of the park and not be disappointed, but be sure to take a slow drive south with stops at Natural Bridge and Rainbow Point to complete the experience.

Best Trail

It is four miles out and back on the Under-the-Rim Trail from Bryce Point to the Hat Shop, in the quiet backcountry area where hoodoos are topped with boulders (like they are wearing hats). Ask a park ranger about the “I Hiked the Hoodoos” program to earn a prize.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Douglas-fir trees snake their way to the light in the narrow Wall Street section of the Navajo Loop Trail. A photograph of Tiff walking into a snowy Wall Street made the cover (see below) of our first travel guidebook to the National Parks (available on Amazon).

Peak Season

Summer due to long, snowy winters at this elevation.

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/brca/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

$35 per vehicle or America the Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

The main park road is paved, but there are dirt roads that access the lower elevations of the park, though we have been warned that they are in rough shape.

Camping

The National Park Service has a campground that is open year round, but we prefer camping along the dirt roads in adjacent Dixie National Forest. A free permit is required to camp in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Related Sites

Cedar Breaks National Monument (Utah)

Zion National Park (Utah)

Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)

This photograph is for sale on Imagekind.com

*This design we created to celebrate Bryce Canyon National Park is available on a variety of products at* Cafe Press and Amazon.

Explore More – Who described Bryce Canyon as “a hell of a place to lose a cow?”

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Georgia

Fort Frederica National Monument

December 17, 2019 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

The colony of Georgia was established by James Oglethorpe to be an alcohol-free utopia open to commoners in debtors’ prison back in England. The aristocrats quickly discarded those ideals and introduced slavery after founding a town on the Savannah River in 1733. That same year, to the south the Spanish constructed Fort Mose as a sanctuary to slaves who fled the British. In response, Oglethorpe created Fort Frederica on St. Simons Island, with a palisade and 10-foot wide moat around the entire town. Further, he led an unsuccessful siege of St. Augustine, Florida in 1740. The Spanish retaliated, but were defeated at Bloody Marsh despite owning a two-to-one advantage in soldiers.

Highlights

Museum, ruins of colonial fort, Bloody Marsh Battle Site

Must-Do Activity

Fort Frederica’s regiment was disbanded in 1749 and the town was abandoned within a decade when it was mostly destroyed by fire. Today, visitors can walk the ruins underneath picturesque live oak trees draped in Spanish moss. Fort Frederica National Monument is part of the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor that honors the unique traditions brought by slaves from West Africa and retained over the centuries on these isolated Atlantic coastal islands. Cooking gumbo with okra, weaving sweetgrass baskets, and using the word “guber” for peanut are all examples of how the Gullah/Geechee culture has survived into modern times.

Best Trail

A self-guided tour passes excavated foundations of the town underneath Spanish moss-draped live oak trees. During our visit in 2016, Hurricane Matthew had knocked down trees closing some of the trails.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The British established Fort Frederica to stop Spanish encroachment from Florida into their American colonies. The town that formed around the fort peaked at a population of 1,000. Today it is a beautiful setting with tabby wall ruins and Spanish moss-draped trees.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/fofr/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None, there is no longer a toll for the F.J. Torras Causeway that accesses St. Simons Island.

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

Jekyll Island State Park offers camping 13 miles southeast of Brunswick, Georgia.

Cumberland Island National Seashore (Georgia)

Fort Caroline National Memorial (Florida)

Explore More – Fort Frederica was named for which member of the British royalty?

Arkansas

Arkansas Post National Memorial

December 12, 2019 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

Arkansas Post National Memorial is in the southeastern section of its namesake state near the confluence of the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers. The French first settled this area in 1686 in order to trade with a large village of Quapaw Indians. From 1763-1800 the fort was controlled by the Spanish, who were attacked by the British here in 1783 in what became known as the Colbert Incident, considered one of the final battles in the American Revolution.

Highlights

Museum, film, ruins, cannons, wildlife, fishing

Must-Do Activity

Following the Louisiana Purchase, the post briefly served as the territorial capital, then that moved to Little Rock, Arkansas in 1821. It fell into decline until Fort Hindman was built during the Civil War, after which time much of the shoreline was washed away by the Arkansas River. There are not many human structures left to see at the site, but the bayou offers great opportunities for birdwatching.

Best Trail

A trail passes Park Lake through the Old Townsite to shoreline views of Post Bayou and the Arkansas River. A trench dug by the Confederate army during the Civil War is also visible from the trail and a side road north of the visitor center.

Instagram-worthy Photo

There are plenty of cannons around to pose with, but Tiff was most excited about the original location of The Arkansas Gazette newspaper that started right here in 1819 and is still printed today in Little Rock (which is where she grew up with Wondon).

Peak Season

Spring and fall when there are less mosquitoes.

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/arpo/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

Camping is not allowed within the park, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages campgrounds at Pendleton Bend and Merrisach Lake Park.

Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)

Natchez Trace Parkway (Mississippi-Tennessee)

Explore More – Following the 1863 Civil War battle to take the fort, how many Confederate soldiers were taken prisoner?

Maine

Saint Croix Island International Historic Site

December 10, 2019 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

Administered cooperatively by the National Park Service (NPS) and Parks Canada, Saint Croix Island International Historic Site has a unique location in the middle of the Saint Croix River on the boundary between Maine and New Brunswick. It is the only International Historic Site designated in the 419 units of the NPS system. Under the leadership of Lieutenant General Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons, the island was the site of a short-lived French colony, founded in April 1604 and abandoned by May 1605 after a hard winter when the settlers relocated to Port Royal, Nova Scotia.

Highlights

Sculptures, tidepooling

Must-Do Activity

There are no ferries to the 6.5-acre island, but the miniature NPS visitor center and a short walking trail on the river banks provide a thorough background on its history. Six bronze statues offer a glimpse into the past, and all interpretative information is offered in both English and French. Private boats are allowed access to the island during daylight hours. Parks Canada also manages a visitor centre across the river in New Brunswick, as well as Port-Royal National Historic Site in Nova Scotia.

Best Trail

The Saint Croix River is tidally influenced in its lower reaches near Passamaquoddy Bay. If you continue past the pavilion at the end of the short interpretive trail, you can access the beach for tidepooling at low tide. Just up the road at Devil’s Head Conservation Area, a gravel road accesses the river shoreline and a 1.3-mile trail that provides an overlook of the area.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Pick your favorite of the six bronze sculptures to pose with. The native Passamaquoddy traded furs to the French settlers for European goods, like iron cooking pots.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/sacr/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Access road is paved, but be aware that our GPS unit had the wrong location for the NPS visitor center.

Camping

Camping is not permitted on Saint Croix Island. Your best bet might be to the head south to the campgrounds at Acadia National Park.

Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument (Maine)

Acadia National Park (originally established as Sieur de Monts National Monument, Maine)

You are looking at the full extent of the museum inside the NPS visitor center.

Explore More – Since Saint Croix Island was located in the center of a brackish river, where did the French settlers have to go for fresh drinking water?

Start your U.S. National Forests, National Parks, and National Monuments adventure here!