Here's the brief run-down of my recent trip to Snowdonia National Park in Northern Wales. I'll include more details later about routes, campgrounds, etc. Enjoy!
We arrived in Conwy and toured around the town and castle for a while before heading to a pub outside the city for some lunch. We must have lounged there for a good 2 hours talking to locals and staring at our newly purchased Snowdonia map before we decided to trek over Conwy mountain to get to some ambiguous campsite the map had shown. We hiked said mountain and were awarded with stunning views from the top. Our decent was was a bit spontaneous (
and included wild blackberries) and we stumbled out of some evergreens to find that we were practically on top of a campsite with hot showers. Sweet as. Ran up and down the nearby beach at sundown and laughed at our drunken neighbors before calling it a night.
Caught the bus into Llanberis the following day. Llanberis is a dream: more outdoor stores than restaurants, sweet cafés, and climbers/bikers/hikers everywhere. We were pretty stoked. After buying some stove fuel and people watching (
we definitely were not oggling over climbers) we got some hiking advice from a friendly store clerk and hiked down the road towards our next campsite. Explored a castle and sketchy cave on the way and got to catch the tail end of the Snowdon Mountain Run after playing around a stream for hours. The second campsite was even more glorious, nestled in a farm pasture in a mountainous basin. Beauty all around.
Caught the bus to Pen-Y-Pas the next day to hike the
Snowdon Horseshoe. Conditions were perfect, which is rare. We met a lady later in the trip that told us out of summitting Snowdon 15 times she had only seen the view from the top once. We got a cloudless day with perfect blue skies. We hiked
Crib Goch which is easily the most bad ass thing I've ever done or ever will do. Pardon my french but I think I deserve the term after straddling, shimmying, and scrambling over a sharp mountain ridge with 1,000 foot drops down either side. It was a bit ridiculous and completely surreal. Maybe the fact that it was so surreal kept me from contemplating my immanent death, but I made it through with only a few blisters, bruises, and a sunburnt nose. We summitted Snowdon with the rest of the world (
there is a train and café at the top). I heard a fellow hiker mention that there should be a fenced-off area for Crib Gochers - I agree. We were going to finish on the "easy route" but got a bit off track and finished off with the twin peaks instead - a walk in the park compared to Crib. We caught the last bus back to the campsite and tried celebrating at the local pub but I fell asleep after my steak & ale pie and single pint so we called it a night.
The next day Theresa wanted to climb more mountains. Instead we tramped into Llanberis again and passed out on bean-bag chairs after a full Welsh breakfast at
Pete's Eats (
I highly recommend their black pudding and the turquoise bean bag).
We woke up and ate some more (
I also highly recommend their chocolate cake) and consulted the map. Once we had pinpointed "a green looking area with waterfalls" we jumped on a bus bound to Betws-y-Coed and camped (
slightly illegally) at an RV park that night. All legalities were solved in the morning. Not gonna lie - sometimes it pays to be an innocent looking girl. Don't know if it's a fair trade off with being able to pee standing up, but ya can't have it all.
Hiked up to
Swallow Falls in Betws-y-Coed. Ate more wild blackberries. Ruined some scenic photos for tourists (
how were we to know our sunbathing was blocking the view? It's not like we were lying directly on top of the waterfall... oh wait) Ate more sardines and paté (
one of the many benefits of hiking in areas with no carnivorous predators) and that was that.
On to Ogwen Valley -my favorite campground by far. We set up tent on a hill away from the other travelers and it felt like we had the place to ourselves. We also had a fire right, which was convenient considering our fuel depleted halfway through our noodle dish. Weather was gorgeous when we showed up but quickly deteriorated the next day. We planned to hike all the way to
Tryfan via Glyder Fawr and Glyder Fach but after picking our way carefully up the first peak (
we could hardly see cairn to cairn in the fog and the ascent was all scree) we couldn't see any sign of the trail at the top. We sat cold, wet and huddled in a small outcropping rationing a pasty while contemplating life, love, and lousy compasses. We decided to turn back, and though feeling glum and defeated we soon met other hikers that had similar difficulties in the fog. Made some friends on the descent and found our way back to the warden station were we loaded up on hot chocolate. Spent the rest of the day trying to warm up in our sleeping bags. Thankfully the sun came out enough to partially dry some of our clothes before bed.
