Spring

Many hikers do not look forward to hiking in mud season, especially when your up to your ankles in mud and your chewing up the trails and making mud wallows worse by pounding your feet through them. Some trails are well drained or are hard rock, but many turn to slop this time of year. Barn boots can keep your feet dry, but it’s still tough on the trails, and mud ain’t fun to walk any distance in.

Yet, there is a good but often overlooked alternative. Road hikes!

Many state forests and WMA have good roads that are drier and stable compared to the trails. Just because they are gated and or impassable by motor vehicles, doesn’t mean the won’t be a bad hike. Seasonally gated roads can be particularly delightful once the snow is gone, you’ll very rarely see anyone in mud season once you walk past the gate.

Also any country road can be a very pleasant walk with good views but watch for dogs off leash passing homesteads, especially on roads that don’t see a lot of pedestrians in this area. Don’t think your necessarily limited just to strolls in state forest roads during the mud season, sometimes the country lane just beyond the state land can offer stunning views, especially across open farm fields and homesteads.