The Lower Trail - SPRING Photo Tour
SPRING is a wonderful time of year to enjoy the Lower Trail. During this time many of the trees are in bloom, as well as the Spring flowers. The tree leaves are not fully developed yet, so you can see farther through the forest than you can in Summer when the leaves are fully grown. The Red Bud trees, which are hardly noticed the rest of the year, command your attention with their beautiful vivid pink blooms (depicted in the Rails to Trails logo above). Pink and White Dogwoods are in bloom as well.Forsythia bushes are displaying their vivid yellow blooms. Blue and White Violets, Periwinkle (also known as Vinca Vine) and Trillium can be found throughout the trail.In the Spring, the Blue Juniata is generally running high from the Spring thaws, if there was significant snowfall during the winter. The large variety of birds that inhabit the park are singing, mating, and building nests. Everything is fresh and new in the Spring. We hope you will come and enjoy Springtime on the Lower Trail.For now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the photo tour! Scroll down to the photos. The narrative at left discusses each photo. When you get to the bottom of the page, click the "Continue" button to continue the tour on additional pages.Photos were taken during three visits between April 12th and May 10th.(Scroll down to view the first group of photos)
LEFT - View along the Juniata River. Benches are provided throughout the trail for resting, relaxing, and enjoying this wonderful slice of nature.
RIGHT - A Dogwood tree blooms along the shores of the Blue Juniata River.
LEFT - A reflective pond of crystal clear water, some red bud trees, the mountain, and lots of blue sky make this an enjoyable site.
RIGHT - Beautiful Red Bud trees in bloom. The buds may be red but the blooms are a vivid pink!
LEFT - Water rushing through one of the locks from the former canal that utilized the river and surrounding land before the railroads.
RIGHT - Stonework along the former canal lock.
LEFT - A covered bridge spans the Juniata River at this point in the trail near the Mt Etna trailhead. The dedication rock can be seen to the right of the trail beyond the bench.
RIGHT - Closeup view of the covered bridge.
LEFT - The trail utilizes a former railroad bridge / tunnel.
RIGHT - Large Forsythia bush is not yet in full bloom in early April.
LEFT - Periwinkle, also known as Vinca Vine, displays its first bloom of the Spring.
RIGHT - Trillium blooms early in the Spring.
LEFT - Blue and White Violets can be found many places along the trail.
RIGHT - Interesting rock formations along the trail.
LEFT - Dedication monument near Mt Etna trailhead.
RIGHT - A time-ravaged tree stump is just a skeleton of its former self.
The
LOWER TRAIL Your pathway
to outdoor fun!
NOW OPEN!!
