Canoe Creek State Park

This past weekend I took a "girl trip" out to my grandfather's cabin in mid-PA with my mom and sister (and of course, the three dogs!)  Going to the cabin always means exploring new places to hike, and Saturday was a good day to try out a new state park, so Glenna and I went to "Canoe Creek State Park."

We did two different trails, starting with the "Fisherman's Path".  We followed that trail lakeside for a while, and over the top of the dam, with a lovely outlook of the Canoe Lake.  From there we took a steep uphill trail called the Sugarloaf Trail to a vista on top of a small mountain before descending.

Sugarloaf Trail

Perri was with us and I allowed her a rare moment off leash on the lakeside.  She even retrieved out of the lake a few times for me.  I am so proud of her!

We returned to the car and drove to the eastern edge of the park where more hiking trails (and geocaches) drew us in.  We spent a lot of time walking up hills, and more hills, and at the end...a very steep hill!  The woods were lovely, though and the weather was a perfect autumn evening.

We came upon some historic limekilns off of the Moore's Hill Trail.  They were my favorite part of this park.  They were so enormous, so rich with history, it had me imagining what it must have been like to work with such equipment and how difficult it must have been.

We made our way back to the car by way of the Mattern Hill trail - the last big hill I mentioned above.  Whew!  The view was worth it, though.  Isn't it always?