Back to Conwy the next morning. Ate another Welsh breakfast and hiked along the seashore. Dinner of fresh mussels and wine near the harbor. Serenaded by the
Once soundtrack from a nearby sailboat (
owned by a juggler with dreadlocks- we should have been friends).
Wales, Wales, Wales. Someday we'll meet again methinks.
I have only been here once to put in my newly bought kayak with a friend. It's the perfect park for boating as it's mostly water oriented. You can rent canoes, kayaks, paddle boats and jon boats on weekends (March-October). It also offers group camping, hiking, fishing, picnic areas, miniature golf, large play area for children, and swimming (it boasts one of the biggest outdoor freeform pools on the east coast). The hiking trails total 8.5 miles and there are specific bluebird trails that detour to bluebird boxes so you can check on the park's conservation efforts The waterpark is open May-September. 
Westmoreland State Park takes up 1,311 acres along the Potomac River in Virginia. It boasts 133 camping sites (electric and standard) and several cabins. The waterfront is perfect for fishing and picnics and gets quite crowded in the summer. There are no designated swimming areas in the Potomac itself but the park has a pool available in the summer. Bald eagles are known for nesting within the park and many campers scour the riverside looking for elusive sharks teeth.There are several small hiking trails (the longest just under 2.5 miles) that are ideal for children. I've camped here once for a quick weekend get-away and found the sites well-wooded though a little close together. Since the hiking trails are minimal and swimming isn't technically allowed I would recommend bringing a canoe or kayak as it's proximity to the Potomac is perfect for boating. Paddleboats can be rented Memorial Day through Labor Day and powerboats are permitted as well. Next time I go I'm bringing my kayak for sure.
Cerro Chato
an exhausting uphill climb often involving hands and feet (think a literal jungle gym). If you start in the nearby district of La Fortuna and your budget excludes unnecessary taxis you tack on an additional uphill climb to get to the ranger station before even beginning the hike. Bring lots of water and some trail bars. I guarantee you will get hungry, t
hirsty, and very tired before making it back downhill. Trail maps are available at the ranger station at the entrance to the park, but they sell tickets to the waterfalls alone. For the Cerro Chato trail entrance walk up the steep driveway that you first passed on your right on the way to the ranger station. The Green Lagoon Lodge is at the top of the driveway which is where you will sign-in and pay the entrance fee. Most hotels and tour companies will convince you that you need a tour package or guide, but honestly there is only one way up the mountain and the path is rather obvious thanks to frequently dispersed signs.
tire 6 hour hike when we visited in November and the lagoon was hidden under a dense blanket of fog. Once at the top of the dormant volcano there seem to be several trails leading down to the lagoon which are incredibly steep. Just remember, when hiking in a crater what goes down must come up - don't go descending any hill that is too difficult to climb back up. For some more info here is another helpful article about the Cerro Chato hike with some great photos.
The smaller waterfall in La Fortuna
Mile 22.1 of Shenandoah National Park
A word of encouragement for the ursaphobic (I made that up): In my 4-5 camps at this park I have had no up-close encounters with bears . I have headed all park warnings and kept all food, dirty dishes, and food stained clothing in the car at night and that seems to have done the trick. I’m not promising you won’t have an encounter yourself, I’m just saying there are things you can do to avoid said-face-off. In fact I’ve had more instances at Hickory Run than here – but then again I camp at Hickory run far more frequently . For more bear-avoiding tips check this out: Backpackers.com.
arrived tired and on the verge of hysteria only to be reprimanded by a hot-shot youth for pulling across several parking spots (we had a 9-passenger van with a pop-up camper in tow). According to the numerically-challenged employee, they were expecting 200 reservations in the next 5 minutes (a daunting aspect for a campground of 140 sites) so we were forced to stick to strict traffic regulations in the then-empty parking lot during our 45 second reservation process.
