My favorite place in Baristaville is Crest Drive in the South Mountain Reservation. I have walked this two mile loop trail for many years. Most often I walk in the mornings, a couple of times a week, with my English Springer Spaniel, Lucky. On weekdays, I look forward to meeting up with women friends who also enjoy being outside in the fresh air and natural light–talking and walking in a peaceful setting. Some of us have dogs as companions; some don’t. My walk starts on the paved portion of Crest Drive that is closed to vehicles.
On weekends, when the weather’s nice, a heterogeneous group of people flocks to Crest Drive–old and young, black and white, native-born and foreign. Families come. Couples come. Children ride new bicycles with two or three wheels. Roller blades and strollers transport others. I walk at a brisk pace but am always glad to stop when children turn to their parents and say, “That’s a really cute dog” and then to me, “May I please pet your dog?” The variety of people and languages I hear makes me feel part of a European or old-fashioned tradition of taking a promenade on a Sunday. This is a tradition worth saving.
Crest Drive is five hundred feet above sea level, at the top of South Mountain. Washington Rock, where a plaque places George Washington standing with his binoculars surveying battles in Springfield and Vaux Hall, stands at the halfway point of the loop trail. I love passing this rock, imagining George Washington standing there. I also love feeling connected to my friends and the amalgam of people who come out to appreciate the South Mountain Reservation. Crest Drive is a place where you can feel part of nature and serene, or part of civilization and social. It’s a place where you can choose one or the other, or both.
I always like being there. I am never disappointed or tired of it. It amuses me how much I enjoy walking around a circle.
Story by Janet Armuth Wolkoff
Wondering if this is the same walk I have taken with my family, except we keep getting “off track” and never end up where we started. We have started at the entrance to the reservation across the road from the Millburn library and ended up at the dog park. Could you perhaps provide your start and end point. Would like to not have to have me or my husband run back alone to our starting point for the car next time! Thanks
Janet, could you related to my former next-door-neighbors, Lynn & Howard Armuth ?
bbyscoop;
I do believe the above is speaking of the apex of South Orange Avenue, IN South Orange, the entrance to Crest Drive.
We went back this past Saturday and it was bliss. The hubby, the daughter, the dog and I all had a great time. Thanks for the reminder about this great place.