Thursday, January 1, 2015

Fall Run Park - Shaler Township

People are weird about parks.  Some of the most beautiful are rarely visited.

Fall Run Park is just seconds off Rt. 8 in Shaler Township a few miles north of Rt. 28.  It's a sometimes deep valley with 10 bridges criss-crossing the creek and 40 wooden steps ascending the tallest waterfall.  The trail is also accessible at the other end but only through a wormhole or a poorly marked neighborhood road.

My kids love it.  LittleBoy turned 3 in November and ran the whole thing Tuesday.  This is from last summer.


It's better than a playground even in the cold.  These are from last winter.


No photoshop.  I swear.  

I could only find one video on Fall Run Park on YouTube.  It's a family's winter walk for 90 seconds followed by footage only a mother could love.

It's beautiful.  It's peaceful.  Here's my YouTube contribution to showcase the park.  I hope the locals don't get too angry with the increased internet traffic in their back yards.


If you wait until it stays below freezing for a while you can see ice like this on the big falls.


The video was from Wednesday after frolicking the park with LittleBoy and TheBoy on Tuesday.   I only saw six people in those three sunny hours on the trail.  The Hartwood Acres lot on Middle Road, on the other hand, had 25 cars minutes after we left.

Hartwood is bigger and has a huge trail network and you can walk your dog or ride your mountain bike for hours. You can even exercise in view of passing traffic to show off your newest outfit, your fresh lipo, or your personal trainer.  I've walked and pedaled Hartwood many times but I adore Fall Run.

Maybe you're stressed after a long day of work.  Maybe you have a half hour until you really have to be home.  Maybe you're skipping school and can't go home until your parents leave for work.  Whatever the excuse, airplane mode your phone so you can still take pictures and walk the park.

The next time you see Three Rivers Harley on Rt 8, avert your eyes from the heavy, under-performing two wheelers and turn at the light opposite the Halloween monstrosity onto Fall Run Rd.  Time well spent.

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