We made a short stop to view this garden finding it quiet, tranquil and less than impressive though…read moreobviously your mileage may and very likely will vary.

Really pretty, I love coming here. It's nice all year round and even has a Geocache in it.read more

Creeks ferns and…read morewildcats Zak's Preserve at Wildcat Creek is a roughly 200 acre track of land that was donated by the Zak family back in 2003. It has two main trails that roughly total three and a half miles and both trails led down to Wildcat Creek. The whole area can be very muddy at certain times of the year and of course the bugs can be very bad. Best to hike it in the late fall when the mosquitoes and biting flies are gone. The area received it's name because of all of the wildcats that use to be seen here. Although I suspect the shy and stealthy critters are seldom seen anymore there still are plenty of other wildlife, including many types of birds, small mammals, amphibians and shellfish. Lots of pine trees and ferns grow on both sides of the creek. A nice place for a hike that can vary so much depending on the weather and time of the year. In pleasant weather it can be a very easy hike but will become much more challenging in the rain, snow or ice.

A very quiet…read moreplace Barter's Island is a very quiet and sparsely populated little island No stores or businesses and not a whole lot of houses. Definitely a very peaceful place, and the most peaceful and quiet part of the entire island is the School House Pond Preserve. There really was an old school house here back between the years of 1840 to 1895. It's long gone now but the 42 acre preserve is still a very lovely area with lots of ancient glacier rocks, cool old trees, stone walls and cranberry bogs. There are two main hiking trails, a white marked one that is for people only and the larger one down the middle that can be used for horses, mountain bikes, cross country skiing and even snowmobiles. Of course in the winter there is no shortage of snow. A place where it is nice to just stop and listen. What you will hear is absolutely nothing but the sound of the wind and the occasional insect or strange birds call. No cars in the distance, no people talking and no cell phones going off. Just a whole lot of nothing. And sometimes silence can be the most wonderful sound of them all.