Though the vast majority of visitors flock to Spring Lake in the summer, many people find the other three seasons to be quite atmospheric, especially without the crowds. This is winter in Spring Lake.
One of the 19th century wooden footbridges shining in the rays of the rising sun in winter. During the holidays, each of the pair of footbridges is strung with lights, making for an even more atmospheric experience if you walk across either of them at night.
Every season is delightful in Spring Lake, though I’m especially fond of the off season. This is one of two footbridges that date to the late 1800s.
Divine Park, the home of Spring Lake, is wonderfully forested with white oaks, sugar maples and many other trees that take on a dramatic hue come fall.
Despite traveling all over the world to the most wonderful places, I always return to Spring Lake, New Jersey that’s a bastion of serenity and bucolic scenery.
Sunrise is a special time in Spring Lake.
Spring Lake, New Jersey is a mere two hours by train from New York City. Yet, no matter how many times I visit in the off-season and no matter the weather, I always notice something new in the nature-scape that calms the soul.
In Lisbon’s Parque da Nacoes neighborhood that stretches along the Tagus River, it’s no surprise that most all the attractions are focused around water. I was especially enamored with the myriad volcano towers that erupt every few minutes, gushing water up, out, and into shallow pools.
The waterfront views couldn’t be more enchanting.
It’s easy to practice mindful walking at the tranquil Untermyer Gardens Conservatory, especially in the off season and when visiting mid-week.
Though there’s so much to love, by far, I most enjoyed exploring the Walled Garden with its crenellated walls.
Stepping into the Walled Garden is a magical experience.
Even many New Yorkers are not aware of all the green spaces that are accessible by mass transit from Manhattan. The 46-acre Untermyer Gardens Conservancy in Yonkers is one of those verdant expanses that’s just a relatively short walk from the Metro North’s Greystone station.
The Vista with stairs that gently descend to the Hudson River was modeled on Italy’s Villa D’Este where the stairs cascade down to Lake Como.
The Temple of Love offers stellar views of the Hudson River and looks lovely from just about every angle.
It’s worth exploring the nooks and crannies of the magnificent outcrop that’s capped with the grand Temple of Love.
Wilmington, Delaware may not be on everyone’s must-see list but, especially if you’re a nature lover, it should be. Though most noted for its stellar gardens, such as Winterthur, the Mount Cuba Center, the Nemours Estate and Longwood Gardens, there are numerous other venues to explore on foot or by bicycle that get much less tourist traffic. This is my article on a nature-based journey to Wilmington beyond the obvious sights that I wrote for ForbesLife.
It’s easy to fall in love with Montclair, New Jersey, especially if you delight in parks, gardens and other green spaces. But this cosmopolitan town is also noted for its vibrant culinary and art offerings. Now, the recently opened luxe MC Hotel taps into this scene by sourcing numerous foods and beverages from local makers as well as paintings and other works created by artists who live nearby. This is my recent article for ForbesLife on the MC Hotel.
A lush green landscape and views of the calm Mystic River accompanied me as I jogged more than a mile along Greenmanville Avenue to Historic Downtown Mystic, Connecticut.
This vibrant sculpture sits outside the ever popular S&P Oyster Restaurant that’s set on the scenic Mystic riverfront.
The route I jogged into downtown Mystic is full of botanical delights.
Each section of Montclair — it’s a city with four different downtowns — is blessed with abundance green spaces.
In Upper Montclair, I wandered through a bucolic landscape at Yantacaw Brook Park where it’s easy to sit mindfully on one of the many benches just staring at the clouds and their reflections in the placid water.
In Montclair Center, the grounds of the bucolic Van Vleck House and Gardens are networked with shaded paths that course through dense woodlands. Well-placed benches beckon visitors to sit and stay awhile.
The city of Montclair, New Jersey, is divided into several sections that are easily accessible by New Jersey Transit trains. But no matter where I wandered, I found Montclair, I found a delightful mix of art, cafes and nature-based venues. For example, in Montclair Center, creative outdoor sculptures, both figurative and avant-garde, dot the expansive lawns at the Montclair Art Museum.
In Upper Montclair, I followed a sign for the Mews and wandered down an ivy-coated, brick alley that ends at an atmospheric courtyard. There I discovered a Mediterranean Turkish restaurant and a contemporary art gallery.
