Grandview Nature Preserve

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Hampton VA

The Park

Winslow Lewis was a sea captain turned engineer and inventor in the early 19th century. He created a new lighting system based on Argand oil lamps and in 1812 the United States Congress awarded him a contract to equip all American lighthouses with his lamps. Lewis was soon building most of the new lighthouses in the country. He developed standard cookie-cutter plans for brick lighthouses in five sizes. He came here in 1829 to construct a 30-foot tower on Grandview Beach. The Back River Lighthouse, keeper’s quarters and a 144-foot bridge over the marsh all cost less than $5,000. In reality, Winslow Lewis knew little about accepted engineering standards and most of his lighthouses were poorly constructed or too short for their intended purpose. Most had to be replaced but the Back River Light soldiered on, illuminating the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay until it was de-commisioned in 1936. The historic lighthouse was left to deteriorate, overlooked by preservationists. In 1956 a hurricane washed it away. All that remains of the Back River Light, once built safely inland, is a jumble of rocks many yards offshore. Back on land, the Commonwealth of Virginia has created a 578-acre preserve at the north end of Hampton.

The Walks

You bring your dog to Grandview to hike on its more than two miles of white sand beach. A short trail through the marsh and dunes curves to the Chesapeake but you can no longer hike on the dunes so the beach is it. And that’s plenty for most dogs. Up and down the beach until you can go no more.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Sand

Workout For Your Dog - Level walking throughout.

Swimming - The gentle surf will beckon even the most timid of dogs into the water.

Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are not allowed in the Preserve from May 15 to September 15.

Something Extra

For most true crime buffs the sensational murder case of the 1930s was the New Jersey kidnap case of Charles Lindbergh’s baby. But Grandview had its share of sensational headlines at that time as well. In September 1931, Elisha Kent Kane III, a university professor from a prominent Pennsylvania family, brought his young wife to Grandview Beach to learn how to swim. Jenny Graham Kane was apparently terrified of the water and the shallow lapping of the Chesapeake Bay seemed benign enough. But something went terribly wrong that day. Kane was soon racing his car through the streets of Hampton with his wife slumped unconscious beside him. When he reached the hospital she was dead. Kane would be tried for his wife’s murder but no one - including the jury - could decide if he was a grief-stricken husband or a cold-blooded killer. After less than four hours of deliberation Elisha Kane was acquitted but even today no one knows the real story of what happened that day at Grandview Beach.

Phone Number - None

Website

Admission Fee - None

Directions - Hampton; From I-64 take Exit 263B onto Mercury Boulevard North. Take a left on Foxhill Road and a left on Beach Road. Continue on Beach Road for 2.6 miles, and then turn left on State Park Drive. Park along the road and walk to the entrance at the end of State Park Drive.

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Jockey's Ridge State Park

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Nags Head NC

The Park

Jockey’s Ridge, with heights varying from 80 to 100 feet, is the tallest natural sand dune system on the Atlantic seacoast. The vast expanse of sand stays in place due to the shifting winds that blow the massive sand pile back one way and then back the other. Once discovered, the naked hilltops served as an important navigational landmark for European explorers. Its name is though to survive from wild pony races staged in the flats at the base of the dune. As access to the Outer Banks barrier islands increased after World War II development pressures galvanized local groups into action to save the dunes. In 1974 Jockey’s Ridge was designated a National Natural Landmark. The state park began taking shape the next year and today encompasses 420 acres.

The Walks

This is the closest thing you will find to mountain-climbing for your dog on the Carolina coasts - all on sand. Your dog is welcome to play anywhere throughout this vast sand box. The soft sands, steep dunes and stiff winds can make for invigorating canine hiking at Jockey’s Ridge. And avoid the middle of a summer day - the sands can be as much as 30 degrees hotter than the air temperature and can burn a dog’s paw pads. For dogs who like their walking more structured there are two interpretive nature trails marked by posts across the dunes. The 1.5-mile Tracks in the Sand Trail departs from the Visitor’s Center and highlights the signs in the sand left by small mammals, reptiles, birds, insects and even plants that have adapted to this desert environment. The 1-mile Soundside Overlook Trail explores the four different environments of the park including shrub forest and brackish marsh. Both trails lead to the sandy edge of the Roanoke Sound estuary where the gentle waters make an ideal canine swimming pool - or a cool walkway through the shallows.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Sand, sand and more sand

Workout For Your Dog - Absolutely

Swimming - If your dog finds the Roanoke Sound waters too tame the Atlantic Ocean is only a couple of blocks away - and dogs are allowed on the Nags Head beach year-round.

Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs can roam the dunes 

Something Extra

If you can divert your eyes from the ocean and sound views take some time to scan the sand for evidence of lightning strikes. When lightning scorches the sand at two thousand degrees Fahrenheit it fuses the sand grains together. The result of each strike is a glass-lined tube called a Fulgurite. If your dog sniffs one out, take a picture and bring it to the park office.

Phone Number - (252) 441-7132

Website 

Admission Fee - None

Directions - Nags Head; at Milepost 12 on the South Croatan Highway (Route 158 Bypass) on the Outer Banks.

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Double Trouble State Park

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Bayville NJ

The Park

Sawmills have operated at this site on the Cedar Creek, processing dense stands of Atlantic White Cedar into shingles and ship masts. Over time cranberries were planted in the swamps vacated by the harvested trees. In 1909 the entire area became the Double Trouble Cranberry Company. The name supposedly comes from problems with the dams used to sustain the bogs. One theory has two wash outs in a single spring rainy season inspiring the name and another traces it to two separate leaky holes gnawed in a dam by muskrats. Today the park centers around Double Trouble Historic Village, a cluster of 14 surviving structures from the late 1800s.

The Walks

The park preserves more than 8000 acres of natural Pine Barrens habitat but you will experience just a tiny slice of it on just a single trail in Double Trouble State Park. The 1.5-mile Nature Trail leaves on an old sand road along a series of cranberry bogs. You leave the open area around the ponds with a sharp right turn into a dark avenue of Atlantic Cedar. The trees were once thought to be limitless in the Pinelands when the sawmills were running full force. You and your dog will have experienced what lies beyond in millions of acres of the Pine Barrens in a short, exceedingly pleasant outing.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Sandy dirt

Workout For Your Dog - Long, flat hikes possible

Swimming - Ponds, canals

Restrictions On Dogs - None

Something Extra

The cranberry is a native American fruit that was harvested naturally in the Pine Barrens for centuries. Commercial production began around 1835 in New Jersey and today only Massachusetts and Michigan grow more cranberries, named because its flower resembles a craning neck. The restored cranberry sorting and packing house at Double Trouble park is the finest of its kind from the 19th century. The bogs are still producing and if you come in the fall you can see thousands of the buoyant berries bobbing on the surface; at other times of the year you will have to make do with looking at a few harvest escapees washing against the shoreline.

Phone - (732) 341-6662

Website 

double.html

Admission Fee - None

Directions - Bayville, Ocean County; traveling south on the Garden State Parkway take Exit 80 and turn left to Double Trouble Road. Follow to end in about four miles and cross the road into the park. Heading north use Exit 77 and turn left to park entrance in 1/4 mile.

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Batona Trail

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Batso NJ

The Park

The Batona Trail is a wilderness trail that begins at Ongs Hat to the north and ends at Lake Absegami in Bass River State Forest. The original 30 miles of the Batona Trail were routed and cleared through white cedar and pitch pine forests by volunteers in 1961. Today the total length of the trail is 50.2 miles with many road crossings that make different lengths of canine hikes possible. The distinctive pink blazes on the Batona Trail were selected by Morris Burdock, then president of the Batona Hiking Club and chief advocate for the building of the trail.

The Walks

The Batona Trail is easy walking on paw-friendly sand for most of its length. Despite the over-whelming flatness of the surrounding countryside, there are undulating elevation changes on the trail itself. Any dog could walk end to end with no problem, if that was the goal. The high point on the trail is Apple Pie Hill, soaring 209 feet above sea level (there is a fire tower you can scale - the steps are too open for dogs - and literally scan the east-to-west entirety of New Jersey from Atlantic City to Philadelphia). A superb canine hike is the four-mile walk here from the Carranza Memorial. For the most part, however, there are no vistas beyond what you see around you - cedar swamps and millions of pine trees. In season wild blueberries and huckleberries can be gobbled along the trail.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Packed sand roads and sandy soil

Workout For Your Dog - Long walks on sandy will do the trick

Swimming - The route of the trail is well-lubricated by tea-colored streams and an occasional pond

Restrictions On Dogs - None

Something Extra

Mexico’s greatest aviator, Emilio Carranza Rodriguez, crashed and died in the Pine Barrens in 1928. A memorial, paid for with pennies collected by schoolchildren, marks the location of his death, along the Batona Trail.

Phone - None

Website 

Admission Fee - None

Directions - The trail runs through Lebanon, Wharton and Bass River State Forests where information on finding a parking lot can be found. Some commonly used starting points are on Routes 563 at Evans Bridge, 542 at Batsto Village at Route 72 at Four Mile.

