I know a lot of the discussion around here is focused on big adventures requiring lots of money and months of planning. On my weekly Walmart run earlier today I decided that a little hiking was in order, so I stopped at the Paulenskill Valley Rail Trail and walked a very pleasant 8 miles. This is a little known trail that I've walked, skied, snowshoed and biked many times. It's always been very enjoyable.

So where do you hike and bike between your big adventures, when all the planning you want to do is a bottle of water in one pocket and some cookies in the other and your budget is a few gallons of gasoline?

I'm sure there are plenty of great little local trails that none of us have ever heard of. tell us about your favorites.

http://njtrailfinder.com/trails/Paulinskill_Valley_Trail.html

The trail to Terrace Pond from near Upper Greenwood Lake is a fave of mine. Berry picking in summer. Ice skating in winter. And I have been known to fall in the water on full moon nights in the summer. ;)

http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/Terrace_Pond_Loop_5602.asp

Only because its very local, I spend a lot of time at 40 acre rock wilderness area here in northern SC. Its an ancient range, little more than hills around wetlands now with strewn boulders. One can hike three mountains inside of an hour without breaking a sweat, so its not a major attraction.

Wolf Rock trail at Stone Mountain State Park in NC. Awesome views, I've hiked it at least 20 times and never ran into another person. That must be the one. Here's Stone Mountain from the trail

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/99/279363292_e40368cf19.jpg

The North-South Trail at Land Between the Lakes NRA on the Tennessee/Kentucky border is a great long-distance trail for hikers to cut their teeth on.

It's 62 miles long, features many opportunities to camp or use the shelter system (5 total along the route). It offers a Visitor Center around the half-way point where you could stash a re-supply, multiple road crossings for bailout if necessary, relatively easy level terrain, but enough remoteness to still let a new person feel a bit of wilderness.

I've done it twice, once solo and once with my wife, both times in January. It would make a great March Spring Break hike.

The best trail I never heard of? Hmmm... :-?

The North-South Trail at Land Between the Lakes NRA on the Tennessee/Kentucky border is a great long-distance trail for hikers to cut their teeth on.

It's 62 miles long, features many opportunities to camp or use the shelter system (5 total along the route). It offers a Visitor Center around the half-way point where you could stash a re-supply, multiple road crossings for bailout if necessary, relatively easy level terrain, but enough remoteness to still let a new person feel a bit of wilderness.

I've done it twice, once solo and once with my wife, both times in January. It would make a great March Spring Break hike.

How would you rate it say compared to the Foothills trail?
Difficulty, water, scenery?
Guide? Map?
I need another good "short trail".

How would you rate it say compared to the Foothills trail?
Difficulty, water, scenery?
Guide? Map?
I need another good "short trail".

Compared to the Foothills Trail, it might be a disappointment. There is not much more than 1000 feet of total elevation change over the whole trail.

Views change according to section but include wildlife clearings, the edge of farm fields, firetowers, and any where that the trail skirts Kentucky Lake, which is frequent on the northern half. Other items of interest include numerous family graveyards, one on a little island that is often accessible in winter because the lake water has dropped just enough to allow a narrow walkway from shore.

Water is available from spigots, springs, and streams through MANY places. The longest you will go without a definite good water source is probably the first ten southern miles and even then you can find it in puddles and small ponds.

There are books on Land Between the Lakes (LBL) that give info on the N-S Trail. As for maps, the best ones are the USFS maps. There is one for southern LBL and one for the northern section. They are not topos, but they are full color and decent scale for detail and navigation. For all the lack of terrain on this strip, contours are really not necessary. Shelters are NOT listed on them, so you will want to add them from the N-S Trail map online from LBL. It is NOT one I would want for navigation, but shows details specific to the North-South Trail that are useful to transcribe to the USFS maps.

I live in western NC. Ideal location for awesome hikes within 1-3 hour drive. We go to Stone Mt, NC at least every fall for the leaves. We have been hiking this area for 30 years and there is still plenty of places that I haven't seen yet.

I moved to NC in order to hike the southern end of the AT. I have been here ever since.

Did you see any Elk at LBL?

ALL trails in the Cohutta and Citico/ Slickrock Wilderness Areas!

Did you see any Elk at LBL?

Not on my hikes. The North-South Trail skirts the area where they are corralled, but no luck on either hike. I have seen them on bike trips when we drove to the general area.

On the winter hikes I've made there, wildlife has been minimal. I suppose they're mostly holing up to stay warm.

I'll second the LBL.

Hiked that trail in late March of this year. Horrible, horrible flooding...where the trail parallels the lake was completely submerged by the lake. Sometimes we would hike through it (with water up to our waists) and attempt to follow the trail. Other times we were able to walk parallel to the trail and not lose it. Yet other times a map was in order to walk around the flooded areas on empty forest roads.

That trail is really, really easy. Great trail to train on or tackle in a long weekend. I saw their buffalo herd and some different types of ducks and herons. The only part of the trail I didn't like too much was the section that is also a horse trail. The tread is rototilled. Most importantly, there is garbage EVERYWHERE!!! Awful!!

You pass through lots of old cemetaries if you're into that sort of thing.

Oh, and I have to say the water in KY is so clean and so sweet tasting. I understand that the trail is pretty dry in the summer, but when it's flooded water is abundant (except for the southern 10 miles.)

