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Trail of the Month Program
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Hikers' Comments on Oak-Hickory, Bluff and Bridge Trails
Bennett Spring State Park

	Month Hiked	Comments from participants of the 2007 Trail of the Month Program
	October 2007	You must go to the hatchery and feed the fish. It creates great memories no matter what your age. I enjoyed this with my parents when I was a child. Now I get to do it with mine.
	October 2007	My favorite part wasn't so much the trail as sitting on the bridge and seeing all the trout in the crystal-clear water.
	September 2007	The trail is winding and heavily wooded so wear plenty of bug spray. Also watch out for spider webs that tend to go across the path in many places. My wife and I had to clear quite a few before we could continue. It's a gradual uphill climb to the midpoint before you descend, but once you get to the end there's a neat reveal of the river coming from the spring and a lot of anglers in the river. Bennett Spring is a great state park and obviously a popular destination for campers. I'll definitely be back.
	August 2007	Boy--did we get loaded with seed ticks! I am still carrying signs of them. Not a bad trail otherwise. It was pretty grown up though.
	August 2007	The optional scavenger hunt makes the trail more enjoyable.
	August 2007	Beautiful walk in the park. Seen birds and squirrels. Loved the long spiral walk way made of rock. Enjoyed watching the fishermen standing in the spring fishing for trout.
	August 2007	Make sure you use insect repellent. We came out with a lot of deer ticks in the nymph stage. We also saw a deer, chipmunk, squirrel, birds, lots of butterflies, and my son thought he saw a fox, but only saw it for a split second and couldn't make a positive ID. Very well kept well-marked trail. Has uphill and downhill. I'd rate it easy, unless it's hot (as it was when we hiked it), then take extra water along. Walking stick would be helpful too.
	August 2007	This is a nice trail, and I liked the scavenger hike along the first few hundred yards. And the views at the end are beautiful!
	July 2007	Great trail. Our daughter loved feeding the fish when we were done.
	July 2007	I really enjoyed these trails. They were fairly easy to hike but nerve wracking with two children as they go up a bluff and right on the edge of the river. There is some rock climbing, which we all enjoyed. We did not enjoy getting attacked by seed ticks however. Great visitor's center and extremely nice ranger.
	July 2007	Wonderful Park. Don’t miss seeing the fish hatchery. Lots of people fishing in the river. Nice trail but very narrow in some grassy areas. Lots of shade making it a reasonable hike on a hot day.
	July 2007	This trail was alive with activity. There were chipmunks and lizards scurrying off before they could hardly be seen. There was a great energy along this trail and it was nice to get away from all the fishing.
	July 2007	Nice trail, pretty steep at times. Lots of different types of fungi. Neat nature center. Fun to watch the fishermen and put hands in the nice refreshing water!
	June 2007	It was a pleasant walk along the edge of the spring and hearing the rushing water and smelling the familiar odors of the spring water.
	June 2007	There was lots of shade on this trail. It also has several hills but they were fairly easy to walk.
	June 2007	We saw the spring stream while walking along the trail. There were many fishermen wading in the stream to catch trout. The waterfall was beautiful.
	June 2007	This trail is in a cool thick forest and along the Spring Branch on a high bluff. There is no longer a bridge on the Bridge Trail section.
	June 2007	This was another trail we hiked on our way to Table Rock State Park for the weekend. We happened upon Hillbilly Days at the park. Nice trail with flowers (and ticks) along the way. A turtle was sitting by the clue sign, and we watched several men fishing.
	June 2007	We picked up this trail while camping in Bennett Spring. We saw some very colorful and interesting creatures along the trail as they had set up to lead a children’s discovery hike later on that morning!!
	June 2007	It's hilly in the beginning and the end. It has ticks. Wasn't well marked for trail of the month hike. Only one marker at beginning at Nature Center. Hopefully has additional markers now. Is well maintained.
	May 2007	Trailhead wasn't well marked but after a visit to the visitor center for information, we were on our way to the trailhead at the Nature Center. We started the trail in the early evening and found ourselves tangled in a lot of spider webs! It's a pretty forest trail and the sounds of the falls could be heard during the middle section. It was an off-road stroller type trail but since we didn't have our stroller, I carried our baby!
	May 2007	These trails were a great place to find a little peace and solitude. The day I hiked there I didn't encounter another person on the trail. It was a nice getaway.