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Lorimer Nature Preserve

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Paoli PA

The Park

The nature preserve, managed by the Open Land Conservancy, is named for George Horimer Lorimer, longtime editor of the Saturday Evening Post. Lorimer, a resident of Wyncote, was a passionate conservationist during his lifetime.

The Walks

The Lorimer Preserve is an ideal spot for a walk of less than an hour. The short, interconnecting maze of trails offer a pleasing mix of open fields and woods. The walking is easy throughout with many flat stretches, especially in the fields. There is no map or trail markings but you should not need to call out the St. Bernards to help you back to the car.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: The paths are almost all paw-pleasing grass

Workout For Your Dog - Two terrace-like park sections connected by short downhills

Swimming - Two ponds are on the property; the woods pond is always filled and ready for your water-loving dog but the field pond, the larger of the two, is subject to the vagaries of drought

Restrictions On Dogs - None

Something Extra

The best stick-fetching pond in greater Philadelphia. Tucked into a hollow in the woods, the pond is scarcely 25 yards across at any point. Your dog can swim across the pond to retrieve a stick and meet you on the other side as you circle the water on land.

Phone - None

Website - None

Admission Fee - None

Directions - Paoli, Chester County; the main entrance is on North Valley Road, north of Swedesford Road. Turn right into the small parking lot up the hill from the bridge across Valley Creek.

hikewithyourdog.com

Ferncliff Wildflower and Wildlife Preserve

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Benton PA

The Park

This wooded ravine is celebrated for its old growth forest, one of the last remaining in Pennsylvania’s Piedmont region. In 1972 the Ferncliff Wildflower and Wildlife Preserve was named a National Natural Landmark. Today the 65 acres are managed by the Lancaster County Conservancy.

The Walks

The way in and out of the Ferncliff Preserve is on a closed county road. Gently sloping and comprised of dirt and gravel, it is a beautiful trail as it swings back and forth along the Barnes Run stream corridor. There are a couple of shallow water crossings that certainly won’t trouble even the smallest dog. Past tiny waterfalls, beside jagged rock outcroppings, and under towering ash, oak and hemlock trees, the old road eventually reaches the railroad tracks that block the way to the Susquehanna River. A small sign on the north side of the road points the way to a North Rim Trail and this narrow footpath can be used for a return trip, picking along the valley slopes.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Dirt road that is easy on the paw

Workout For Your Dog: Easy unless you decide to try the slopes that may require some bushwhacking in the side ravine

Swimming: Barnes Run is too shallow for real swimming

Restrictions On Dogs : None

Something Extra

Ferncliff Wildflower and Wildlife Preserve is one of fewer than 600 sites designated as a National Natural Landmark. The program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of our country’s natural history. There are 26 such sites in Pennsylvania. Ferncliff Preserve has been selected for its unique vegetation, thought to be virgin growth.

Phone - (717) 392-7891

Website 

Admission Fee - None

Directions - Benton, Lancaster County; south of Lancaster on the Susquehanna River. Take Route 272 south past the intersection with Route 372. Continue for three miles to Chestnut Level Road and make a right.Make a left on River Road past the cemetery and a quick right onto Slate Hill Road. After a bend in the road, make a right on Harmony Ridge Road. In a couple miles look for Bald Eagle Road on the left. Turn and find the preserve at the bottom of the hill on the right.

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Cattus Island County Park

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Toms River NJ


The Park
At the turn of the 20th century, John V.A. Cattus, a New York importer, purchased the property to use as a hunting and boating retreat. In 1914, he became the charter Commodore of the Barnegat Bay Racing Association.Private owners bought Cattus Island in 1961 but before it could be developed the New Jersey Wetlands Act of 1970 saved it for open space. The county began construction of the trail system in 1977.

The Walks
A paved and unpaved road runs for one mile down the spine of the 500-acre Cattus Island peninsula. Two main trails loop across the road and a smaller loop radiates off it near the end for a total of five miles of walking paths. Come here for relaxed canine hiking on level paths through the maritime forests and salt marshes. The Island Loop snakes around for a little more than two miles under a wooded canopy. Stop along the way at a bird blind to check on activity at one of several osprey poles in the marshes. At the parking lot is the 1.7-mile Maritime Forest Loop that is a landlocked exploration for your dog. The Hidden Beach Loop at the end of Cattus Island uses a boardwalk to cross onto a small island of forest. The Boy Scouts have sculpted a paw-friendly trail of wood shavings and soft dirt that makes an ideal destination for a canine hike.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Soft natural trails and roads
Workout For Your Dog - Flat and easy throughout the park
Swimming - The swimming for your dog in Barnegat Bayand Silver Bay is as good as it gets
Restrictions On Dogs - None

Something Extra
The Cattus Island Butterfly Garden was created in 2005 with plants selected to attract a wide range of native butterflies not commonly seen in New Jersey backyards. While most plants lure butterflies with the promise of sweet nectar, others play host to butterfly larvae. The best time to catch butterfly activity is on a bright summer’s day.