We hiked during the weekend in pleasant (albeit rainy) weather and didn't see another soul.

Next on my list for KY is Red River Gorge.

On another note, Sleeping Bear Dunes NL is Michigan is wonderful. Varied ecosystems, nice campgrounds, lots of trails, tons of lovely scenery, and you can also canoe/kayak on the lake or on the Platte River.

As far as NJ goes, I like Mahlon Dickerson County Park (Morris.) Most of the side trails off the AT are better than the AT itself in the Del Water Gap NRA. Lots of good places in NJ.

I had never heard of the Foothills Trail until about a year ago. I hiked it end-to-end last April, and it was awesome! Should definitely be on the serious hiker's 'short list.'

Compared to the Foothills Trail, it might be a disappointment. There is not much more than 1000 feet of total elevation change over the whole trail.

Views change according to section but include wildlife clearings, the edge of farm fields, firetowers, and any where that the trail skirts Kentucky Lake, which is frequent on the northern half. Other items of interest include numerous family graveyards, one on a little island that is often accessible in winter because the lake water has dropped just enough to allow a narrow walkway from shore.

Water is available from spigots, springs, and streams through MANY places. The longest you will go without a definite good water source is probably the first ten southern miles and even then you can find it in puddles and small ponds.

There are books on Land Between the Lakes (LBL) that give info on the N-S Trail. As for maps, the best ones are the USFS maps. There is one for southern LBL and one for the northern section. They are not topos, but they are full color and decent scale for detail and navigation. For all the lack of terrain on this strip, contours are really not necessary. Shelters are NOT listed on them, so you will want to add them from the N-S Trail map online from LBL. It is NOT one I would want for navigation, but shows details specific to the North-South Trail that are useful to transcribe to the USFS maps.

Thanks!

I had never heard of the Foothills Trail until about a year ago. I hiked it end-to-end last April, and it was awesome! Should definitely be on the serious hiker's 'short list.'

It is a super place to hike. The spur trails should be hiked also. They really add to the bling.

From http://www.outdoors.org/publications/outdoors/2005/longtrails.cfm referring to Pennsylvania's Mid State Trail (more current info http://www.hike-mst.org/)

While seldom farther than a few miles from the nearest road, the route preserves a remarkable sense of isolation as it travels high above the surrounding valley landscape on long, narrow ridgelines. Myriad views, secluded forest, and empty campsites are the attractions—The Guide to the Mid State Trail calls it “the trail nobody knows.”

The Ridge Trail at Cumberland Gap National Park is one of the best kept secrets in my area. I do this trail alot over three day weekends and when I take teenagers backpacking. Lots of neat things to see along the way a great shakedown trail for the longer stuff. There's also an new outfitters (Wilderness Road Outfitters) that just opened up in Cumberland Gap, TN. Here's a couple of links:

http://www.outandback.org/cumberland_gap.htm

http://www.kywilderness.com/tr/ridgetrail/ridgetrail.htm

gghiker - surprising that you've never seen my wife and me on the Wolf Rock trail...maybe because we always go the Cedar Rock route. Great place.

The 70 mile Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail in western PA is a great tune up for the AT. Just a couple of serious climbs and a wonderful shelter system with cut firewood for your use.

Also, consider the North Fork Mountain Trail in eastern WV (about 3 hours from Baltimore). Fantastic scenery for the east coast. Next door is Seneca Rocks...a rock climbers paradise.

Both of these will be unbelievable when the leaves change in October.

Go to pmags.com :)

Too many too list..

Life is good!

Re: LBL

I'd avoid the dead of summer, because it's pretty hot out there. (We lived in the adjoining county for 15 years.) Hotter than Charlotte. Way hotter than the NC mountains.

There was also a tremendous tick population.

LBL gets a huge number of migrating waterfowl in the spring and fall. Impressive flocks of birds.

Good in the winter, but wear your blaze orange.

gghiker - surprising that you've never seen my wife and me on the Wolf Rock trail...maybe because we always go the Cedar Rock route. Great place.
Try the late fall and winter months, on Wednesday mornings. Wolf Rock is my favorite, but I hike the whole park. The only people I see have antlers ;)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/99/279363292_e40368cf19.jpg

Fantastic photo!

Though it's not quite my "back yard" any more (if it ever was) I'd highly recommend the high peaks of the Adirondacks for anyone who's never been there. I'd compare the DAKs to the AT in the Whites and Maine -- for scenery, wildness, and toughness.

Just like my book list, I always have a "good trail" list as well for those weekends that allow section hiking.

Some of the lesser known ones I've completed are:

Foothills Trail (SC)
Ressurrection Trail (AK)
Ozark Highlands Trail (AR)
Uwharrie Trail (NC)
Art Loeb Trail (NC)
Land Between the Lakes N-S Trail (TN/KY)
Laurel Highlands Trail (PA)
Bartram Trail (NC/GA)


Some of the ones I'm currently working on are:

Illinois River-to-River Trail
Alabama Pinhoti Trail


And a few that I would like to hike soon are:

Knobstone Trail (IN)
GA Pinhoti Trail
Wonderland Trail (WA)
Northville-Placid Trail (NY)



Of course, there are other lesser-known and well-known short trails I would like to hike as well...like several trail I have planned in PA this fall....the list goes on....