Walking outside in a Cumberland Valley winter poses unique challenges but also offers rewards. With proper attire, attention to weather conditions, and a healthy dose of nature-based curiosity, this season can be enjoyed outdoors with minimum discomfort or risk.
Winter days are shorter, but thankfully growing longer each day. For walks during the work week, only a small window of precious daylight remains in late afternoon, and that is normally when temperatures are warmest.
Luckily, Waynesboro, Washington Township, and Quincy Township have convenient walking venues when daylight is waning. Of course, weekends offer more time choices for walkers with traditional schedules. For the bravest, winter mornings typically offer conditions that will serve as a brisk wake-up call.
Despite colder temperatures, consider the benefits of winter walking. Gone are summer days when enough clothes can’t be peeled off to stay cool- winter is all about dressing smartly in relation to individual fitness, weather conditions, and difficulty of the route. Wearing layers, which can be adjusted on the go, is always a wise practice. Keeping head, hands, and extremities warm will keep most comfortable even when the mercury drops below freezing. But most winter days in the area are fairly mild- without bitter temperatures or biting wind.
With leaves gone from the trees, winter is an ideal season for bird watching. Despite the disappearance of some migratory birds, plenty of local species remain. Birds with vibrant plumage are easily spotted on bare branches, such as bluebirds, cardinals, blue jays, and house finches. Hawks and other birds of prey are often perched in open treetops, always hunting. When walking near bodies of water, large species like great blue herons and bald eagles are sometimes spotted. Forest sight lines are also more open in winter, allowing glimpses of white tail deer and other shy mammals.
With lower humidity, winter air is crisp and clear, providing unobstructed views to the surrounding mountains. When in woodland settings, the area’s undulating leaf-less topography is easily seen and so is the sylvan architecture of northeastern tree species.
Another seasonal benefit: walking local hills isn’t as taxing in winter. Also, at most parks, visitation is significantly lower during this season and so walkers enjoy a more peaceful and serene exercise experience. Finally, don’t shy away from periodic outdoor delights of winter walking: snow and fog. These conditions can transform an ordinary scene into a winter wonderland.
Listed below are five excellent locations for winter walks in the Waynesboro area. All are worth a visit, but plan ahead to enjoy them to their fullest.
RENFREW PARK
Renfrew Museum and Park is an ideal landscape to stroll and explore. The 120-acre property has walking trails for every fitness level and desired hiking distance. Along those routes, a walker will see vestiges of an old farmstead, discover the rocky and bubbling course of Antietam Creek, view thick forests, open fields, a rustic barn, and a charming stone homeplace. Some trails hug the creek, other venture into the woods.
There are hills at Renfrew to challenge legs and lungs, but walkers can also stay on flat paths that wind through pine and sycamore trees. Two bridges span the Antietam, and several trails are paved if sure footing is a concern. One of those paved pathways leads to Otterbein Park at Renfrew’s south end, while Ed Miller Trail travels west toward the school complex and eventually leads to Memorial Park.
The park is free but dogs must be registered to accompany walkers. Plenty of parking is located off Route 16 at the barn or near Renfrew’s east entrance off Welty Road. Open dawn to dusk. For more info: www.renfrewmuseum.org.
MEMORIAL PARK
In the center of Waynesboro, Memorial Park is a beloved community property with baseball fields, pickle-ball and tennis courts, and a play area for kids. But in winter, it is a quiet space with a paved trail that is easily navigated. A tunnel of hardwoods leads south into the park, toward Memorial Plaza where war veterans are remembered.
The winter grass stays mostly green here and although this park can be crowded in other seasons, you’ll likely have the place to yourself during winter. Memorial Park is located between Walnut Street, South Broad, Fifth Street, and Clayton Avenues. Open dawn to dusk.
ANTIETAM MEADOW PARK
Antietam Meadow Park is a hidden gem along its namesake creek. The oval-shaped grass circular trail (approximately ¾ mile in length) is flat, wide and soft. This offers a variety of open views of meadow, creek, and trees. This park is a choice location to witness a winter sunset. Birds are easily spotted here; red-winged blackbirds are prevalent overhead. Mallards and Canada geese are a common sight in the Antietam’s shallow water. Plentiful bird boxes offer shelter to other native species.
Antietam Meadow Park sits in a floodplain, so best to avoid this park after heavy rain or prolonged wet spells, since the grass trail can get soggy. Enter the park via Country Club road at Scott Road on the west side of the Antietam. A small gravel lot serves for parking. Open dawn to dusk.
MONT ALTO STATE PARK
A large dance pavilion marks the spot of Mont Alto State Park, one of the oldest parks in Pennsylvania’s system. Located 5 miles north of Waynesboro, Mont Alto has a storied past in forestry education and conservation and this park’s forest doesn’t disappoint.
Also located along Antietam Creek, this 24-acre Quincy Township park has multiple hiking trails that lead into dense forests, or follow the creek bed. Even in winter, there are ample doses of color here, due to local evergreen species that thrive in Michaux State Forest.
Nearby is Penn State’s Mont Alto campus, also a pleasant place to walk. Several forest service roads, also near Mont Alto State Park, offer wider hiking options with strenuous uphill sections. Open year-round dawn to dusk. Parking is on the south side of Highway 233 (1 mile from downtown Mont Alto via Park Street) across from the pavilion. Learn more at: www.dcnr.pa.gov.
PINE HILL RECREATION AREA
This park, located off Mentzer Gap Road in Washington Township, offers panoramic mountain vistas. From the elevated parking area, the Appalachians surround visitors. This recreation area is a multi-use 174-acre property with ball fields, a skate-park, and picnic pavilions. Pine Hill’s walking trails are some of the best maintained anywhere, with wood chips serving as a soft surface for a comfortable stroll. The wooded area has never been developed, so it has the atmosphere of a wild forest.
This scenic park is located on a hilltop above Red Run Park but the two park’s trail systems are not connected. Most of Pine Hill’s pathways (approximately three miles in total) are moderate, with only a few minor hills. Address: 12684 Mentzer Gap Road, Waynesboro. Hours: 6 am to 8 pm.
While many winter days will require snuggling indoors with a good book near a warm fire, there will certainly be many other suitable days for walking. At these five local parks, venture out to enjoy the many benefits of the invigorating winter season.
