Lake Laura on a Winter's Afternoon

Our dog is convinced that he OWNS the walk around the lake!  

Scenes from a Walk Around Lake Laura

Spring has definitely arrived. Although we enjoy hiking, my son can't wait to go swimming! He enjoyed playing in the water at the various docks along the hike, and he definitely noticed the beach area with all of its canoes, paddle boats & rafts!

A Busy Saturday with Something for Everyone

We enjoyed a whirlwind tour of our favorite attractions on Saturday.

We began with a "Introduction to Fly Fishing" class for my husband at Murray's Fly Shop in Edinburg. Now that the cabin is finished, he needs a new hobby! Luckily, Harry Murray is the best person to go to for fly fishing and we are blessed to have him nearby and eager to assist newbies! Jeff had a great time and is eager to sign up for future classes.

While Jeff enjoyed his introduction to fishing, the boys and I had fun at Edinburg's playground. If it was raining, we'd planned to go to the town's very nice library, but the sun was shining, so we spent a couple of hours swinging, sliding, and climbing.



After we picked Jeff up, we went to one of our favorite spots for lunch, Woodstock Cafe & Shoppes. The food is great & they love kids....what's not to love?!

We then headed to the cabin to take a walk by the lake and work off some of the wonderful pumpkin swirl cheesecake that we'd enjoyed at lunch. The trees were "naked" as my older son said, but it was still quite beautiful down by the water.




We then picked up some apples and cider from Paugh's Orchard and headed off to my favorite knitting store, Fibersmythe, in Woodstock before we drove home.

I happen to live near several knitting stores, but I am loyal to Fibersmythe. Not only do they have a wonderful selection, but the owner Elizabeth is a true gem, eager to help with patterns and yarn, and then show you how to actually knit the pattern! She even rescued me one day when my son's special blanket developed a hole and needed to be fixed before bedtime! Perhaps realizing that I was in way over my head to fix the problem quickly, Elizabeth went out of her way to fix his blanket herself. I don't go anywhere else.

So, with our apples, cider, yarn, and plans for future fishing trips....we had a great day.

Directions to the Path Around Lake Laura

It's simple to get to the path so you can walk around Lake Laura. Of course, you can drive to the main parking lot near the dam (off of 263 and Arnold) and hike from there. Or, you can access the path from the cabin. Here's how:

There is an unmarked public path to the left of our neighbor's gravel parking lot (this is the neighbor whose driveway is located next to our driveway and his house is a bit closer to the lake).

Walk down that path, which veers right and runs parallel to some steps our neighbor installed.

After a few yards, you'll see what we call the "sewer road" because it is a service road for the sewer system. This road is a public path and it also quite nice to walk in the fall and winter. Almost everything down from the "sewer road" towards the lake is public property, so we can use the neighbor's steps for the rest of the way.

Then, you've arrived at the main path around the lake!

You can walk either to the right (towards the beach area) or to the left. The rest of the directions are for walking towards the left because if you have any questions, that's the way they probably will arise. For some reason, the path seems more "obvious" coming from the other direction.

So, turn left and start walking. After a few minutes, you'll walk over a concrete bridge and see a barn. This is the only spot on the trail where my family ever had a problem -- the first time we tried to hike around the lake, we walked up to the barn and the main road. Don't do that! Instead, look to the right as soon as you walk over the bridge. That is where the path is -- it runs right next to the lake and heads towards the boat access (the photo immediately below is looking back from the path, so you can see the barn, path & the water)

At the boat access, pick up the trail across the parking lot. It's beautiful on the far side of the lake so this is our favorite section of the hike.

You'll eventually come to the dam. Turn right and walk across the top of the dam. This is a good place to stop for a snack, if you have kids who need a break. After you cross the dam, veer right and walk up the hill to the public beach area. You'll see the path back towards the cabin running parallel to the beach area, passing the beach area and heading back into the woods.

Happy Hiking!

A Walk in the Woods

One of family's favorite activities is to walk around Lake Laura. Just a few steps from our cabin, we have easy access to this 2.5 mile, kid-friendly hike.



This time of year, it's a beautful hour spent out in the woods. Of course, it probably doesn't take most people an hour -- we have to take extra time for snacks!