Hike 9 of 52-Highbanks Metro Park
Mar 11, 2021
So much to do at Highbanks! This is a very large park with many hiking trails, a nature center, picnic areas, playgrounds and more. The weather this winter has been a little crazy and you never know what you are going to get! Today, we were so glad for the sunshine and it was a great morning to get out and enjoy the trails.
Trails Hiked:
Dripping Rock Trail - This is a beautiful trail with a few small inclines and overlooks a ravine. There are plenty of areas to sit and take in the view. The trail is gravel and easy to navigate. Great for trail running and even saw a few strollers (off road/trail).
Mileage:
2.5 mile today - This was the longest trail to date for us 4 and ended with carrying one out!!
Weather and Trail conditions:
Beautiful sunshine today! About mid 20 degrees and we started the hike around 9:45 am.
The trail was surprisingly very dry, given all the rain that we had the past week. There were a couple of spots that were iced over.
Wildlife Seen:
Nothing seen today.
Parking:
Plenty of parking in all areas of the park.
Restrooms:
We parked near the big meadows picnic area, close to dripping rock trail and there was a restroom right before getting on the trial. We also stopped at the nature center, which was very nice inside.
Gear:
Warm weather gear and sunglasses today!
Nature Center and Activities:
There are so many activities to do at this park. Multiple trails to hike and a beautiful nature center. Inside the nature center is a kids play area, gathering room and other educational areas. The kids could have stayed here and played the whole time!
Final Thoughts:
Hike #9 – We would definitely do the dripping rock trail again and would like to explore other trails here as well. This was the longest trail that we have done together as a family and by the end we could tell the kids were done (we had to carry one out!!). We didn't see any markers on the trail to tell us how far we were and I think that made that trial seem even longer for them. The nature center was a nice stop along the way to give them a rest and some other activities to do.