Lake Nockamixon

*Warning:  this post contains a lot of family photos

Lake Nockamixon might as well be a world away from the rest of Bucks County - or at least as far away as the Poconos.  And come to think of it, in some ways it's kind of like the beach.   The expansive lake is buffered from civilization by dense woods.  There's hiking as well as a bike/hike trail system.  Rock climbers can scale/boulder up Haycock Mountain or strike out to other locales.  There are stables all over upper Bucks and horse trails thread the forest.  Boating and fishing are top notch as well as sailing - and not just the little sunfish sailboats.  There's a marina with yachts... oh yeah, and an occasional seagull.   The park even has a beautiful 1/2 acre pool with water slides, a snack bar and a shallow end with fountains.  It's close to some hardcore tourist attractions like the Crayola Factory in Easton and the New Hope-Ivyland stream engine train. So why take a vacation to the beach or the Poconos with all the bounty of an outdoors vacation just minutes from home?  That's a question Corinne and I asked ourselves a few years back.  One problem is that there is no place to pitch a tent or roll in a camper in the park.  The solution?  Cabins!  The park has 10 modern cabins on the south side of the lake.  They are the same cabins you'd find in any state park in Pennsylvania.  Renting a cabin for a week comes to just under $400.  When we discovered the cabin option our family vacation tradition was solidified.

This year my sister and her family rented the cabin next to ours so we had taken over a good percentage of the available space in the cabin area.  The cabins are a short walk to the lake which was great for the kids.  There is also a playground in the cabin area so there is always a place to go that can help alleviate "cabin" fever.  Another huge bonus is that we are close enough to home that friends and family can come to visit which can be a real win-win.  Even a place only an hour or two away might be just far enough to eliminate this option.  

Unlike other Review posts, this post will be different in that I'll just be highlighting some of the things we did without trying to give you a critical angle.  This was our vacation and we had a great time.  I wouldn't have change a thing.     

view of the cabin entrance

trail to the lake

Corinne, Matt, Frank and Max at the lake

Annette, BJ, Jill and Dominic

Grandpop and Max at the Lake

Grandmom, Frank and Max

Max in the hammock

Corinne and Frank at the marina

Max at the Marina

Corinne and Frank on the dock

Max at the pool

Annette at the pool

Frank at the pool

Jill and Dominic at the marina

Max in motion on the New Hope-Ivyland Express

Corinne, Max, Frank and Matt after the train ride

Hope this gives you a glimpse of our vacation.  Low cost, low stress, local and lots of fun.  Check out the cabins when you get a chance.  Happy trails.  

Review: Ralph Stover State Park, Creek Access Area

strange green light permeates the restrooms plus you can make your own wood stain and go fishing with walnuts

Outdoor Appeal: 10

Setting: small, comfortable state park cradled in the Tohickon Creek valley

Explorable Op's: A ton. Although the park itself is small in comparison to others in the immediate area, like Nockamixon, the Tohickon Creek at Ralph Stover is easy to wade in plus High Rocks Vista section of the park is just over the bridge and up the hill. In addition there's a playground, grills, restrooms and pavilions to set up for a longer stay. It's a great place for kids to have some freedom and for parents to feel at ease that nobody will wonder off too far.

Difficulty: Moderate. The park is right next to the creek and flat for the most part. If you are going in the creek or following trails along the creek the footing can get tricky because it can be rocky, slippery or both. Beware, if you go the High Rocks section of the park the terrain is Tough.

Facilities: Rustic. There are pit toilets up the hill of the bridge parking lot. They are not very pleasing places to visit but they do add a little adventure to the trip. One of the restroom's charms is the corrugated, green, fiber glass roof, which makes everything appear slightly green when you're inside. Your eyes do adjust. The the novelty of it is that when you come out of the bathroom the natural light looks... well, it's hard to describe. Everything looks not quite the same as when you went in. And then your eyes adjust again and you go on with your day.
Review: It's hard to overstate my affection for this little slice of the Tohickon Creek. I've been to Ralph Stover countless times, with and without kids. It's a true gem in Bucks County. It's located close to a lot of other places that are worth a visit as well, so it makes it perfect place for just an hour or part of a day trip. Our last visit started out like many others. We first went to the playground. Despite the appeal of the creek, I like to push them to the playground first before they get wet.