You never know what you’ll find at the Catherine Konner Sculpture Park when roaming about the lush grounds that are part of the Rockland Center for the Arts.
Barely two miles from downtown Nyack, New York, the grassy lawns and paths at this sculpture park are dotted with some curious works of art that are worth examining.
It’s so easy to hop on Metro North from Manhattan and quickly escape to a stellar scenic landscape in Irvington, one of the peaceful villages fronting the Hudson River. This is Matthiessen Park, a bucolic public park with numerous distanced picnic tables and benches where you could sit for hours reading a book or working on your laptop.
The 26-some-mile Old Croton Aqueduct Trail that meanders from the Bronx up through the river villages of the Hudson Valley (including Irvington) is a leafy gem with its signature stone cylindrical ventilator shafts peppering the route. I’ve walked numerous portions of this trail.
Sitting in New York Harbor, Governors Island is just a short ferry ride from the Manhattan shoreline yet it feels worlds apart.
And, of course, it’s blanketed with foliage to keep me entranced.
Strolling on the network of flower-laden paths that wend through the Hammock Grove on Governors Island is sheer delight.
In the Hudson Valley, the Olana State Historic Site and Blithewood Garden are stunning. These are a few more images from my recent trip.
Nature and art are interwoven at the Olana State Historic Site, just like the fencing and benches dotting the landscape. It shouldn't come as a surprise, given that this scenic property was largely designed by noted Hudson River School painter, Frederic Church who lived and painted there.
On the forested property of the Olana State Historic Site, this is one of several silk banners - Memento Mori Mandalas - created by artist Portia Munson. They each honor a creature that had been felled by climate change.
Blithewood Garden on the bucolic Bard College campus offers myriad sensory delights, from the sweet fragrance of lavender and other blooms to the sweeping sight of the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains in the distance
On my recent travels to the picturesque village of Tivoli, I jogged just under two miles every day to the banks of the Hudson River, passing this magical house along the way.
Numerous carriage roads wind through the scenic Olana State Historic Site that sprawls along the Hudson River. (It's just a short drive from Tivoli.) Among the myriad botanical species growing on this expansive property, the smoke trees with their cloud-like blooms were especially evocative.
The woodsy campus of Bard College is stunning, especially because of its abundance of gardens. (Many Bard students reside in Tivoli.) The walled Blithewood Garden that's set more than 100 feet above the Hudson River is the most spectacular.
Derelict Pier 54 in Manhattan has been reimagined as Little Island, a new Hudson River installation that adds an almost three-acre green space to the city.
On my recent visit, I found an abundance of stellar flora, though it seemed everyone else seemed to be captivated by selfies.
Spending just an hour climbing the undulating landscape of Little Island and concentrating my attention on the many-hued blooms is a rejuvenating experience.
I noticed dazzling blooms and creative hardscape structures everywhere, even along the stairs and beside the railings.
This is the second of three posts documenting my nature-based findings while visited Wilmington, Delaware, President Biden’s hometown, as well as the surrounding Brandywine Valley.
The myriad colors and textures in the gardens of the Nemours Estate, a grand duPont property, easily allow visitors to be wrapped up in a sense of tranquility that seems endless.
A sense of magic and wonder pervades the stunning grounds of The Inn at Montchanin Village, a former 19th century hamlet and DuPont property that exudes charm and offers a window into a long ago era.
Broad sweeps of verdancy characterize the serene Brandywine Valley that surrounds Wilmington, Delaware.
I recently visited Wilmington, Delaware, President Biden’s hometown, as well as the surrounding Brandywine Valley. This is one of several posts documenting the lush parks and gardens I discovered.
I love coffee and gardens. So imagine my surprise to find not just awesome coffee but the prettiest outdoor seating around at Brew HaHa! cafe in the Greenville suburb of Wilmington. (They also serve tasty breakfast sandwiches.)
Despite the throngs who came to gape at tulips at the expansive Longwood Gardens (just 12 miles away across the border of Pennsylvania), I managed to find a sense of magic in areas that attracted few.
Home to the Enchanted Woods, the Winterthur Gardens in Delaware wraps visitors in a veil of magic no matter where you walk.
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