The Appalachian Trail is one of the longest trails in the US, covering the area from Maine to…read moreGeorgia. This review will focus on the Pawling Nature Reserve and beyond north of it. The AT covers 2.8 miles inside the park, which I traveled most of the time, from the red trail intersection until the AT meets with the yellow (traveling north). Some fallen trees are located along the way. It overlaps the Yellow and Red Trail further north until the Red and AT branches off from the Yellow to the left. At this point, the AT and RED overlap. There are decent views along the way looking east towards Connecticut. Eventually, the red branches to the right and the AT continues straight, exiting PNR. The views are still visible. This section covers many hills, thankfully not too steep. I still found trees knocked over. The furthest I made it was past Leather Hill Road, and I turned around. I enjoyed this section, and there's a lot more to explore. It would be nice to see some maintenance done.

Amazing hidden gem right in the town of Pawling!…read more Can't believe this place even exists. So much hiking, connects with other states. You can hike and hike and hike for days. Sadly, not being much of a hiker myself, I only lasted like 20 minutes because it decided to snowstorm in the middle of May. Yep, pure craziness! Also, I got distracted with the milk cows that just hang out. I mean, I see an animal and I MUST approach animal. She wanted to social distance but I refused! She said "mooooov-it" and I ended up having to go before I upset this cute friendly cow. Awesome trail that you can go either for an easy walk or get more deep in there. Can't wait to actually explore more and enjoy these views. It's even a great spot for photos on your phone or camera. Just a great spot in general to come to for a little walk. You can climb over the electric fences with the little stairs they have, just be careful. Oh, and if you're scared of cows, don't worry, they won't bother you if you don't bother them. Parking situation: you can pull over on the side carefully and park there!

If you're like us, it would be easy enough to drive accidentally into a unit complex which come…read moreright before the turnoff for the parking lot. The lot is big enough for a good two dozen vehicles, and the entrance and the beginning of the Black Creek trail comes right off the far end of the parking lot. The suspension bridge is pretty and gives a great view of the creek, and leads right into yellow trail, which we didn't pick. Black Creek trail has a mostly gentle slope, fully paved, and is about 0.6 mile long, and it culminates in Cedar Point Outlook with a gazebo and a large open field with several benches where the creek really opens up. There's a restroom next to what looks like a caretaker's cottage. We couldn't figure out how to get to the other outlooks from Cedar Point, so if anyone knows, please share. I appreciate this space being maintained and open for all to enjoy. **You can only enter and exit the parking lot one way, so please watch for the signs.

I absolutely love this preserve! The trails are great and challenging. Perfect place to go alone…read moreor with family or dogs or all of the above! Lots of opportunities for beautiful nature shots. It's a really good spot to hike if you are dealing with anxiety or PTSD. If you want a beautiful setting and some nature time then this is your spot.

Seeing pictures is one thing, but the hike is a whole another story. Let's just say a lot of ups…read moreand downs and rocks in the way; but that's not all. Getting to the peak has loads of great views. Some places on the trail is pretty unclear where to go, as we ended going off the trail. It took a bit to notice, and I was asking to my friend, "where's the red marker?" 15 minutes in (see photo). We ended up turning around. Silly us. Just keep an eye out for it on the tree barks. If someone's not in best shape, it's good to stop once in awhile to catch a breath. Go slow in areas where it's very steep. On a side note, *Definitely bring water bottles.* We never got to the end of the trail, but that will be for another trip.

So the parking lot is kind of small, there's room for just a handful of cars. Next, no maps or…read moreinformational posts were available and one of the trails had no tree markers. It was very confusing and we were unsure where we would end up. We got to a nice overlook and stayed there for a while then turned back. We didn't finish the whole trail because we didn't even know where to go. It took us 3 hrs roundtrip to the mountain overlook and back to the parking lot. Very uphill and rocky trails and slippery with all the leaves. Definitely not a walk in the park

This a a fantastic area to camp in, there are SO MANY things you can do in the neighborhood…read more(Vanderbilt mansion, CIA, Roosevelt presidential library and museum, orchards and farms, walkway over the Hudson). In terms of the campground, the bathrooms and showers are great. The actual campsite are way too close together and there are these little seed pod things that get everywhere and are harmless, but kind of suck anyway.

Well well, Norrie State Park was the first discovery for me when I was on a field trip during my…read morehigh school career when we visited the Norrie Point Environmental Center. This review is going toward the hiking me and my friend experienced, and it was a good one. We parked at the closet entrance, which is on the left. We took the blue trail which is 4.59 miles to exist (making it the longest trail). Some of the markers along the way are not clearly marked as we ended up going the wrong way, making it confusing. One of the blue markers on a tree was facing at the wrong angle. We then figured it out later on thankfully, as we saw the marker up ahead. With me being good with maps and getting around, we ended up going off the path onto the main road to the Hudson River close up. There are a couple of spaces for parking. We got back on the blue trail as it did a big loop and got on the red trail for a bit, until reaching the main road and followed that to the parking lot where we parked. There are multiple trails along the way to take in, as the white trail, according to the map follows the river, which looks appealing. That will be for another visit. To keep life simple, there should be more maps provided along with updated signage for trail colors, which will then bring up my rating.