So if you've read the "Facilities" section above you already know about the "strange green light." How about the walnut wood stain? The answer to that lies in the field next to the playground - literally. Although you'll only find them there in the fall. The area is dotted with black walnut trees which not only provide the playground area with shade, but also throw down walnuts in the fall. A friend of ours, Tim, lives just over the hill from the park. He did us the wonderful favor of refinishing a table surface. He made walnut stain from real walnut. Go figure? I don't know how it's done but if you're looking to give it a shot, Ralph Stover Park is a good place to go collecting. While I'm off topic here, I might as well reveal the walnut fishing secret. Native Americans used to throw bunches of walnuts in a creek to catch fish. Yeah, I know it doesn't seem to make any sense. But it turns out that the husk of the walnut has something in it that stuns the fish and makes them floaters. Don't try it. It takes a lot of walnuts and it's illegal.

After monkeying around at the playground we headed back to the car to eat. We parked near the pavilion above. I love that there is a fireplace! I've always wanted to bring some wood to the park and have an evening hot dog and marshmallow roast. You'll get the details when it happens. We had a picnic lunch here and the boys were fascinated with the place. There are built in steps on either side of the fireplace for staking wood. This provided a full 15 minutes of entertainment for Max and Frank. They would climb up (I had to help Frank) and then look at each other across the face of the chimney to see how high they both were - pretty cute.
Then it was time to take a walk near the creek. Max wanted to go across the red bridge. As much as I like the park, the bridge is no fun. It has high walls on either side that you can't see over. It sort of looks like they builders were trying to mimic some kind of canal structure when they restored it. Anyway, the bridge doesn't offer much. On the other side Max found a trail that we took to the creek. The access to the water wasn't very manageable and the creek side itself was rocky so we stayed long enough to take a picture and headed back over the bridge.
The area directly under the bridge on the park side is perfect for little kids. The shore line is bedded with tiny pebbles so it's easy to walk. There are plenty of red, flat shale rocks for skipping and the water (when the creek is low) is shallow. Plus the bridge provides shade. It's a wonderful place to let younger kids run free and let them do some exploring on their own. That being said, it is a good idea to be respectful of others that are using the space. For example, if someone is fishing under the bridge you shouldn't unleash the kids to ravage the area until the he moves on to a different spot. And even though this is a relatively safe area when the water is low you still need to be extremely conscious of what your kids are doing and where they are. Last fall I went to this same spot with the boys. Frank was only a few month old and I was carrying him in the Baby Bjorn. Max was standing on the shore line casting rocks a few feet out in the water and I was right behind him feeding Frankie a bottle. For who knows what reason, Max started walking right into the water and was quickly up to his waist. He tried to turn back to shore but fell over. I had to run in to pull him out. He was never in any real danger but I would have never expected him to do that. We'd been around the same kind of water many times and he had never done anything like that before. So be very aware and ready to play goalie.

Recommendations: First of all, there are lot of other places around to visit. High Rocks Vista (which is part of the park), Stover-Myer Mill, Cabin Run covered bridge, Van Sant Airport and Tohickon Valley Park to name a few. Tohickon Valley Park is a county park downstream from Ralph Stover State Park and it offers camping for tents, RV's and cabins plus a pool. If you are visiting in the summer, bring a bathing suit for the kids and a change of clothes. When Lake Nockamixon Dam is released hundreds of canoers and kayakers flood the park to make their way down the rapids. It's a real show and quite festive to bring the kids to see. And of course, hot dogs and marshmallows at the pavilion with the fireplace is still on my list of things to do at Ralph Stover State Park. Happy trails.

Review: Bulls Island State Park, New Jersery

Outdoor Appeal: 10

Setting: Relatively high Delaware River Bank, Serviced Canal Tow Path, Canal Lock/Dam which always has water flow, Foot Bridge to Lumberville Pennsylvania, Campground, Playground, Shaded Picnic Area with charcoal grills, Boat Launch

Explorable Op's: A ton. From my perspective, it's hard to go wrong in a state park with kids. Bulls Island is particularly good for exploration with kids because it's small. The playground, camping area, picnic area, canal, trails, park office and footbridge are all in a short distance from one another. The kids will feel as if they have a lot of freedom to explore and you can feel at ease that they won't be able to get too far away from you.

Difficulty: Easy. The roads and trails on Bulls Island are flat. The trails are wide open and free of roots and rocks.

