Woodlands Close to Mystic, Connecticut

I'm obsessed with green spaces. So even when I traveled recently to Mystic, Connecticut for business, I was determined to find walking or hiking trails. Bluff Point State Park is one of those bucolic locales just minutes from the Marriott Hotel and Spa where my meetings were held.  Sited on a peninsula beside the Pequonot River, the park is networked with paths for walking, hiking or mountain biking. On a cold winter day, I had the place to myself as I wandered beside the placid waters where, in the summer, it's likely you'll see kayakers and sail boats. Because glaciers once covered this area, the boulders dotting the area are no surprise, left behind by the glacial retreat. This vast landscape with coastal woodland populated mostly by oaks and hickory, sand dunes, salt marsh and grassland is considered the only remaining large undeveloped public land on Connecticut's coast.

continue reading "Woodlands Close to Mystic, Connecticut"

Walking Through California's Wine Country

Of course California's Napa Valley is synonymous with wines. But this picturesque land blanketed by vineyards is also dotted with leafy parks, perfect for human powered activities, namely hiking and walking. Whether you're an oenophile or a foodie, next time you're visiting this placid valley, pay a visit to any of the following for a whole different take on the wine country:

• Not far from downtown Calistoga, the Bothe-Napa Valley State Park has some lovely but rugged paths, including the Redwood and Ritchey Canyon Trails where you'll come face to face with towering redwoods and Douglas fir trees. With more than 10 miles of trails, you could easily spend the day here or make it just a short visit by passing the time strolling along the creek. This park is one of my favorite picnic spots in the area.


• Not only can you check out a grist mill from the 1840s at the Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park but you can also walk from here to the Bothe-Napa Valley State Park. (It's only two miles.) The mill building is only open on weekends but it provides you with insights into an activity -- the milling of corn and wheat -- that was important to the community until it ended in the early 1900s.

• The Robert Lewis Stevenson State Park marks the spot where the author spent his honeymoon in 1880. I love the dense woodland of Pondersona pine, black oak and Douglas that the shady Stevenson Memorial Trail snakes through. Continue hiking farther uphill and you'll get a dramatic viewpoint of the entire Napa Valley, Mt. Diablo and the snowy Sierra Nevada mountains. If you've got the energy, you can continue climbing for several more miles to the top of Mount St. Helena for some supreme viewpoints of the surrounding peaks.

• What could be stranger than getting a fascinataing lesson in geology in the wine country? The Petrified Forest, the only such redwood forest in the world, allows you to take a self-guided walk to examine the curious gray-white specimens. (The Queen tree is said to have been 2,000 years old when it was buried.) In case you're wondering how the trees came to become petrified -- they were buried by volcanic ash more than 3 million years ago. But they weren't discovered until the 19th century. Visit on a Sunday and you'll be treated to a naturalist-led walk on the Meadow Trail where you'll learn more about petrification.

continue reading "Walking Through California's Wine Country"

The Florida Keys Are Still Wild

Driving from Key Largo to Key West, many people find it difficult to imagine what Florida must've been like before malls and wall-to-wall resorts invaded the area. Yet, all t takes to experience the wilderness of the Florida Keys is to make a very short detour off the main highway or take a pleasant ferry ride. Some of the wilderness venues are so close to the main drag, it's almost hard to believe it when residents admit they've never heard of a particular spot. There are more than half a dozen of these nature preserves to choose from. On my last trip to the Keys, I based in Islamorada and took day trips to each of these leafy destinations below:


• The Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park is just off Route 1. It's the largest remaining tropical hardwood forest in the U.S. and home to endangered plants and animals. Thanks to the signs and labels along the paths, it's easy to pick up plenty of botanical facts about the Jamaican dogwood whose leaves were once used to stun fish or the Bahama strongbark tree whose tea is said to be revitalizing.

• At Indian Key Historic State Park, rangers lead treks through this 10-acre greenspace that has a colorful past. The rogue wrecker bought the island and built one of Florida's first post offices; an agriculturist introduced agave and prickly pear; and a band of Native Americans attacked in the 1800s destroying most of the island's structures. You'll see the ruins of the town square and be able to roam trials that were once busy streets.

• Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park is one of the last virgin tropical forests in the Keys. The park is named for the endangered medicinal tree that 's said to possibly be the tree of the Garden of Eden and also the source of the Holy Grail. Rangers also lead guided walks on the island where you'll find plenty of oddly named and lush foliage. Kayaking, snorkeling and fishing are three other top activities you may want to consider both here and at Indian Key.

• The Crane Point Museum, Nature Center and Historic Site is a 60-some-acre wilderness preserve that is sure to satisfy botany and history buffs alike. Here you'll find the Adderley House, the oldest house in the Keys outside of Key West. It's constructed of sand, shells, lime and rocks. Walk the trails that wind past fresh water ponds and mangrove forests with blue herons and white ibis.

• In Long Key State Park, visitors can walk the pleasant Golden Orb Trail, so named for the spider whose web is many times stronger than the same mass of steel. It meanders through a dense mangrove forest to an observation tower high above the forest.

continue reading "The Florida Keys Are Still Wild"