“I wanted to unfurl my toes for a little while. I wanted silence, isolation and an invitation to exhale life’s complications. I heard nature’s melody and I harmonised with every single note. I needed the trees, their colours, and the sounds of wildlife breathing. I inhaled the essence of the forest and smiled as life coursed through my veins” 
―Amelia Dashwood

“There is always an adventure waiting in the woods.” 
―Katelyn S. Bolds

“Nature is one of the most underutilized treasures in life. It has the power to unburden hearts and reconnect to that inner place of peace.” 

-Janice Anderson

Today I decided to try hiking a little more locally than I usually do. Instead of traveling to Dutchess or Orange county, I went in the opposite direction to Westchester County. Located just off of route 121 in Pound Ridge, NY, Ward Pound Ridge Reservation offers many hiking trails, camping and picnic areas in what is truly a pristine area of the county.

The standard warnings located on the opposite end of the Kimberly Bridge parking area.

The Blue trail heading up towards the remnants of a fire tower. 

This is the spot where a fire tower used to stand. 

I am not going to lie, whenever I do a loop hike I look at the map and try to determine the easiest way to traverse it. Even though this hike started with a pretty steep climb, when I finished I was glad that I hadn’t gone the other way! If you look at the picture below, I took it after hiking down this section. If I had been coming from the opposite direction I would have had to scramble to get up this section of the trail.

As with other parks in the Hudson Valley, these woods are filled with enough varied terrain and landscape to keep things interesting!

An inchworm making its way to safety!

The first half of this hike was a decent mix of soft earth, grass and rocks. The second half was all on a woods road. After climbing pretty steeply and then navigating some pretty tricky descents, the hiking was easy all of the way back to the parking area.

The woods road leading to the parking area.

When I finished, I did take the opportunity to sit on the bench to rest and enjoy the view.

If you are looking for a place to hike and maybe have a BBQ or picnic, then this is the place for you. I don’t know how crowded this park is on the weekends, but when I was here today, it was very quiet.

Happy hiking!!

Summer 2017 Mileage:

8/9/17-4.1-96.22