In our continuing quest to “Step Into Fall:  Hike Them All,” Tom and I headed to McCammon Creek Preservation Park.  This is the newest preservation park and only has Area C developed out of three areas at this point.  This park is the closest park to our house except for Char-Mar Ridge which is across the street.  Tom and I drive by it every time we go to John and Jackie’s.  The park is so new that the parking lot was open for the first time on October 7, the day we went.  Fortunately the Orange Friends Church next to the park has allowed people to park in its lot.

The only trail in the park is the Red Fox Trail, a 1.5 mile trail that winds through meadow and forest.  Starting out at the Orange Friends Church parking lot, we took the short connector trail to the Red Fox Trail.  Then we headed north on the big loop.  When we got to a fork in the trail, we headed right because Tom thought it was the connector trail to the neighborhood.

Turns out we were on the big loop of the trail.  We ended up walking around the big meadow, which was beautiful, then heading north again on the loop to reach the little loop at the top.  The little loop circled through the woods and even had a hammock section where people could hang hammocks.  Doing both loops the way we did made our walk a little over two miles.  We didn’t mind the extra distance.  It was a beautiful afternoon perfect for a walk.

McCammon Creek Park is still under development.  Preservation parks plans to add trails and shelters, renovate the Bicentennial Barn, and build additional amenities as restoration work continues.  Tom and I look forward to exploring the new areas in the years to come.  It is nice to have these resources so close to our home.

In addition to McCammon Creek Park, Tom and I also hiked at Shale Hollow Park.  This is one of the first Preservation Parks we explored when we first started hanging out in Delaware County.  I wrote about it here.  Shale Hollow has more ups and downs than most of the other parks.  The trails are three loops with some connectors.  We really enjoy walking there whenever we go, but Shale Hollow is best done on days when it hasn’t rained for a while.  The trails can be slick when they are wet or muddy.

Eight parks down, only two to go.  It looks as if our goal of hiking all the trails is within reach.