To clarify, this review is for the trails as part of the Dinsmore Woods Nature Preserve which is located right behind the Dinsmore Homestead. Unfortunately, the museum was already closed when we got there, but the home as well as all of the surrounding support buildings look beautifully maintained, and I hope to come back sometime just to check these out!
We came to check out the trails, which we found out about from the book 60 hikes within 60 miles, which is an awesome resource if you are into hiking! The guide warns of fallen trees and side trails, but I don't think we fully realized the extent of fallen trees we would encounter. This is definitely not a well traveled path and the maintenance is minimal. A few of the trail markers were on fallen trees and whatnot, which made things kind of confusing and either these woods have the most prolific spiders ever, or we were the first hikers in a few days, because whoa spider webs! I actually heard a snap and saw a large branch move six feet away when my boyfriend (looking down to navigate a fallen tree) walked face first into one. Yikes!
The woods themselves have obviously been left to grow for ages untouched. A few of the trees we passed were HUGE. This is also a challenging hike. In addition to climbing over downed trees, there are a lot of ups and downs and a few more steep inclines. The evening we were there, the woods were filled with fireflies too, which was a nice added touch. read more