Another National Park that is closer to the majority of us at Penn State is Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio. Although Ohio is not my favorite state in the world, I am still gonna give the park a chance. 🙂 This park is relatively new, being recognized as a National Recreation Area in 1974, but not designated as a National Park until 2000. From the pictures I have seen it reminds me a lot of the landscape and forestry of Pennsylvania, which makes sense considering its close proximity. This may make it slightly less unique to us Pennsylvania natives, but that doesn’t mean it is any less beautiful.

The park features waterfalls, rock cliffs, over 33,000 acres of forest, and is centered on the Cuyahoga River. One of the main things that draws visitors is the changing colors in the fall. The forest turns brilliant shades of orange, yellow, and red, providing a picturesque view for anyone who happens to be in the area. As always, there are many hiking trails that allow you to take in the park in its entirety and get a different view of all of the aspects of the park.

The main centerpiece of most of the hikes are the various waterfalls throughout the park. Some short, easy hikes that provide fantastic views of the falls are Blue Hen Falls Trail (0.5 miles), Brandywine Gorge Trail (1.5 miles), and Bridal Falls and the Buckeye Trail (0.2 miles). The two shorter hikes are flat and easy, and both lead to a different waterfall at the end of the trail. The Brandywine Gorge trail although slightly more of a lengthy hike, provides some of the best views of various waterfalls from the multiple observation decks along the trail (National Park Foundation).

You might be wondering where the park got its unique name. As some of you may have guessed, it stems from Native American roots. The word Cuyahoga actually means crooked river. Native Americans survived off of the river and the surrounding life for years until settlers started to move further West. Initially the Cuyahoga River and area was known for tis great trading posts and most of these were focused on fur trading. Eventually the Natives were pushed off of their land, and the beautiful natural landscape was overrun by the industrial revolution. The river was becoming extremely polluted in the 1800s and 1900s. There was oil, natural gas, sewage, and other pollutants being dumped into the river at an alarmingly fast rate. In 1969, the river actually caught on fire and burned for over 2 hours due to the large amount of flammable materials present in the water. In the 1970s, laws began to be passed about river pollution, and the Cuyahoga began to recover. It made a great recovery, and is now almost as beautiful as it once was (NASA).

There are many more hiking trails and views to see within this park. There are also many other activities such as bike trails, camp sites, and trails open to backpacking. I thought that the history was interesting so I thought that I would focus a bit more on that this week and the amazing recovery of the river. I hope I get to visit this park soon, especially since I wouldn’t even have to fly to get there! Thanks as always for reading my blog.

Citations:

“Cuyahoga Valley National Park (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/cuva/index.htm.

“Cuyahoga Valley National Park.” National Park Foundation, https://www.nationalparks.org/connect/explore-parks/cuyahoga-valley-national-park.

“HISTORY OF THE CUYAHOGA RIVER.” NASA, NASA, https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/fenlewis/History.html.

This week I’m going to be looking into Redwood National Park in California. This park is home to nearly half of the remaining old growth redwood trees in the world. It is no wonder that people flock to the park year round as these trees are a sight to see. They can be taller than 350 feet and some are as old as 2,000 years old. These towering trees are a great reminder of the amazing beauty of nature.

At the park, you may think all there is to do is look at trees, but this is not completely true! There are many hikes of varying difficulty and you can also do other activities such as bike riding, horse back riding, and camping. You can make a day trip to the park to take in the amazing scenery if you are in the area, or you can take a longer stay and camp for the week or weekend. As usual, there are many hikes through this National Park and there are options available for people of all ability levels. The park covers 131,983 acres so there are plenty of different areas to hike through that offer different experiences. 

