Because we took a two-week vacation last September to stay at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground, we decided not to plan any long vacations this year. That worked out for us since the coronavirus has forced many to cancel their vacation plans anyway. Instead, in January I sat down with our calendar and booked several weekends of camping at our local state parks. The cost to cancel if a conflict arises is just $10 and I wanted to make sure we had weekends set aside before the camping season got away from us.
The first state park trip we booked was cancelled in April because of COVID19, so our trip to Hickory Run State Park last weekend was our first journey to a state park this year. We have camped at Hickory Run before, but this is the first time we were joined by friends and family. In all, we had four other families join us, including our parents, some friends, and my aunt and uncle.
Our favorite activity at state parks is hiking. Two years ago, we hiked the Shades of Death trail, which is one of our favorite trails in PA. This time, we hiked the Fireline and Skyline trails. The Fireline takes you to a beautiful overlook of the Lehigh Gorge, then the Skyline takes you along the top of the mountains before dropping down to the creek below. It was a much harder hike than Shades of Death, but the kids did great and it was a fun way to spend the morning.
As always, a trip to Hickory Run isn’t complete without a stop at Boulder Field. The kids love to see how far out they can go on the rocks. I would recommend going early in the morning, if you want the experience to yourself. There’s something peaceful about sitting in a sea of boulders surrounded by forest.
2020 has been a rough year for everyone, including our family. Knowing we have peaceful getaways planned throughout the season helps give us something to look forward to.
Click HERE to watch a video of our weekend!