Phone - (877) 921-0074
Website 
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Toms River, Ocean County; from the Garden State Parkway use Exit 82 - Route 37 East/Seaside Heights. Take the jughandle to Fischer Boulevard and head north. Turn right at the fourth light onto Cattus Island Boulevard. The parking lot is on the left.

http://www.hikewithyourdog.com

Monocacy Hill

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Douglassville PA

The Park

Monocacy Hill Recreation Area is a 420-acre forest located in Amity Township. This recreation area was purchased by Amity Township in 1967 for open space and recreation purposes. The park has a wide variety of plant life. To date, 170 species of herbaceous plants have been identified, along with 65 species of trees and shrubs, and 17 species of ferns and related plants.

The Walks

There are five miles of interesting trail time on Monocacy Hill with the star being the white-blazed Monocacy Hill Trail that scales the 860-foot hilltop that dominates the surrounding landscape. Views extend to the west from the summit. Providing a contrast to the hill climb is the green-blazed Creek Trail that scampers through a wet, low-lying area to loop around a small waterfall and pool. Various connecting trails circle around the hill on wide, wooded paths. Hunting is allowed on Monocacy Hill so plan a Sunday trip with your dog in hunting season.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Dirt trails and rock-hopping at the summit of Monocacy Hill

Workout For Your Dog - It is a steady but not overly arduous climb to the top

Swimming - The creeks in the conservation area are narrow and shallow

Restrictions On Dogs - None

Something Extra

The Reading Railroad ran across the southern tier of the property a century ago, leaving an interesting array of structures behind. 

Phone - (800) 354-8383

Website 

Admission Fee - None

Directions - Douglassville, Berks County; Take 422 West approximately 1 mile past Route 662 to right turn at Monocacy Creek Road. Turn right and continue to first stop sign at Loyalsock Drive. Follow to end and turn right on to Hill Road. Follow for .7 mile to Y in road. Bear left at Y on to Geiger Road. Proceed up hill to parking lot on left.

Brandywine Creek State Park

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Wilmington DE

The Park

Once a du Pont family dairy farm, this spectacular swath of land became a State Park in 1965. Delaware’s first two nature preserves are located here: Tulip Tree Woods and Freshwater Marsh, at the edge of Brandywine Creek. The stone walls that criss-cross the 850-acre park are the legacy of skilled Italian masons who crafted the barriers from locally quarried Brandywine granite - the original “Wilmington Blue Rocks.”

The Walks

There are eight blazed trails totaling 14 miles on both sides of the Brandywine Creek. All are short, all are woodsy and if you can’t reach out and touch the water you are moving up or down a hill. The Hidden Pond Trail and the Indian Springs Trail each travel along the water and visit 200-year old tulip polars. The star walk at Thompson’s Bridge is the rugged, 1.9-mile Rocky Run Trail, winding aroundthe closest thing to a mountain stream in Delaware. Nearby, the Multi-Use Trail tags the stream for the better part of two miles.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth - Dirt and grass

Workout For Your Dog - Some good - but not lethal - climbs

Swimming - Yes, the namesake creek is superb

Restrictions On Dogs - None

Something Extra

In the winter of 1802 a rudderless French immigrant living in New Jersey named Eleuthere Irenee du Pont was invited to the Brandywine Valley to hunt game. It was not a successful trip. The damp weather fouled his gunpowder so that his musket continually misfired. It was so bad du Pont decided to re-enter the industry he had turned his back on in France as a youth: black powder. When it came time to launch his new business he remembered what you see today in the park: the hardwood forests that would burn to charcoal, one of the ingredients he would need for powder; the abundant granite in the hills to build his mills; and the swift-flowing river to power the mills. And so he returned to Delaware to found a dynasty. Incidentally, the favorite breed of dog for the du Pont family when they lived here: the greyhound.

Phone - (302) 577.3534

Website 

Admission Fee - Yes, May to October

Directions - Talleyville, New Castle County; the main entrance is on Adams Dam Road, between Thompson’s Bridge Road (Route 92) and Rockland Road. Other parking areas are at Thompson’s Bridge and off Rockland Road, opposite Rockland Mills.