Sandy Point
I had surgery a week and a half ago, so I'm restricted on what I can do for the moment. I was getting cabin fever so decided after a follow up Dr appointment to go visit Sandy Point, which is featured in the AMC South Trail Guide (and yes on my redlining spreadsheet). The trails are essentially on the property of Great Bay Discovery Center. The area is open dawn-dusk. Trails begin either at the far end of the playground/picnic area or behind the main Discovery Center building. I headed for the entrance behind the building. There are 2 short trails. They both start together on dirt which soon becomes a boardwalk that lasts the entire distance of the main trail, ending in a lollipop at the end. The Woodland Trail branches off and heads into the woods for a couple tenths of a mile. It really is a very pretty area and I would have loved to have taken more time to read the informational plaques along the way... but I was getting pummelled (and I mean massacred) by mosquitoes, so I kept moving at as a brisk a pace as I could. The area is popular for school field trips. Just as the Woodland Trail starts is a traditional teepee set up, which I imagine is part of the field trip fun. The other point of interest on the Woodland Trail is a giant tree with a plaque denoting it's victory in the NH Big Tree contest! The Woodland Trail ends at a sign indicating "End of Trail". The lollipop on the main trail follows the water line of Great Bay with lovely views and several wildlife viewing opportunities. Along the main trail, I noticed an unmarked trail, which I followed. This ended up being the trail from the playground. There is also a small switchback section behind the Discovery Center that allows wheelchair/stroller access. Once back at the start, I wandered down to the waterfront where there were kayaks stored, not sure if they are for the Discovery Center or not and a little entry area for the water. Short and sweet (in spite of the mosquitoes). A lovely area to explore!
Adams Point
Back on Great Bay, but now the other side of the bay, my coworker Stacey, her pup Zorro and I decided to take a Saturday stroll around Adams Point at the Great Bay Estuarine Center in Durham. More redlining for me and Zorro's first adventure on a trail. The worst part about today was the humidity. We were both soaked, thankfully a breeze caught us every now and again off the water which made it tolerable. Another quiet area, though we did see a couple groups of people. An informal network of trails follow the perimeter of the point with some intersecting trails that I'm sure were made by people looking for the quickest way possible to the water. It was a little confusing, though I imagine difficult to really get lost as everything eventually either ended up at the water or looped back around to the parking area. We tried to follow the perimeter trail as best we could. The area closest to the "mainland" was a little more rustic and rooty, whereas the trail following the tip of the point was smooth and flat. For such a small area, it was interesting to have a variety of terrain also. From a true woods feel to green fields with lots of wildflowers to an almost beachy feel. All packed into basically 1.5-2 miles depending on how far you went! Several staircases led right down to the water and I have since read oyster shucking is a popular activity. The true "point" had a couple unique benches and an area big enough for a nice picnic if you wanted. There was a public boat launch area just down the road from the trail kiosk and as we left it was packed with cars. I had no idea this place even existed! Right in my backyard practically.
 |
| Family memorial to the Adams family, original settlers of the area |
No comments:
Post a Comment