One trail that is available to hikers that just want a quick, easy walk that will allow them to see the famous Redwood trees is the Lady Bird Johnson Trail. This one mile, flat trail weaves through the gigantic trees and provides an up-close view of them. Anyone can access this trail and it is a great option for families with children or older people. If you want something more challenging, there are options for that too. The Tall Trees Grove hike is one that many people choose to camp overnight in order to complete. You can get a permit to backpack and camp on this hike, which breaks up the 16 mile hike into two more manageable chunks. This allows you to relax on your hike and enjoy the views. The trail is 8 miles one way and leads to the Tall Trees Grove. You can hike one way, camp overnight, and then hike back out in the morning. This is a great opportunity to be immersed in nature and really admire the amazing size of the trees. 

Originally, the land was used by Native Americans who used fallen trees to build shelter. They respected nature and thought of their houses as an extension of nature and therefore a “living being” (National Park Service). When settlers began flocking to California in the 1800s during the gold rush, they pushed Natives off of their land and the initial contact was very violent. These new occupants of the land did not treat the land or trees with the same respect that the Natives had given them. In 1968 the park was established in order to preserve the trees and avoid any destruction of the beautiful land. This beautiful area is now being preserved so that people can continue to see these amazing trees for generations. 

Citations: 

“Redwood Area History.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/historyculture/area-history.htm. 

This week I’m transitioning back to my National Parks topic. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a really cool park that doesn’t require a trip out West like many of the parks I have touched on do. Located in Tennessee, it would require about a nine hour drive to get there from State College, but you could also fly into a closer city if that’s an option for you. It could also be a great option for a visit if you are ever in the area for another reason!

The National Park is one of the most visited in the country. It boasts great hiking trails and views. There are many different hikes available for visitors of all abilities and with all interests. You can pick which trail to take based on what you want to experience on your hike. The Rainbow Falls Hike is one of the most popular during all seasons. It is a 2.7 mile hike out to the waterfall making for a 5.4 mile round trip. The hike is a bit strenuous but when you get to the waterfall, I think it would be well worth it. The waterfall is 80 feet tall, and surrounded by nature, it makes for a great scene. If you go to the park in the winter, it is even possible that the waterfall will freeze into an hourglass shape. This would be super cool to see! If you are feeling adventurous, you can continue on the hike up to the summit of Mt. Le Conte. This is a long hike up a mountain so be prepared for a long day with strenuous conditions if you choose to take the longer route!

Another hike that seems super cool is the Charlies Bunion Hike. This is on the Appalachian Trail, and is a four mile hike one way to the rock formation known as Charlies Bunion. While the name may make it seem unappealing, it is actually a very interesting thing to see. This hike includes some exposed cliffs and navigating rocky terrain, so be ready for some involved hiking on this trail.

One of the most popular hikes in the park is the Chimney Tops Trail. You have to climb a steep incline, but then you get to hike along a ridge on the top where you get amazing views of Mount Le Conte and some rock structures that represent the “chimneys.” This hike seems like a lot of fun, and is yet another one that requires some hiking skills due to the steep, rocky terrain. It is important to wear shoes with good traction and to bring a lot of water if you choose to take on this hike. If I ever go Great Smoky Mountains National Park, this will definitely be on the top of my list.

The forests in the park are made up of very large, old trees that provide some of the country’s the best colors in the fall. People often visit the park during the peak color months. This makes the already amazing views on any of these hikes even more beautiful. I hope you enjoyed learning about some of the different hiking options at Great Smoky Mountain National Park!

Sources:

“Chimney Tops.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/chimney-tops.htm.

“Great Smoky Mountains National Park.” National Park Foundation, https://www.nationalparks.org/connect/explore-parks/great-smoky-mountains-national-park.

Another State Park in the area that is important to my family is Cooks Forest State Park (and campground). We spent many weekends over the summer as kids camping in the Cooks Forest Campground. We had a popup camper and our family friends had a big tent, and both families would go enjoy nature, campfires, good food, and much more.

Camping was a huge part of my childhood, and it was quite the process. My mom would spend hours getting all of the food and supplies ready for these trips. Since there are four young kids with not very many chances to go to a big store, it took a lot of planning and packing. The when we were finally ready to go, we would pile into the big white suburban, stocked with all 6 bikes, board games, yard games, lots of food, and any camping equipment you could think of. When we got to a campsite, it was always so exciting. We would all help set up and get our campsite ready for the weekend, popping up the camper, getting our beds set up, starting the first campfire, and most importantly, exploring the surrounding camp area.

