Cooper's Mill Park Hike

I actually went here about 3 weeks ago, but have been too busy to post the pictures yet.I found this place while driving around looking for someplace new to eat.The hike itself was nothing that intense, but there are a few things of note to check out.

At the entrance, there is a historic building with a water wheel.I believe it was used as a mill at one point.I was not able to get into the building, but the water wheel was kinda neat to see.

The path goes in two directions.One way starts with a tunnel that goes directly under route 206.

I wasn't overly fond of this end of the trail as it runs right alongside a lot of homes and it takes away from the "get away from it all" vibe that I enjoy when hiking.The only thing really worth mentioning on this side is right when you leave the tunnel.This was about as close as I could get to it.It's actually pretty big.

The other side of the trails were honestly nothing special.It was a nice afternoon stroll, but presented nothing in terms of a challege.I did find the ruins of an old bridge alongside the trail.

Eventually I came across a long cyclone fence with signs saying that there were mines behind it.That's more like it.I walked along the entire perimeter of the fence looking for a break to crawl through and finally found a section where some folks had built up a stone pile and pulled the fence down.

I was a little hesitant about climbing the fence as this area was clearly visible from the road and I did not feel like getting pinched for trespassing.( I don't recommend tresspassing.Don't do as I do.)The lure of the mines though was too much to resist.The mines were of the hole in the ground variety.Most just opened up into deep pits.

After seeing a few of these I was even more unsure.I was afraid that I'd step on what looked like a leaf pile, but would really be covering some 100 foot deep pit.I decided to leave, but not before I snapped another shot of the only mine I saw that looked like you could enter it.

I didn't go in because, once more, I was alone and would have been jolly well fucked if I fell in or something collapsed.I finished my hike, turned around, and went back to the parking lot.There were quite a few other trails, but I didn't go on them because it was too late in the day and they were 5+ miles one way.

Overall, it was an OK hike.The bulk of the trail really was too close to houses and the highway and I like my hikes to be a bit more secluded.It's an easy afternoon though and most of the trail also follows a river, which is always nice.