点评:This park turned out to be a great spot for a hiking escape vacation. Day use in the park is free.
We stayed in the brand new A-frame cabins on the newly paved cabin loop road. The road is so new its not in google maps yet. The cabin is 2 bedroom 1 bath with a full kitchen stocked with cookware, there is even a dishwasher. Downstairs BR has a queen bed and upstairs has 2 twins so 2 to 4 people can fit. Living room has 2 chairs and a sofa and has a wood burning fireplace. We were given 2 bundles of wood no charge.
There was a large screen TV with a basic DirecTV package. There is a telescope upstairs under a skylight for stargazing. There is free WIFI but it was not very fast and often dropped signal. Our ATT phones got one bar of service in the cabin. There is also a big porch with seats and tables and down on the lawn a firepit and a charcoal grill. The view from the cabins is close up forest, no great vistas. Many of the trees in the cabin area are dead and dying, probably damaged during excavation for cabin construction.
There are no other amenities in the cabin area, no playgrounds for kids however the cabins are on a quiet loop so biking for kids is possible. There are several hiking trailheads a short drive from the cabin loop.
There are a couple of construction projects happening in the cabin area, they are building a laundry facility and a managers residence. These are happening right next to cabin #1 so it would be quieter to stay in a differant cabin.
Overall we found the cabins to be very clean, comfortable and well stocked with all linens provided.
The hiking is very good here with over 50 miles of trails. That being said there were a few problems. There are numerous "unofficial" trails that crisscross the official trails. The unofficial trails are not blazed and sometimes lead to dead ends. The park maps you get at checkin or at the camp store are not particularly good. Even the ranger we spoke with suggested using a map APP like Alltrails.
A short walk with big payoff is the Coopers rock overlook. The parking area is just 300 feet from the overlook with a grand view of the Cheat river valley. The main view area is not ADA compliant but there is an ADA viewpoint adjacent that is just as good.
From the Coopers rock area there are several hiking trails that explore some significant geological formations. The Underlook, Rock City and Rattlesnake trails all start in ths area. They are all short but are occassionally steep and challenging with a few nontechnical scrambles. There a few darker passages where having a flashlight is handy. There are some longer trails in this area as well like the Ridgeline trail which can be used to make some longer loop hikes.
Also in the area of the Coopers rock overlook is the camp store (souveniers, snacks) as well as a small playground and some rest rooms. There are several nice picnic shelters which were made by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930's.
Another interesting hiking area is the trail down to the Henry Clay Furnace.
The trail starts across the road from the entrance to the McCollum campground and goes downhill all the way (about 2 miles one-way) to an old iron foundry furnace built in the 1800's. The trail passes the parks resevoir and the trail is a bit confusing here but is soon well blazed. The final bridge to the furnace is washed out but it was a pretty easy rock hop to get across the creek. That may not be the case after a heavy rain. It was worth the hike to explore the ruins. It is a long uphill trek to return to the trailhead.
Finally the Raven Rock hike starts at the trailhead parking area across the road from the new cabin loop road. This is about a 1.5 mile oneway hike mostly downhill until one steep short uphill section near the end.
The view here is just as good as Coopers rock except for the powerlines at the top. You can get in front of the large poles but the wires are always in view so it spoils the effect somewhat, still worth the hike.
This park is quite close to some famous regional attractions:
Fort Necessity military park
Ohiopyle State park with its waterfalls
Laurel Caverns State Park
Frank Lloyd Wrights Falling Water house
All are less than an hour away.
翻译:这个公园真是个徒步旅行和度假的绝佳之地。公园对游客免费开放。
我们住在新铺设的小木屋环路旁的全新A字形木屋中。这条路开通时间很短,甚至还未出现在谷歌地图上。木屋内有两间卧室、一间浴室,厨房设备齐全,甚至还有洗碗机。楼下的卧室配有一张大号双人床,楼上则有两张单人床,因此可容纳2到4人入住。客厅里有两把椅子和一张沙发,还设有一个燃木壁炉。我们免费获得了两捆木柴。
屋内有一台大屏幕电视,配有基本的DirecTV套餐。楼上有个带天窗的区域,那里有一架望远镜可供观星之用。虽然有免费的无线网络,但网速不快且经常断线。我们的AT&T手机在小木屋内只能收到一个信号格。小木屋外还有一个带桌椅的大门廊,草坪上则设有篝火坑和炭火烧烤架。从小木屋望出去只能看到近处的树林,没有什么壮观的景色可言。小屋区里的许多树木已经枯死或即将枯死,很可能是在修建小屋时进行挖掘作业时受损的。
小屋区内没有其他设施,也没有儿童游乐场,不过这些小屋位于一条安静的环形路上,因此孩子们可以骑自行车。从小屋区开车不远就能到达几条徒步路线的起点。
目前小屋区正在进行几个建设项目,正在修建洗衣房以及管理人员的住宅。这些活动就在1号小屋旁边进行,所以住在其他小屋里会更安静一些。
总体而言,我们发现这些小屋非常干净、舒适,而且各类床上用品也一应俱全。
这里的徒步路线相当不错,共有50多英里的步道可供选择。不过也有一些问题:有许多“非官方”的小径与正式步道纵横交错,这些小径没有标记,有时还会走到死胡同。在办理入住手续时或从营地商店获得的公园地图质量并不理想。就连我们交谈过的护林员也建议使用像Alltrails这样的地图应用程序。
值得一走的短途路线就是库珀斯岩观景台。停车场距离观景台仅有300英尺之遥,从那里可以饱览奇特河谷的壮丽景色。主要的观景区虽不符合无障碍设施标准,但旁边有一个同样视野极佳的无障碍观景点。从库珀斯岩地区出发,有多条徒步路线可以欣赏到一些重要的地质景观。“Underlook小径”、“岩石城小径”和“响尾蛇小径”均始于此地。这些路线长度都不长,但有时会相当陡峭且颇具挑战性,途中还有一些无需专业技巧即可攀爬的路段。有几处较为昏暗的路段,此时带上手电筒会很有帮助。该地区还有几条更长的徒步路线,比如“山脊线小径”,可用来规划更长的环形徒步路线。在库珀斯岩观景台附近还有营地商店(出售纪念品和零食),以及一个小型游乐场和几间洗手间。这里还有几处漂亮的野餐亭,是民间资源保护队(CCC)在20世纪30年代修建的。
另一个值得一去的徒步区域便是通往亨利·克莱炼铁炉的小径。这条小径始于麦克科勒姆露营地入口处的马路对面,一路向下延伸(单程约2英里),最终到达一座建于19世纪的旧炼铁炉。小径经过公园的蓄水池,这一段路径稍显难辨,但很快就有明显的标记。通往炼铁炉的最后一座桥已被冲毁,不过蹚过溪水跨过去也并非难事。不过大雨过后情况可能就不同了。能去探索这些遗迹,这次徒步也算是值得了。要回到步道起点,需要经历一段漫长的上坡路程。
最终,Raven Rock徒步路线从新建的小屋环路对面的停车场处开始。这是一段单程约1.5英里的徒步路程,大部分为下坡,只有快到终点时才有一段较陡的上坡路段。
这里的景色与Coopers Rock一样不错,只是山顶有电线杆。虽然可以站在那些大电线杆前面拍照,但电线始终映入眼帘,多少破坏了景观效果。不过,这条路线依然值得一走。这个公园离一些著名的当地景点很近:
necessity要塞军事公园
拥有众多瀑布的俄亥俄派尔州立公园
劳雷尔洞穴州立公园
弗兰克·劳埃德·赖特设计的流水别墅
所有这些景点都只需不到一小时的车程即可到达。