Ok, to be honest, this was not our favorite hike. The park and trails were pretty enough, but the trails were confusing. We saw the Hiking Club sign close to the parking lot with an arrow pointing straight ahead. However, there was no map near the sign, and there were multiple paths around, leading multiple ways. Walking straight ahead where the sign was pointing did not lead to the trail because there was no main trail, and walking straight ahead would have put us into the lake! We wandered around for quite a while and finally found what we thought was the right path.
Unfortunately, our problems didn’t end there. Many of the intersections did not have maps posted, and even the ones with maps were not very helpful. The trail intersected roads, parking lots, and campground loops multiple times, without any clear signs stating which way to go. The intersections that did have maps were not great because with the Hiking Club trail going through parking lots and jumping in and out of the woods onto roads and such, it was hard to read the map. Additionally, many of the maps were missing dots showing where on the map you were.
To add to the confusion, none of the intersections had number markers to correlate on the map like most trail systems do. We also had spotty cell service so couldn’t download a map and they were out of maps in the bins outside the park office (to be fair, we did not try to go into the park office which was probably open but figured, “eh, there are always maps on the trails”….rookie mistake lol).
Needless to say, we ended up hiking 3.5 miles instead of 2.5 miles because of all the wrong turns and needing to double back! And even after that, there was a 0.5 mile stretch of the Hiking Club trail we never even went on, and of course, that was the section with the password! My 6 year old was VERY upset about this, but also had totally maxed out his hiking for the day (we had done other hikes earlier in the day also). Thankfully, my husband and my oldest son hiked the rest of the way to get the password, and we met them at the other end with the car. We’re counting that one as completed, folks. Phew!
Hiking Club trail:
trail description
Length: 2.5 miles
Terrain: This trail was very flat and went along the lakeshore, through the forest, and into the grasslands.
Features: lake, forest, grasslands
Difficulty: Easy
Other Park Info: The Hiking Club trailhead was near the lake and there was a long pier extending into the lake surrounding by tall grasses and cattails which was really pretty! There were bathroom buildings, a picnic shelter, a tiny playground, and a water spicket in the same area. The park has campgrounds as well.
parks pros/cons
Pros: Pretty lake, easy hike
Cons: Terrible trail markings and maps, confusing and difficult to follow the trial
Honestly, I would not return to this park due to how hard it was to follow the trails. The Hiking Club trail was mostly in the woods, grass or dirt, and flat. Overall, a very easy hike if you knew where you were going. 😉