Lantern Hill Trail

1st viewpoint looking eastward.
PC: Manuela A. (above and below)

Kid friendly: yes
Parking: small area at entrance
Bathroom: no

My experience: Friday, October 23, 2020

Just WOW! This was exactly what I was looking for for fall colors. The hike was relatively short and not too difficult. There’s a fairly steep incline at the beginning and to the left of the loop, but I went right at the loop, which I highly recommend. You’ll get views of the hills through trees as you’re walking up to the viewpoint. There are multiple trails around the viewpoints, but they are all intertwined as far as I could tell. When you go right at the loop, the first viewpoint is the best for the eastern view. If you walk farther down the trail, you’ll get another 180 view of the western side of the trail. It’s just breath-taking!

I recommend wearing hiking shoes on this trail, if you have them. There are parts with rocks and roots. I would have rolled my ankles a couple of times if I didn’t have mine. The trail markers are very clear. Also, be careful during the fall when it’s wet. The leaves get slippery.

Overall, I recommend this hike. It’s beautiful, a good length, and has amazing views. There were only a couple of people when I went late morning, but I’m not sure how it is during the weekend. I can imagine that the parking area gets full pretty quickly.

Saturday, November 7, 2020

We arrived at 7:30am and no one else was there. We were on a time restraint and made it around, with short pauses at two of the lookouts, in about 40 minutes. With the amount of leaves on the ground, it made it harder to know where the rocks and roots were. Nevertheless, this is still one of my favorite trails in the area.