Moore State Park

Following an Easter brunch, we took a short drive into Paxton to Moore State Park.  Beautiful in May and early June with hillsides and stream banks covered with rhododendrons and azaleas, right now it is just coming back to life. Our hike yesterday was relatively short (the park doesn't have any especially long or challenging hikes, anyway). We left the parking lot and turned up the Davis Road Trail. With all the recent rains, this trail was quite soggy, even as it ascended the hill. Just below the summit, we turned to the left and followed the Laurel Loop Trail to the top of the hill. I was hoping for some good views, but even though the hilltop was open, there were still enough trees surrounding it that we really couldn't see much into the distance.

We continued along the trail downhill, but didn't complete the loop, instead we took a different trail that paralleled Eames Pond. This trail isn't on the map found on the park's web site, although it was on the map found at the parking area. The trail was quite interesting through here, generally following the contours of the ground, but with enough ups and downs and turns to be "entertaining."  Of course, we passed through areas of laurel and had various glimpses of the pond not too far below us.

During the hike, rain threatened us. We felt sprinkles, but it never turned into enough rain to get us wet.  Today is perhaps the fifth day in a row with threatening or rainy weather.  Maybe even longer. While we've seen some sun, it hasn't been especially forthcoming.  More storms are predicted for tomorrow and later in the week.  But we don't mind too much. This has been better than the tornadoes hitting some areas of the country!

Happy Hiking, and don't forget to visit Hiking Trails on Mt. Monadnock.