The one thing my family does together more than anything is hike. Well… I guess we eat together more, but you know what I mean. Hiking is our thing. We love the outdoors, and with three kids with ages ranging from 3-8, hiking is something we can all do and enjoy.
Living in the Hudson River Valley gives us lots of hiking opportunities, and the fact that we live steps away from the Appalachian Trail doesn’t hurt either. We try to hike a different trail each time we go, and luckily this area has enough trails to keep us going.
Today we drove 45 minutes North to a town called Red Hook. Sitting on the Hudson River, it’s home to Poet’s Walk Park, a great hike through 120 acres with several outdoor rooms designed to evoke specific emotions from the visitors. Many an author has spent time in these woods and fields, including Washington Irving, who apparently came up with the idea for Rip Van Winkle while here. This is one of the things I love about this area, there is history in every hike.
We set off at a leisurely pace, stopping at the various “houses”, benches and vistas to enjoy views of the Hudson River, the Catskill Mountains across the river, and neighboring farms. The kids particularly enjoyed the three bridges over the rambling creeks in the woods and the two Geocaches we did while there (for more on Geocaching, read my post on this modern day treasure hunt). My favorite part, wearing each one of the boys while hiking. They are getting so big and most often are too busy to snuggle or let me carry them. I am guaranteed some baby (child) wearing when we hike though, as they get tired since we usually hike for 3-4 hours at a time.
So, if you are interested in a great family activity, go on a hike. It’s a great way to unplug, get a little exercise and enjoy the outdoors.
You kids are so cute! & it looks so beautiful there. I’m hoping to get out more and hike now that the weather is cooling here.