Leaves aflame, sky a crystalline blue, autumn is many folks' favorite time for a hike, and it's not just because forests and fields are at their most colorful. With milder temperatures, many noisome insects have eased off for the year, and families are back to their school routines, leaving the trails clearer of humans and mosquitoes alike. Less sweating and swatting, more solitude with the vibrant beauty of the changing trees. Hunters as well as hikers love this time of year, so if echoing gunshots make you nervous on trails near hunting land, slap a DayGlo vest on, stay vigilant and you're good to go.
Jacobsburg Park
Though this 1,168-acre park is home to the Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, most visitors are here just to enjoy a relatively easy hike with the luxury of a well-maintained bathroom at the entrance. For school groups and youngsters attending educational summer camps and other events, though, it's a playground of natural knowledge. Monthly guided hikes of about 2.5 miles are free and available for all ages.
Jacobsburg attracts not only hikers but also bicyclists, so if you like busting out the bike now and again, this is a good place to ride fast and gain confidence with the vagaries of mountain biking. It's also very popular with horseback riders, so keep an eye in front of you lest you should step in something horsey.
Two trails are designated hiking only, if you don't want to dodge horse mess and bikers. The yellow trail will take you through a historic site with info on the Henry family's gun works, which supplied arms during the Revolutionary War. The Henry's Woods Trail is marked in orange, and leads you through an old-growth forest of hemlocks along the Bushkill Creek.
On warmer days, you'll often find pups cavorting in the creek. This is a great park for dogs, and they're even welcome on the guided hikes—provided they're well behaved.
Lake Nockamixon
The largest lake in Bucks County is a lovely getaway for a day trip or a camping excursion, with biking, hiking and boating.
Whether you're fishing with family in an old rowboat or exploring the shores, Nockamixon offers a unique opportunity to admire the autumn sky and gold-and-russet foliage reflected in the lake.
Trails run 50 miles through the fairytale hardwood forest, fragrant fields and along the water. Gentle walking paths make this a great place to take a quiet afternoon to appreciate nature's beauty. Quarry Trail will carry you through the vestiges of an old summer camp and to a quarry overlook, while the High Bridge Trail follows Tohickon Creek.
With various options and activities, the park can get a bit crowded in popular areas during the summer, but for a fall hike you'll be able to explore in relative peace.
The ride back to the Valley will only be improved by a visit to Owowcow, Ottsville's celebrated ice cream purveyor.
Keep moving in winter at Nockamixon with sledding, ice-skating and ice fishing.
Glen Onoko
Located just outside Jim Thorpe, Glen Onoko is one of the most celebrated quasi-local hiking trails you'll hear about, and its renown is well deserved. Featuring three big waterfalls, this rock scramble climb follows an incline splashed with a thousand tiny waterfalls and cascades all the way up.
As you clamber along this four-mile loop, you'll first come across Chameleon Falls, then Glen Onoko Falls right above it, the tallest of the three. It might seem that the trail ends there. Scan your surroundings for the orange spray-painted arrow to continue the trail up to Cave Falls, which has a fun little space behind the falling water that may be more engaging in the heat of summer!
It's recommended to start up the falls and follow the trail on its loop, because descending a jumble of often-slippery rocks is a recipe for disaster. In fact, this trail has signage at the bottom as well as partway up to remind you of the risks involved, complete with skull and crossbones. People have lost their lives being cavalier with these lofty waterfalls, so wear appropriate shoes and climb with care.
If you make it to the bottom of the trail without mishap, take a moment to visit an abandoned train tunnel in Lehigh Gorge State Park. It's a short walk across the bridge over the Lehigh River and left into the first parking lot. The Turn Hole Tunnel was part of the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad's main line, used as a passing siding, and then abandoned in 1956. In a dark tunnel strewn with rubble, you'll have to continue exercising your Glen Onoko caution to move through to the view onto the river.
Hickory Run: Boulder Field
Another hiking destination that's well worth what may be a bit over an hour's drive is Hickory Run State Park in Carbon County. Pack a lunch and plan to spend the day in the foothills of the Poconos, because this almost 16,000-acre park has over 40 miles of trails, miles of trout streams and a National Natural Landmark in the rocky, ankle-testing expanse of Boulder Field.
The southeastern corner of the park is home to Hawk Falls, a 25-foot waterfall that may not compete with the drama of Glen Onoko but is accessible by only a half-mile of easy trail through serene forestland.
The trails of Hickory Run have some fun and evocative names, like the Shades of Death Trail, which harkens back to the difficulty of the terrain for early settlers, and you'll find not just lush thickets and interesting rock formations but hints of the human past as you explore the park.
The villages of Hickory Run and Saylorsville were quite busy in the 1800s, and many of the trails echo roads from those bustling times. You'll spot the vestiges of dams and logging mills along some trails, along with the area's current residents, which include white-tailed deer, owls and snowshoe hares.
Bake Oven Knob
Hook up with the Appalachian Trail at this hike north of Schnecksville, which is named for the rocky formation on Blue Mountain resembling a bake oven. The trail includes a lot of rubble and scrambles, so if you're game to strap on adequate footwear and get clambering, it's a good trail for you. It's well worth a bit of rock climbing to get to the highest point in the Valley.
Autumn is a timely season to visit—not just for the changing trees, but especially if you admire birds of prey. The fall raptor migration brings a great number of the birds soaring over the Kittatinny Ridge as they head south, and the Knob's altitude brings you up to their level.
Perched on a number of stony outcroppings at 1,500 feet, admiring a stunning view of rolling farmland, the colors of the autumn foliage are hopefully the only ones catching your eyes. Bake Oven Knob has acquired a bit of a reputation for its graffiti and garbage, but recent crackdowns have improved the spot dramatically. Volunteers painting over rocks and cleaning up rubbish have helped restore the beauty of this breathtaking spot.
