Skip to main content

Fourth of July Vacation - Day 1 - Sky Meadows State Park

Maggie and I headed up to Pennsylvania for the Fourth of July.  We headed up on a Thursday and spent about three hours at Sky Meadows State Park in Paris, Virginia for lunch and some hiking.

Route: NC 50, US 15, I-85, I-95, US 17, I-81, VA 37, US 522, I-68, US 40, PA 51, PA 48.

For years, I have wanted to stop and check out Sky Meadows State Park.  Sky Meadows is located on the two lane stretch of US 17 that runs between US 50 and Interstate 66.  Though only ten miles in length, this is a highly scenic and enjoyable drive.  (Do watch your speed and keep your eye out for equestrians along the shoulder of the road.)

Sky Meadows State Park

For the entire flickr set from Sky Meadows - head here.

After a lunch, we decided to take some time hiking some of the trails at the park.  Sky Meadows has over 12 miles of hiking trails, and the park includes nearly two and a half miles of the Appalachian Trail.  We weren't able to reach the AT; however, we did hike the Piedmont Overlook Trail and parts of the North Ridge Trail.

The Piedmont Overlook Trail is a little steep but the views are well worth it!

IMG_7143

The North Ridge Trail in its entirety runs just over one and a half miles and leads to the Appalachian Trail.  One of the impressive parts of the trails, at least to Maggie and I, were how well marked they were.  You knew what trail you were on, what trails you were intersecting, and how far to the next trail or landmark.  This was the first hiking trip we've done at a Virginia State Park, so I am not sure if this is consistent throughout their parks, but if it is, it makes for a more pleasant hiking experience.

North Ridge Trail at Piedmont Overlook Trail  - Sky Meadows State Park

We would loved to have been able to continue the mile or so to the AT, but we still had over three and a half hours of driving to do.

Speaking of the drive from Sky Meadows to Pennsylvania, we stopped at the Sideling Hill Overlook/Rest Area on I-68 near Hancock, Maryland.  Though the visitor's center is now closed, the rest area is still a popular stop because of its spectacular views.

IMG_7161

So what's in store for Day 2?  I hope you like Roller Coasters!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l

Mines Road

Mines Road is an approximately twenty-eight-mile highway located in the rural parts of the Diablo Range east of the San Francisco Bay Area.  Mines Road begins in San Antonio Valley in Santa Clara County and terminates at Tesla Road near Livermore of Alameda County.  The highway essentially is a modern overlay of the 1840s Mexican haul trail up Arroyo Mocho known as La Vereda del Monte.  The modern corridor of Mines Road took shape in the early twentieth century following development of San Antonio Valley amid a magnesite mining boom.  Part 1; the history of Mines Road Modern Mines Road partially overlays the historic corridor used by La Vereda del Monte (Mountain Trail).  La Vereda del Monte was part of a remote overland route through the Diablo Range primarily used to drive cattle from Alta California to Sonora.  The trail was most heavily used during the latter days of Alta California during the 1840s. La Vereda del Monte originated at Point of Timber between modern day Byron and Bre

Route 75 Tunnel - Ironton, Ohio

In the Ohio River community of Ironton, Ohio, there is a former road tunnel that has a haunted legend to it. This tunnel was formerly numbered OH 75 (hence the name Route 75 Tunnel), which was renumbered as OH 93 due to I-75 being built in the state. Built in 1866, it is 165 feet long and once served as the northern entrance into Ironton, originally for horses and buggies and later for cars. As the tunnel predated the motor vehicle era, it was too narrow for cars to be traveling in both directions. But once US 52 was built in the area, OH 93 was realigned to go around the tunnel instead of through the tunnel, so the tunnel was closed to traffic in 1960. The legend of the haunted tunnel states that since there were so many accidents that took place inside the tunnel's narrow walls, the tunnel was cursed. The haunted legend states that there was an accident between a tanker truck and a school bus coming home after a high school football game on a cold, foggy Halloween night in 1