Review: It's hard to imagine a better day for our visit. We had sparkling skies, a slight breeze and temperatures in the mid 70's. We started out at the playground to give the kids a chance to burn off some energy from being in the car for a bit. Max decided it was lunch time so he picked out a picnic table. The picnic tables are close to the playground, beneath some towering trees. It's a beautifully shaded area. While we had lunch we heard a woodpecker. It pecked out it's signature sound a few times and then swooped out of a tree and flew just behind our picnic table, calling out a warning the whole time. I've never seen one of these red-headed birds up close. They're big! Max was also thoroughly impressed. We went over to the pine tree where the woodpecker had flown from to see if we could find any holes in the tree. Sure enough we saw plenty of them. After lunch we headed to the park office to see if we could grab a map of the the trails at the park, but they only have a map of the camping area. So we headed down the path a bit that's right next to the canal. It starts just beyond the bridge over the canal. We were taken by two enormous black walnut trees at the entrance of the trail. The trails heads down a short decline to flank the canal. We stopped at a rock landing to throw some rocks and take in the scene. We only made it a short distance down the trail from there before we found a toad. I attempted to contain it on the trail with my feet so Max and Frank could get a good look at it (Frank was in the backpack so it wasn't easy for me to bend over to catch it). The toad peed on my foot! We thought that was kind of cute. Then Max decided it was time to head back the way we came. We got Max's bike out of the car and headed toward the bridge. Both Max and Frank had a fun time walking across the bridge. It has a tightly woven chain-link fence that is almost flush with the walk-way so there is no worry about falling over. There was a large American flag strung from the far side of the bridge and the breeze help it give us a show. We made it to the PA side and both boys were fascinated by the steel support ropes that are anchored into cement a pair of steps. We spent some time there just fooling around before we set back for the Jersey side. From the bridge we went straight to the car and decided it would be a good day to hit Dilly's Corner for some fries. According to me and the boys, the only thing missing from this outing was mom.

Recommendations: Whenever you are near Dilly's Corner take some time to stop in. It's really a treat. I don't have many recommendations for Bulls Island because it is small enough that you can do most of what I described above in just a few hours. The playground, picnic area, nature trail and foot bridge are most of what you can do in the day use area and make for a nice couple of hours outdoors. The nice thing about Bulls Island is that you can feel like you've seen the whole place without actually exhausting all the explorable options. There's a sense of satisfaction to be had just from walking the grounds knowing that you've trekked from one end of the island to the other. One general recommendation I do have is if you can swing it, head outdoors during the week. We always see lots of wildlife and I think one of the reason is because there aren't many people around Monday through Friday. Animals are hip to what the weekends bring and they tend to take cover.

Review: Virginia Forrest State Park

Outdoor Appeal: 6 Setting: Small, scenic, elevated Delaware River bank, Delaware canal as backdrop, Picnic area

Explorable Op's: A few. There is a stairway down to the river which gives you a small landing to access the water. Only 2 or 3 people can easily occupy the area at a time. A good view of the canal is cut off by small saplings that have sprung up since the floods.

Difficulty: Easy. With the exception of the stairs down to the river, the entire area is flat. The canal path frames out the parking lot and grassy picnic area.

Facilities: Civilized. Modern, clean bathrooms complete for family/handicap use. The restrooms are housed in a beautifully designed faux old canal lock house. The restrooms area also has water fountains outside in season. I'm not positive, but I think the restrooms are even air conditioned! There are 7 picnic tables with view to the river and 5 charcoal grills. The parking lot is large for the area of the park and paved. Review: The park gives you a beautiful view of the river and has picnic tables in shaded, grassy areas. The north tip of Eagle Island and Hendrick Island are visible from the banks of the park, but it is only accessible by boat. The islands are in the flood plain, so as you can imagine the vegetation looks ravaged. This is a nice little picnic area for small kids. It doesn't look like much is there, but to a 1 year old and a 2 and 1/2 year old it was totally new and exciting. In fact, many of the places we visit may look unimpressive at first glance but they might as well be Disney World to my kids. New places can really stir up their curiosity. They can find fun in the simplest of places as long as it is perceived as new. Virginia Forrest State Park is just a slice of bank overlooking the Delaware River - a nice place to have lunch. But to my kids it was an adventure. Using the water fountain, checking out the bathrooms and seeing that the lights come on by themselves, riding along the canal and parking lot on a bike, throwing sticks in the river, having lunch with a view on a clear day, finding a "secret" bench on the canal... it really doesn't get much better than that. Recommendations: Bring a picnic, bikes, maybe a fishing pole. An hour here is enough. If you're grilling maybe 2 hours will do it. Check out the canal bridge and lock just south on the canal trail. There is a "secret" spot just north on the canal. It is just a memorial bench and a little open space. But it might be good to know about if you arrive and the area is slightly crowded. If you get rained out, head south on route 32 until you get to Center Bridge. Pull in to Dilly's Corner and treat yourselves to some burgers, hot dogs and some ice-cream and all will be right with the world again.