Sharon Woods Gorge Trail, Revisited

So, apparently my posts are on a new schedule, occurring every 2.5 years or so!  Is life really THAT busy?  Yes, it is.  Since it is still January, I'll set an intention to hike and post at least once a month for the rest of the year.  Wish me luck!

Monday was a day off of school for the boys, so we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. day and the nice weather with a visit to Sharon Woods.  I came across this quote from Dr. King earlier that morning:  "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."  As we walked in the winter sunshine and encountered multiple people (and dogs) happily walking the trails, viewing the waterfalls, tossing stones at the icy lake, and playing impromptu games of tag on the playgrounds - the feelings of light and love were all around.

But the kids had more on their mind, such as this:

And this:

Sharon Woods has two main entrances. (If you are using VZ Navigator on an Android phone, do not follow the directions taking you to the Swing Rd entrance, unless you are actually planning to hit the golf course).  Here is a map of the park from the Great Parks website.  We arrived at the Lebanon Rd/US Rt 42 entrance which takes you to the playground in the top photo, (above) and easy access to the Gorge trail.  You can also find the visitor's center here which has a wonderful indoor play area for kids as well as a nature display center.  But, that's for a colder day.

The other entrance to the park is on E. Kemper Rd and takes you to the playground in the bottom photo.  During the summer, it is also a splash-land for kids and is located near the boathouse which gives you access to the lake and options for boating and fishing.

Our day was meant for hiking and enjoying nature - at least in my mind, so we used the Gorge trail to "get from one playground to the other". This strategy worked!  Here we are enjoying nature:

Giant Sycamore

Child with Giant Sycamore

Sticks are Swords

Ready to defend against wild beasts

Now, let's hit the trail!  To me, the main feature of the Gorge trail is the stream which accompanies you the whole way and contains multiple water falls and great views.  Signs along the trail talk about the natural history of the region.  But, the first sign to look for is at the trail head.  From behind the playground, you cross a stone bridge over the stream and turn upstream. You will see the first of the falls as you walk a path along the roadway.

First Waterfall

 A little bit longer and the trail head sign will be on your right.  Here it is and here we go!

Trail head sign

Second Waterfall, partially frozen - Cool!

The trail follows the stream

Third Waterfall - way down

Bridge over the stream

The Gorge trail is 0.7 miles in length.  At the end, you come to a view of the lake. On this day, it was mostly ice and we tested it only by throwing stones. 

Can I ice skate, Mom?  No.

A paved trail circles the lake and we took a portion of it to get to the playground near the boathouse.  You can see there were many people out enjoying the day.

Multipurpose trail around the lake

Resting with a Saber

Our entire visit on this day lasted just over 2 hours.  Next time, I'll pack a light snack to have before our walk back downstream and back to our car.  There is a vending machine near the boathouse playground that I tried to use, but accidentally chose the number for Hot Tamales instead of Granola Bars - [if you found a free bag of Hot Tamales in the bottom of the vending machine on MLK day in 2015...you're welcome].

The Gorge trail is a pretty easy walk on a dirt and gravel path with beautiful views, and incentives playgrounds on each side to get the kids hiking.  There is plenty more to do at Sharon Woods as well.  I encourage you to check it out, ice, rain, or shine.  Happy Hiking!

  

Trail Tale: Krohn Conservatory

What ever can you do to escape the cold on a long winter’s day?  Pay a visit the Krohn Conservatory in Eden Park, of course!  The Krohn is well known for it’s popular annual events, The Butterfly Show in spring and the Holiday Show in  winter.  These are spectacular exhibits, but visiting during the down time provides a much more intimate experience with the place.  Plus, there are less people to be disturbed by two little kids running circles around the waterfall feature.

I’d like to get the boys out for a snowy hike one of these days, but thought winter would be the perfect time to highlight some of Cincinnati’s indoor nature activities for the blog.  Plus, it’s just too darn cold outside!

From the parking lot, we headed down the sidewalk, stopping at the always present Petrified Wood sample.

Of course, Marshall was more interested in sampling the snow on top than admiring the natural artifact itself.  After he’d consumed about 3 dips of the white fluff and before his lips turned blue, I ushered the kids inside to the warm, moist, steamy, lush plant haven and hung our coats on the rack just inside the door.

Warning:  Your camera lens will fog up as you enter from the cold.  I think it created a neat effect though and helped to capture the truth of the moment.  

Before our exploration, I made the boys pose in the butterfly chair, a rite of passage.

I’m pretty sure they were plotting their escape as the next thing I knew, they were off and running into the Land of Summer.  Here, the fruit trees were ripe for the picking…well, admiring.

It was hard not to give in to the desire to eat one of the shiny fruits.

The boys stopped romping around to smell the newly planted flowers.

Next up was the desert room where Miles had his first encounter with a cactus.  Warning #2:  Young children WILL try to touch a cactus plant, no matter how many times you repeat “do not touch the cactus plants.” 

Next time I will add “do not touch or smell the cactus” and will make sure to hold hands as we enter the room. 

Poor little dude.  Fortunately, he recovered quickly after a few hugs and kisses.  Seriously, though—keep an eye on your little ones here to avoid injury.  We continued to ease our way around the Desert House, a fascinating display of odd shapes and textures.  Marshall found a friend in this orange blooming aloe plant.

(Notice Miles keeping his distance in the background).

Next, we ventured into the Orchid room only after I was 110% positive everyone understood the do-not-pick-the-flowers rule.  We had fun playing a color game where I had the boys locate purple, pink, yellow, orange, and white petals on the flowers.

Plenty of the flowers were positioned at nose level for sniffing.

After the Orchids, we made our way to the Palm House with it's river of koi and the WATERFALL! 

I love all the big-leaved plants in this room and finally let Miles touch a plant.

This leaf was bigger than his head and possibly his whole torso.  Cool.  Finally, we made it to the WATERFALL and I managed to get a quick pose before the boys began circling, circling, circling through the stone cave that goes behind the falls. 

I was unable to get a better photo of the waterfall, but there are plenty of good, professional pictures published on the web.  


To complete our tour of the Krohn, we headed to explore the Fern House, another great place for locating colors.

The Fern House contains a stream with fish circled by a thick plant-lined path.

A couple of inviting benches are placed at the far end of the room where one is drawn in to sit, reflect, meditate, and be still.  Both kids seemed to feel the calmness in the space and wanted to sit quietly there surrounded by the living green for a bit.

I think this photo captures the essence of our experience in this beautiful plant paradise.  The Krohn is definitely one of my favorite places in Cincinnati, any time of the year, but especially on a cold winters day.

THE END.