8 Monday, October 5,1998 Get up, get out; winter's coming quickly NEGLEY PARK, Lemoyne This is one of my favorite scenic spots in the area, and don't we just have an abundance of those? You drive into Lemoyne from 1-83 and go straight at the light at the Hardee's, taking a right at the first road and driving up, up into the neighborhood there. The road suddenly opens onto an expansive vista with the city of Harrisburg, the Susquehanna River and the mountains in the distance. There is a picnic pavilion and a nice playground, tennis courts and a ball field there. There are also several swings you can relax on while you enjoy the view. Ahhh. Even though I have been from Harrisburg FOREVER, I did not find out about this place until I was urn older. Then it was from someone who wasn't even from around here! I suppose it’s because I grew up on the East Shore, and this is a West Shore attraction (Locally, the West Shore translates to the West Coast as far as figurative distance goes to people on the East Shore. Of course, the THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL Stretches from Maine to Georgia, so get off your butt and start hikin'. If you rather be a weenie and take a local, shorter, (1 mile) pleasant, easy walk through a relatively level section of it, here’s your cheat sheet: Take Rt. 322 north to 225 through Dauphin. Don't for get to swallow as you start up the mountain to “pop" your ears and down-shift that old clunker of a car to get you up there. Now, pay attention here slow down as you near the top of the mountain because the opening to the park ing area beside the trail appears suddenly. Turn into the opening you see on your right before you hit the sharp hairpin turn at the top. Slow down at this point or you will need new tires or a muffler; it’s really stony and bumpy for a couple of minutes until you pull into the parking area. This particular part of the trail is on the crest of Peter's Mountain. In the course of walking, you come into a clear ing that opens onto a breathtaking view (especially at au tumn) of the valley stretching far beyond into upper Dau phin and Perry counties. If you want to climb the boulders Photos and story by Barb Roy ENTERTAINMENT East Shore is just a suburb of New York City to those on the West). Or, you could look at the West Shore as representing Canada and the East Shore as the United States. Which there, you'll get a more expansive view and cancel the weenie factor since this walk is not very strenuous. You can also see the lovely view on the other side of the mountain, which looks into the valley between Peter's and Second mountains. If you turn right at the stone fire pit side has the prettier view of Niagara Falls? Come on, we all know it's our neighbors to the North. The same prin ciple follows here the city of Harrisburg is WAY pret tier from the “Canadian" side. FT. HUNTER PARK Harrisburg The park is located on both sides of Front Street, with picnic pavilions and playground areas in each area. The one side borders the Susquehanna River and offers a refresh ing, scenic view of the water, the Rockville train bridge and the craggy mountain on the other side. The historic Fort Hunter Mansion is on the grounds; tours are Tue.- Sat. 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sun. noon to 4:30. If you're there on a weekend, you can tour the Centennial Barn, which houses interesting old artifacts associated with past own ers of the house; like carriages and old farm equipment. Special events occur here throughout the year, especially in December with a Christmas tea. Call 599-5751 for info. shortly before the clearing and follow the trail that emerges in the brush there, you will also come onto this view at the base of the other side of the boulders. The trail continues on if you want to keep walking, now that you're on a roll. SHANKS PARK, Hershey Turn onto Bullfrog Hollow Rd. off of Rt. 322. It's the first road beside the Hershey Medical Center on the west side. The park is on the right-hand side after you drive about 2 miles. Located on spacious grounds, there are the usual play ground, picnic pavilion, ball and soccer fields here. But the main thing that makes this such a nice park is that there is a 1.63 mile nature trail around the perimeter that winds through the fields and wooded areas. There is a bonfire pit in a clearing at the back of the park that you can rent through Derry Twp. Also, head straight for this place when it snows with a sled, toboggan or snowboard in hand and hit the awesome hill you see to your right when you first drive into the park. I had a blast there two days before Christmas when we actually had that much snow around. That was three years ago —here's hopin'. The Capital Times
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