It doesn't get any better than finding discoveries, and Pinewoods is one of them. Appealing to the…read moreeye from the parking lot is a playground, tennis court, and basketball court. There is also a skateboarding park added to the mix and also a pavilion. One trail is provided in the park which is assigned orange and loops around Pinewoods, going through the woods with gradient changes (be careful) and cutting through the grassy field. It also parallels the Crum Elbow Creek with a waterfall making it a highlight from an upper view and getting close to the water. Something to be careful of is the mud that covers the trail. Obviously, with heavy rains, it can be a huge issue, but take caution as it can be slippery. Sunny days for a period of time shouldn't be a concern, but they can still be there. Getting around it can be done, but requires climbing and can be steep on the dry area. Maybe an upgrade could be a benefit for this issue. All in all, a good park to check out.

Fantastic local playground, situated down off Rhinecliff Rd and minutes from the center of town…read more Fenced in area with expansive playground area with plenty of open space for children 5-12 to run around. Benches surround the playground with an open pavilion nearby with picnic tables and a parking lot area.

This is a nice easy set of trails, flat or gentle hills. The forest and grassland areas are quite…read morenice. For the most part, the trails are well maintained, although I do think the trail markings/signage could be clearer. I started at the kiosk trail head and the first turnoff for the trail can be easy to miss(in fact, I did.) The initial part of the trail is nice dark gravel, but it veers into a field where the trail is just a mown path and the sign for the turnoff is an unassuming post with orange and green squares on it tucked back into the growth. Also at one point off the blue loop, I ended up in a strange area with farm equipment with a sign posted about private property. So I turned back to the loop. I never even saw how to get to the white or red trails. So what I saw was nice but I'd like to come back and try to find what I missed. Maybe I'm just hopelessly directionally challenged. I did take a picture of the map at the trailhead but still found parts confusing. I saw a fox following the paths several times, which was pretty exciting:) There was a pool, playground and community garden but I didn't really check those out.

Bulls Bridge is a historic covered bridge in Kent, CT. It goes over the Housatonic River and was…read morebuilt in 1842. It is still open for vehicles to drive over it. There is only one other covered bridge in the state that still allows vehicles to drive over it. There is a small parking lot nearby. You can walk on the bridge but it is very tight and there are no sidewalks, just becareful for oncoming traffic. The bridge is beautiful and the view of the river is great; there are small openings inside the bridge to view. There are trails nearby and you can even see the dam spillway. I'm a fan of history and covered bridges, so this was definitely worth a visit and a bucket list item for me. I reduced a star because it can be potentially hazardous for pedestrians. It's only one lane so vehicles from both directions would have to stop at the stop sign and let one another pass. Overall, a beautiful and well made structure!

There are not a lot of surviving covered bridges in the northeast (only three in Connecticut!) so…read moreit was pretty awesome to be able to visit this one that carries Bull's Bridge Road over the Housatonic River in Connecticut, very close to the New York border. The bridge was completed in 1842 with a Town lattice design. The bridge is a single lane and remains open to vehicular traffic. I opted to park the Sprinter van in a nearby parking area that acts as a trailhead. The bridge can be walked as a pedestrian but is not designed for such, so be on the lookout for cars and be sure to make your presence known. There was originally a 6 cent toll here but that is obviously long gone. The other two bridges are the West Cornwall Covered Bridge and the Comstock's Bridge. [Round number review 1700 of 2024 - 103 in Connecticut - 22723 overall]

I was tricked. I walked all the way to the top, walked down the other side...no burgers…read more That said, this is a gorgeous spot for a short, steep walk. The trail heads straight up a large hill, but it was still doable for my young kids, and my old, out of shape friends as well. And a puppy. There's a parking lot right off the road to leave your car, and whenever you head over there, it's going to be a good time...but golden hour into sunset makes for a nice evening. You can see for miles around from the top, and it's just pretty. I bet it's beautiful in all seasons; we've only hit it in fall so far, but I imagine it could be great for an epic sled run as well. Once again though, there are no burgers on this hill. If you need a good one, Del's Roadside is only a couple minutes away. And you earned it by walking up a hill.

What a great spot to go for a walk. Many trails available with all kinds of incline. The top of the…read morehill provides a gorgeous 360° view. Lots of parking available. The park is nice and clean, and has a few benches to stop and savor the area. Even though it is pretty close to the road, you do not really hear traffic sounds. You really feel like you're away from it all.