INTRO
My high school friend Ivonne was in town from California. I hadn’t seen her since 2018 so I was very excited 🙂 And she’s hella outdoorsy! As usual I was looking forward to learning something new from her.
We made plans to go hike Anthonys Nose. Got up early and completed the hike (with plenty of breaks). At the top we saw eagles, peregrines, woodpeckers, hawks, vultures, blue jays, and vireos. She had a nice pair of binoculars with her and it made the experience much better. Someone remind me I need to invest in a pair lol.
Afterwards she recommended we go to Manitou Preserve. Happy to spend more time outdoors we went looking for the parking lot. Google took us to mystery point road and it was closed to vehicles. But if you use the link below it will take you directly to the parking lot we used.
TRAIL
TIME: 2H (if stopping for snacks)
LENGTH: 2.0 MILES RT
ELEVATION CHANGE: 260ft
There’s a very helpful map at the beginning of the trail near the parking lot. I would suggest taking a picture of it for future reference.
We began walking on the perimeter trail. This portion of the trail was unmarked, but it’s the only worn path and very easy to follow.
When we saw the first blue trail marker for the connector trail we made a right.
The blue trail is very short and soon we made a right onto the yellow trail (cooper mine trail).
We took the stairs down to Manitou Road and walked on the road. I wasn’t expecting to see any, but cars drive on this portion of the hike. It’s how the residents in the area get to their homes.
We walked over the train tracks. From there we could see Sugarloaf Hill.
After the train tracks we made a left onto the blue trail (river trail).
My friend enjoys birding and this area had plenty of air traffic.
The blue trail runs along the train tracks for a little bit. The train is fast and unexpected. I wouldn’t recommend having photo shoots on this specific set of tracks!
There was an intersection where we saw a white sign pointing the way. We could tell we were close to the river’s edge. The trail eventually brought us back to this intersection when we completed the loop.
And then there was the water…
We crossed a sturdy bridge while walking along the edge. It’s very important to watch your footing here. The trail runs right along the water in some parts. I wouldn’t want to accidentally fall in. Especially in October weather!
We found a nice spot for some snacks and water. The water was tranquil until a ferry passed by. The waves caused by the ferry caused the water to come splashing upwards. We moved just in time because the rock Ivonne is sitting on got splashed too.
The next two pictures are the trail we followed to get back to the intersection I mentioned before. If you look at the map there’s a few different ways to get to the same spot. This spot is also where our presence scared off an Osprey that was hanging out in the tree. Sorry!
Once we were back at the intersection we retraced our steps all the way back to the car. The parking lot had a total of two cars in it. It was a nice easy trail. Most importantly though, it was quiet and enjoyable. Yes, even on a Saturday afternoon! Don’t worry, the instagrammers are either up the road at Breakneck Ridge or south at Anthonys Nose lol.
SALVI NOMAD 