Easy Hikes and Fun Playgrounds - Roanoke

We've been visiting as many hiking trails and parks as we possibly can in Roanoke. We've noticed as a family that if we spend too much time inside the house we start to go a little stir crazy. The weather here is so mild compared to DSM that with the right clothes, we're happy to get outside in anything. The days usually start out foggy and cool, but warm up by lunch time and there have been a couple days here lately where we're out in shorts! Such a blessing. Some days we don't want to go anywhere, but we always feel so much better after forcing ourselves outdoors. I love listening to 1,000 hours outside podcasts when I start to feel like staying indoors and the latest episode I heard talked about homeschooling and how much of it revolved around reading books together and conversations. So, I have tried to be deliberate about the conversations we have while hiking or exploring. It is easy on days where M and X are naturally curious, but it often takes some through provoking questions to get us started. The most recent hike we took had us talking about why dry leaves crunch louder than wet, why a leaf falls slower than a rock, identifying which leaves go with which trees along the trail and spelling the names together, counting rings on cut/fallen trees and how that helps us determine their age, and talking about temperature changes as we walk along the trail. We also love to weave in bible stories where we can. Discussing which ones are our favorites. M says his favorite is the story of Jesus' tomb being empty. If anything, we are building vocabulary and social skills for both boys, but I hope M is remembering some of the science we talk about along the way. Maybe if I get ambitious, I'll one day put together a curriculum for us to use on the go for homeschooling, but right now I'm just enjoying the time we have together.

Fern Park and Hiking Trail: A mom's hiking group here has this great map that overlays on Google Maps and shows mom friendly hikes in the area! Fern Park was a shorter one that was recommended. We visited our favorite Y first then headed out for a hike. It was a nice short out and back trail. Parking was in a neighborhood and the trail started at the playground. Some of the hike was narrow, but most if it was very easy to walk. We turned around when we reached a road and probably only went 1-1.5 miles. We packed lunches to eat at the playground after and X gave us the usual heart attacks while he climbed to the top of the playground and refused help from anyone to get down. M and I had the best time looking for leaves to put into a rainbow. Thanks CP for the idea!

 

 

Countryside Playground and Walking Trail: This is a gem right near our rental house!! It has some very fun features that the boys enjoyed. M and I played the little racing game. X and I went down the walking trail and tested out all of the workout equipment. It is super close to the airport, so it is fun to watch the planes coming in to land. They get so close!! EZ wore his awesome new Polyface Farms shirt and I couldn't help taking a candid picture of him to remember.

Smith Park and Roanoke Greenway: I've been using a fun app to meet other moms in the area whenever we are new to town. We met a lovely momma and her sweet baby at Smith Park to go for a walk, but then all of the kids wanted to play on the playground instead, so we just went for it! A walk would've taken us along Roanoke River and the scenery was beautiful! The trees still had their leaves, so that was glorious to take in. This was a great playground for smaller kids. There weren't many places X could fall (read jump) from, so it was easy to chat with a new friend about all things motherhood and traveling! The boys both had on overalls this day, so I snagged a few pictures of them together being silly. They also found birdhouses in a tree and had fun rearranging them.

Carbon’s Cove Hiking Trail: This is a paid area, $7, and a large park. The trail was covered with leaves by this time, but still easy to follow. It was a little slick and muddy in places, so we were all happy to have boots on. We did about a 2 mile hike here with the boys. Most of our time was spent collecting acorns and leaves, hugging trees to measure their size, petting moss, and looking for water. The colors all look so bright against the overcast background. After hiking we drove around to the actual cove, one of the entrances is closed this time of year, to see the water for a quick second. This is somewhere we will have to go back to in order to see the cove. We are hoping to hike along the water next time.

Happy Hollow Gardens: M and I went on a solo date while EZ and X went to Home Depot to get some wood glue to repair something X threw at his bedroom door while in time out. You win some you lose some...EZ said they also picked out appliances for our future homestead house. He'll need my approval of course. hah! M and I went to Happy Hollow Gardens to meet with a group of homeschooling families for a kid friendly hike, activities, and lunch. We had a great time with new friends and the area was beautiful! One of the moms told a story about how the 2 sisters had donated the land to the public. It was a great area for kids to explore with picnic areas and an amphitheater. 

Roanoke River Greenway: We had a crazy amount of rain from Hurricane Nicole which kept us inside for an entire day. We actually spent that day at the YMCA in Salem which has amazing play spaces for kids. I used my 2 hours of childcare to bible study and workout then the boys and I played games in their teen room and had some imaginary play in the Y town kids room. The YMCA here has been such a blessing to us. The heavy rains brought warm weather the next day, so we put on our shorts and ventured down to the Roanoke River to walk/ride along the greenway and look for wildlife. I had been here previously alone and thought we could walk on some rocks in the river, but after the rain the current was much stronger and the rocks were underwater. It was like a totally different river, but we still had plenty to explore. M took his bike and it was the perfect trail to ride for him. X had his bike, but was more into riding in the stroller. We were able to see turtles basking in the sun, a crane hunting for fish, 3 ducks napping, and a squirrel eating a black walnut. We also found shells which M thought was the most exciting thing! Maybe our next adventure will take us toward the beach for more shell hunting.