Total Distance: 4.86 Miles
Avg Speed: 1.74 MPH
Avg Moving Speed: 1.86 MPH
Moving Time: 2:36:31
Total Time: 2:47:14
Conditions: Mostly Sunny, 87 degrees
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
After my hike at Ralph Stover State Park, I took a ride to Bowman's Hill Tower and Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve. I parked at the wildflower preserve but my first objective was to get to Bowman's Hill Tower. It was getting late and the tower would be closing soon so I had to hurry. I arrived at the preserve around 3:20PM and the tower closes at 4PM. While you can drive up to the tower, I decided to make the walk. Bowman's Hill Tower is adjacent to the preserve but it's actually part of Washington Crossing Historic Park.
Approximate location of Bowman's Hill Tower:
1 Tower Road
Lambertville, PA 18938
GPS: 40.326295,-74.937986
Approximate location of Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve:
The hike up the hill from the visitor center to the tower is approximately one mile and will give you a good workout. The hill leading up to it is paved but is relatively steep so if you decide to park at the preserve and walk to the tower, be ready to get some exercise!
As of today, the fee to climb the tower is currently $6 but in my opinion, it's worth the money since you get a beautiful view of the entire area at the top. When I arrived and paid my fee, I was informed that the elevator was broken and would have to climb the stairs. So, if you decide to go hiking earlier in the day, then hike a mile up a steep hill, then have to climb a flight of stairs up to the top of a 125 foot tower, make sure you're in good shape! I was already tired so my walk up the steps took some effort. I don't know how many there were but there's a lot of steps to the top and the stairway is steep!
Once I got to the top of the tower and was able to catch my breath, the view from the top is beautiful. The Delaware River was still flooded and muddy from the rains we had earlier in the week. I didn't stay on top of the tower for too long as I'm not too fond of heights. I took my pictures and went on my way back down the steps.
Once I was done on top of the tower, I headed back down the hill towards the preserve. Before getting back to the preserve, there were a few spots worthy of snapping off a few pictures.
Once I headed back down the hill, I started to explore Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve which has numerous small trails scattered throughout the grounds. There is said to be about 2.5 miles of trails but I managed to walk almost 5 including my hike to the Bowman's Hill Tower. As I'm sure you can see from the map of my track, I did quite a bit of overlapping. One reason for that was as a photographer, I forgot to follow one essential rule while you're out and about with a camera and that's to be sure to bring an extra battery! As I was walking back down the hill from the tower, I noticed it was almost dead. I still managed to get a good number of pictures but I did eventually have to return to my car to pick up one of my spares. Another reason is how the trails are set up at the preserve. I tried to explore as many of them as I could and by doing so, it's impossible not to overlap. You can get a map of the preserve at the visitor center or by clicking here. Note that as of today, there is a $5 fee to walk the preserve.
 |
| Section of the Poconos Laurel Trail |
They're not marked on the map but there's a trail that runs alongside the fence surrounding the preserve, likely created when it was installed as well as for any maintenance that would need to be done. I didn't follow the fence too far but I also didn't see any signs that said you couldn't. If you'd like to add some distance to your walk, you could likely do so by following it around the preserve.
 |
| Walking alongside the fence on or near the Ecology Trail |
There aren't a lot of flowers in bloom this time of year but as you can see, there are some and it was still well worth the walk to explore the area.
 |
| One of several benches scattered throughout the preserve |
 |
| Bridge over small stream on the Medicinal Trail |
 |
| I almost stepped on this little guy as I was walking the trails. It wasn't much larger than about the size of a nickel |
 |
| Another bench overlooking the Pidcock Creek. I believe this was on the Fern Trail |
 |
| Remains of either a fence or possibly a bridge at one time, likely wiped out during a flood |
 |
| Gazebo on the Audubon Trail |
 |
| Small shelter area, again on the Audubon Trail |
 |
| Stone bridge crossing the Pidcock Creek |
 |
| Small cabin on the Cabin Trail |
At this point, I was in the process of returning to my car to get my spare camera battery. I had the intention of walking every trail but ended up having to skip over a few so I could keep taking pictures
 |
| Trail in the Penn's Woods area |
 |
| Gazebo in the center of Penn's Woods |
 |
| Another trail in the Penn's Woods section |
This to me was the best part of the preserve. When you get to the northeast section, there's a somewhat new pond. There was a pond located in a different section of the preserve but when Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee hit in August 2011, it flooded the area and deposited a lot of sediment into the old pond. I don't remember where I saw it but I did find the location of the old pond which is now almost like swampland and kind of mucky. After it was flooded, the pond was relocated to where it is now. For more information on the history of both the old and new ponds, click here.
 |
| Shelter facing the pond |
After visiting the pond, I headed back to the inner part of the preserve to check out some of the trails that I had missed when returning to my car for another camera battery.
 |
| Section of the Marshmarigold Trail |
As I approached the stone bridge again from the Marshmarigold Trail, I took a few more pictures of it
 |
| I believe this is part of the Millrace Trail |
 |
| Dam at Pidcock Creek |
 |
| Another section of the Millrace Trail |
 |
| Section of the Parry Trail leading back up to the visitor center and main parking lot |
At this point, I had returned to just outside the visitor center and was walking back to my car. There's a small island of wildflowers where some were in bloom.
 |
| Small bench just outside the visitor center |
In all, another fun adventure and my second of the day. As I had mentioned before, there weren't a lot of flowers in bloom but there were enough to get some good pictures. The last time I was here, it was earlier in the season and there was a lot more to see as far as the wildflowers go. If you decide to visit, the best time would likely be during the spring. During my walk through the preserve, I saw a few deer and also a hummingbird but it happened quickly and I was unable to get any pictures of them. I didn't get to hit all of the trails like I wanted to but it's not like the preserve won't be here for me to return another day to enjoy it again.
Happy adventures and happy hiking!
Please give my Facebook page a like!
No comments:
Post a Comment