Timberland Park - Trail Review

We started with the Nancy Conway trail from the parking lot, which offers all kinds of opportunities for different loops of varying distance. We saw a dad with his two kids, smaller than ours, head off this direction as well. It started out downhill and was nice and wide, well-maintained, like all the trails seem to be in this park. The ground was covered with dead leaves and I could imagine how beautiful this would be in another season. Right now, in mid-December, most of the trees were bare except for a few that still had brown ones clinging on.

We ended up just going about half a mile in and then turning around, just because of the time constraint, but the Ravine Ridge Loop looked like it would be a fun one and reasonably level.

The trail map is the only one I’ve seen on this trip that has the elevations marked, and that would be helpful planning a hike with kids as you can get a good idea of the level of difficulty.

Remember that the greater the elevation change (that is, the more hills and up and downs you have to navigate), the slower you will move. There are nine trails that vary in length and difficulty level, many of which are old logging roads, though a few newer trails have been added.

Judith Gribsby-Hayes Trail to the Phyllis Huffman Overlook is a quick wheelchair accessible trail, 0.18 miles. It's short, paved, and perfect for walking with strollers.

From the overlook, you can see the continuation of the Judith Gribsby-Hayes Trail where it intersects with the West Perimeter Trail.

The overlook area itself is built up with stone and has several benches. It gets you out into the heart of the woods and is a great place to listen for wildlife and watch for birds.