Fall color is peaking this week. I love this time of year, so I decided to block two days this week to do a little Pennsylvania leaf tourism.
Today (Wednesday) was day 1. I dropped my 6-year-old off at school, filled the van with gas, and headed north to Hawk Mountain. You spend the first hour on the turnpike, but then turn off into some more rustic parts of the state. We’re talking red barns against lines of golden trees — lovely.
I got to the preserve around 10:40, parked, and did two hikes. The first was to the “North lookout” — a great viewing spot where you can see hawks flying over the hills. Then I did part of the “River of rocks” trail — you go down a steep, rocky hillside to a field covered in boulders. You can do a loop, but I needed to get back for kid stuff, so I just went to the first boulder field, ate a snack, and came back up.
It was a nice way to get my 10,000 steps. It was all a little rocky but I managed to hike swiftly with only a little toe stubbing and one time putting my ankle somewhere it should not have been. And the colors were amazing! There’s something about red and yellow leaves against the white stone that is just stunning. Not bad for a 5.5 hour adventure.
