Thanksgiving Hike 1: Rockwood Park

This is the first of three Thanksgiving Hikes I'll be writing about:

Hiking in Rockwood

My family gathered in Saint John for a Thanksgiving Feast on Saturday. With the chicken roasting in the oven, we went to work up an apetite in Rockwood Park. This Saint John park happens out to be one of North America's largest city parks. Luckily we had Nathan as our trusty guide. He's been working in the park all summer and knows the trails well.

Owen Lake

We started on the backside of Rockwood Park, near Sandy Point Road and soon were following a narrow footpath that around old trees and rocky outcrops. Nathan led us to a series of lakes. At one, our black lab dove headlong into the black spunky mud and nearly got stuck, as if she was quicksand. I speak for the whole family when I say that we were blown away by serenity and wildness of these lakes. I expected to see a moose grazing in the tail marsh grasses that surrounded Owen Lake, but we did hear one calling, 

Long Lake

Farther along, we came to Long Lake. Which really is a long lake and with the sun setting at the far end I felt miles away from the city. This park is really worth exploring. The city of Saint John has a real gem in the backyard. And Rockwood's inclusion in the recent UNESCO designation of the Stonehammer Geopark, Saint Johners have another reason to celebrate their heartland.
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For Park information and basic trail maps visit:
http://rockwoodpark.ca/