Since fall was on hold for a few days we decided to join our friends E, A, and their mommy at Nockamixon State Park for a jaunt around the Sterner's Mill Trail. This is the only trail in the park that is strictly for hikers - no horses - but hunting is permitted in the area so be sure to wear your orange if you go during hunting season.
I love the way this trail winds through the woods and over a very quaint little bridge (that the children love to play on of course) down to the lake. Once you reach the lake which is the perfect place to rest and snack, the trail continues along the lake for a short while and then pops you into this awesome hemlock forest. It reminds me of the woods in Norway and trolls. The first time Z and I hiked the trail we looked all over for trolls but didn't find any!
It was a lovely day and the children enjoyed themselves. Our two youngest hikers enjoyed riding and even walked themselves for some of this hike. While many of the leaves were just starting to change there was plenty of color to keep us in awe.
I think the children would tell you the best part of this hike is the abandoned picnic pavilion at the end. They all ran around for nearly an hour playing under the pavilion. It was a stage, a field, and so much more.
Well the weather didn't exactly cooperate with our plans to hike Hawk Mountain on a Saturday. Fortunately, the forecast for Sunday was fantastic and it turned out to be a wonderful day. 
We in Pennsylvania are extremely lucky to have this wonderful raptor sanctuary in our backyard. Hawk Mountain is world renown for the work that they do in tracking the annual fall migration of raptors to their southern wintering spots. With the help of many, many volunteers each fall the raptors that pass by this point in the the Blue Mountain range are tracked and recorded. What a wonderful place.
It turned out to be a beautiful day unfortunately there were very few raptors. However, I think everyone who joined us had a wonderful time scrambling up and down the rocks to get to the outcroppings for a better view of the valley below.
The trails at Hawk Mountain are rocky and often steep. It is not the friendliest environment for little hikers but it seemed that everyone did fine and enjoyed themselves. I encourage everyone to try to make it back to the Sanctuary during the off season for a less crowded hike out to the Northern Lookout. The view is spectacular. And check out the calendar of events for lots of fun family outing during the fall, winter, and spring.
I even got a glimpse of my favorite native winter ground cover (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi). Not only do I love the plant but the Latin name just rolls off your tongue. Get outdoors! See you next month at Green Lane Park!
