So many people make the mistake of thinking they have to travel to find exciting, undiscovered treasures, but that is not true. No matter where you live there are places you can explore and enjoy.
This weekend my family and I took a break from our home improvement project of fixing the deck stairs to visit a local park, Oxbow Falls Park. My son and I had visited this park briefly in the spring, and knew we had to go back with the whole family.
Oxbow Falls has an 18 hole disc golf course, which is obviously very popular, and is the only 18 hole course in New York State. But it was too hot for Frisbees, so we were interested in the waterfall. A local Boy Scout recently cleared 1 mile long trail and built a bridge to allow access to the bottom of the waterfall. The trail is so new that not many people know about it yet. We found out about it from a friend, and talking to friends and neighbors is a great way to learn about the undiscovered places in your community.
So we set off with our dog and water shoes and departed for a few hours of exploration. Now it isn’t Niagara Falls or anything, but it is quite pretty. The waterfall is about a 100 foot drop on the edge of the Helderberg Escarpment. It isn’t too steep, so we were able to hike up almost to the top by wading in the stream. Along the way it was fun to see all the different rock pools and the wide variety of trees and plants. We didn’t see much wildlife (probably due to the fact our dog was with us), but my 18 year old future biologist was fascinated by the huge millipedes that were climbing all over the moss covered rocks.
The whole trip took about 3 hours, was less than 20 miles from our house and cost us nothing except the gas to get there. Discovering your local community is a fun, frugal way to connect with your family.
I think the most under-appreciated place in my community is a state park. It’s a bit of a drive into the mountains, but it’s definitely worth it. There are lots of picnic areas, climbing, breathtaking views, a mountain stream and spring… and if you’re willing to take a small hike, there’s even a beautiful waterfall.
My second choice would be the river that runs right through this town.. so many things to do and not nearly as many people take advantage of the opportunities as should!
Katharina angelsandmusic[at]gmail[dot]com
We have some very unused state land not far and it is all hidden by trees. When you drive in you are actually driving into a forest, the road is there but much worse than any dirt road I’ve ever seen. We pack a little picnic and go.
Gladys P Sps1113 at yahoo dot com
Our tiny city of Mountain Park, GA is our favorite place. It is actually the smallest incorporated city in GA. We are known as a wilderness preserve – tons of trees, a city garden, two little lakes, lots of places to walk or canoe and relax. Most people have never heard of it despite being close to Atlanta.
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We love the walking path at the end of our neighborhood. We like seeing the birds and squirrels running around and the little stream that passes under the wooden bridges. It makes me forget we are so close to our house.
The place that we like to visit is a little park in town. Each time i have been to this park we have been the only ones playing, and it is a very lovely park with slides, ladders, a little rope climber, etc.
brensweepstakes at aol.com
We have lots of streets with sidewalks around us and its fun to safely explore the neighborhood.
my favorite family place is caldwell zoo in yyler texas,it is under appreciated because it is small but it is very nice, alittle jewel of a zoo
Our family loves to go to the Bowman Library that is one town over from us. It is huge, uncrowded, and it has the most wonderful selection of all types of media. Most people don’t want to make the drive, I guess, so they use the Handley Library which is in town, but they are missing out.
Alicia Webster
5webs@comcast.net
I Tweeted with a link to my special place
http://twitter.com/#!/5webs/status/96982338315104257
Alicia Webster
5webs@comcast.net
Our favorite undiscovered place is a restaurant called Sam Diego’s. The service is always great. There is an outside area if the children are noisy. Oh, and of course, the food is wonderful. I would have said the beaches are our favorite, but they are hardly undiscovered.
My family’s favorite hidden gem is a beach on the green river that is free for camping, safe for the kids to swim, and almost always empty! http://www.alocalwander.com/2011/06/beach-camping-in-utah.html
At a park nearby there is an unused trail that lead to a a little foot bridge where you can cross to walk along a rock path next to the canal. At some points the path is a kind of narrow because of the overgrowth creeping in, but most of it is wide enough that you can walk three abreast. One of our favorite places to stop is along a little shore area. It is FULL of perfect skipping stones and since it is shaded is a great place for a little picnic.
we have the Farm Museum and Homestead with a grist mill you can tour. Its neat to see how they did it back in the day ,makes you aprreciate all the modern conveinences!
I love to go visit the copper mine. It’s HUGE! (an open pit mine) The huge dumptrucks with 8-10 foot tires look like HotWheels! They have a great visitor’s center, and a fun gift shop!
We have this little area known as falling creek.They have put a wooden boardwalk through a small section of woods.There is a beautiful little stream with a small waterfall.It is so peaceful.Up the road a few 100 ft is a tiny little wooden church.It was built in the 1800’s and is so cute.Thanks!
lstanziani(at)yahoo(dot)com
Our favorite place is this tiny little Indian food restaurant in the town we used to live in. Now we have to drive 45 minutes to get there, but it is so worth the drive! The food is amazing!
We have found waterfalls, wooden walking bridges and even a shoe tree by just getting in the car and driving to new areas. We call them our day trips and they are so much fun!
We have an awesome public pool in our small community. It’s great for kids as it’s surrounded by huge water slides, water carousels, etc. Perfect place for birthday parties and for the visitors who come to our island. There’s a snack bar, tables, chairs and umbrellas for the adults to relax while the kids are enjoying the water.