One of our favorite things to do as kids was bike around the campground, going to the playground, and finding other kids to play with. We also loved to play games with the other kids in the family we always went with. We would teach each other the games each of our families played, and run around throwing frisbees and footballs, and kicking around soccer balls.

There were two big activities that we did every time we went camping. First, we always biked across the street back the long dirt road the the trails that led to rock cliffs. The area is called Seneca Point, but when we were kids, it was just the place with the cool rocks. We would spend hours climbing in the rocks, finding caves and spaces to run around in. This was always the highlight of the trip for me, and it seemed like we found something new every time. Going back when I was older, it was not nearly as big as I remembered, but it is still a place that always makes me excited and happy. Another attraction back these trails is the old fire tower. It was originally used to watch the  forest for fires, but is now just a fun thing to climb up. My oldest brother was always scared of heights, and sometimes couldn’t make it to the top which was always funny!

The other big activity of our camping trips to Cooks Forest was our float down the river. The parents would rent canoes, but all of the kids would get tubes and float down the river. This was always so much fun. We could link up together, tie up to the canoes, or have races in the river. It may seem boring but we got very creative with different activities to do on these floats down the river. Sometimes we even found a rock we could jump off of into the river. As we got older and got our kayaks and paddle boards, we would use those on the river. The most recent time we even brought Moose along! (Which he hated even though he absolutely loves the water and swimming) But it was still really fun!

The next few weeks I thought I’d write about something a little closer to home and a little bit different. Pennsylvania unfortunately does not have any National Parks of its own, but it does have 121 State Parks! There are a few State Parks that I visited all the time as a child, so I thought I would share these with you in case you’re ever in the Western PA area looking for something to do.

The first State Park is Moraine State Park and it is only about a 15 minute drive from my house. The main focus of the park is Lake Arthur, which is a man-made lake. The lake draws people from the Pittsburgh area who are looking for an escape from the city. They come to kayak, paddle board, sail, fish, swim, picnic, bike and hike. Another fun aspect of the park is the disc golf course. My dad got into disc golfing and bought a bunch of discs, so we go disc golfing at Moraine and other nearby courses. They actually held the disc golf world championship in the Pittsburgh area in 2015, and my dad and I got to watch at Moraine. This was a very interesting experience for sure!

My family has been going to Moraine ever since I can remember. When we were younger we would swim at the beach and occasionally rent a pontoon boat to have an afternoon on the lake. (My brother even works summers at the boat rental now) This was always a great time! We also had an old sailboat that my dad bought from his brother. My parents took us sailing in the summers and it was always a lot of fun to work on the boat and get it ready for the water. Unfortunately, my dad went sailing by himself one day and flipped the whole boat over. Luckily people helped him get it upright and to shore, but he lost a key part of the boat; the rudder. We never bought a new one because honestly the boat was so old the rudder would cost more than the boat!

As we got older we bought 2 paddle boards and 2 kayaks along with our canoe so that we could all be out on the lake together. One of the most fun activities is running and jumping off of the paddle boards into the lake. The paddle boards are great with friends too! There is even an island in the middle of the lake we can paddle to and have lunch on. This past spring, my dad decided to buy a new sailboat, which is bigger than our old one, but still just as old. It took a lot of work to get it ready to actually sail, but this summer was fun taking sailing trips. We even got our dog, Moose onto the sailboat after much coaxing, and eventually just pushing him. He actually seems to enjoy the sailboat (much more than the paddle boards) he is just terrified of the wobbly dock!

As some of you know my family loves hiking. The past 2 years we have been hiking much more because Moose requires a daily walk or swim or he is insane and won’t sleep. Moraine is our go to hiking spot when we have time to take a real hike. There are so many great trails, including parts of the north country trail.

Thanks for reading about my family and Moraine!