Sep 12, 10 AM - Forest Hill Park to The Pump House

Meet me in the Forest Hill Park parking lot at 42nd Street and New Kent Avenue at the end of the parking lot closest to 42nd Street at shelter #1 (see map under "How to find us"). We will head west on New Kent Rd to Wayside Springs where we will enter the forest and eventually emerge on Riverside Drive which will take us to The Boulevard, aka The Nickel, Bridge.

After crossing the river on the Nickel Bridge we will stop briefly at the 1871 Pump House to regroup and refresh. Then we backtrack over the Nickel Bridge and follow the Buttermilk Trail to the 42nd Street Park Entrance. Here we will leave the river and return to Forest Hill Park by way of 42nd Street.

Good To Know

• Water, appropriate footwear, and hiking sticks are encouraged. The Buttermilk Trail is steep in places and some of the footing is covered with grit that can be unexpectedly slippery, and there are a couple of minor stream crossings where hiking sticks come in handy if your rock hopping skills have gotten a little rusty.
• Hikes begin at the posted time, not five or ten minutes later. If you are unfamiliar with the meet up location, add a few minutes to your travel schedule so you won't get left behind. If you need help on directions click on the small inset map to display a larger interactive map. When you select "Directions" (upper left) the best route from your location to the Meet Up rendezvous spot will be calculated for you.
• Before the hike be sure to place anything that might invite theft in your trunk before you leave your car parked while you are hiking.
• There are semi-indoor restroom facilities at Forest Hill Park and 21st Century outhouses at the Pump House parking lot. Water is available at the Pump House parking lot in season.
• Stop at the first shelter you encounter in the Forest Hill Park parking lot! It's Shelter #1, not #2. Look for the Meet Up sign in a car window.
• This is a hike of approximately four miles over woodland trails, paved surfaces and stairways. Participants should be able to maintain a pace of twenty-five minutes per mile, ford small streams, possess the ability to recognize toxic plants, negotiate rocks, roots, fallen trees, damp trail conditions, stairs, steep ascents and descents, vines, low hanging branches, culverts, uncertain footing on slopes, reptiles, spider webs, scorpions, birds of prey, deer and migratory waterfowl.
• Anticipated weather on hike day.
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