2015 Year in Hiking Review

Last week I posted my Year in Running Review, and now I am bringing you my 2015 Year In Hiking Review. It was another great year of hiking. Our youngest son (4 year old) is now completely out of the hiking backpack and actually hikes on his own. The hikes take longer with him walking but it is great to give Hubby's back a break. The hikes we do are shorter in length so the boys both do well. Our 6 year old is a pro now. We try to pick hikes that are rewarding (cool views or with rocks because they like climbing) but it does not always happen. We are trying to teach the kids that not all hikes have the awesome views and it's about the experience and getting outside too. Family fun time outside always makes it worth it.

We did a total of 23 hikes in 2015. We did quite a bit more this year but many this year were shorter hikes. Also when we visited Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, there were days that we did 2-3 short hikes in one day.

In 2015 our hikes were in 4 different states (New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and California).

New Jersey
Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve
Institute Woods Trails
Baldpate Mountain
6 Mile Run Reservoir
Sourland Mountain Preserve
Wyanokie High Point
Zaitz Woods Nature Preserve
Mercer Meadows
Stairway to Heaven to Pinwheel Vista

Virginia
Shenandoah National Park Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4

Pennsylvania
Pulpit Rock
Ricketts Glen

California
Angora Lakes Resort
Crystal Cove State Park - El Moro Ridge Trail loop
Muir Woods National Monument & Muir Beach Overlook
Mount Tamalpais Lookout & Golden Gate Bridge

My favorite destination hike was our visit to Shenandoah National Park. It was a fun 3.5 days there. We stayed in 3 different places and my favorite was staying at the Skyland Resort. It was great exploring different hikes and I remember trail running there. It was a great trip!

My favorite spur of the moment hike was on our first visit to Davis, CA as a family. They flew us out to check out the area for Hubby's potential job and on one of our free days, Hubby found a hike that took us to South Lake Tahoe. He had read good things online about Angora Lakes so we checked it out and it was amazing! It was a short hike to an awesome alpine lake and we even did an off course hike to a high point. It was a fun time for the whole fam! I can't wait to explore more hikes in the area!

My favorite hike in New Jersey in 2015 was the Stairway to Heaven to Pinwheel Vista hike! We hiked up to an awesome view and even later did another hike that included some cool boardwalks.

2015 was another great year of hiking! I can't wait to see where 2016 brings us. We are hoping to visit a bunch of National Parks this year and explore more of Northern California! I am so excited! :)