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Trail of the Month Program
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Hikers' Comments on Craig's Cove Loop Trail
Thousand Hills State Park

	Month Hiked	Comments from participants of the 2007 Trail of the Month Program
	September 2007	Fourth walk of the day. Park office closed, but trail diagram available to view. Not sure we were to walk the blue or white trail. Thankfully it appeared to be pretty much the same trail till the second half along the fire break. Nice easy walk.
	August 2007	Visit the park visitor center first; this trail is difficult to find. The best part of the trail is along the lakeshore. The trail is well marked, but pay close attention to the blazes. Keep an eye out for mountain bikes.
	July 2007	The sections of this trail that are in the woods are very pleasant, especially along the lake, with a lot of vegetation and wildlife. You have to be alert to the trail markers; they are sometimes hard to see. Also, the whole trail is very hilly, not just the long, grassy section so that is something to be aware of when attempting this trail, especially since we didn't see any benches to rest.
	July 2007	I would recommend a late afternoon/early evening hike to enjoy the serenity of the lake, as well as the wildlife activity. The re-entry into the woods from the glade area is very well marked.
	June 2007	As we came into a clearing, I saw a beautiful Rose of Sharon bush in full bloom - it was a refreshing sight. We also enjoyed resting on the dock at the water’s edge with our feet in the water. It was a great rest!
	June 2007	Beautiful trail that is part of the mountain biking trails. I walked this three-mile loop and really enjoyed the views of the lake. Coming back, the trail gets away from the lake and becomes grassy. I scared up a turkey along this section. This was a nice hike!
	May 2007	The trail has a nice variety of scenery; there's some woodsy portions, lake views, and fairly open field. I suggest wearing long pants, a hat, and insect repellent for this hike - we picked up a lot of ticks along this trail, and the open area at the end would be treacherous in the blazing summer's sun.
	May 2007	The big reveal of this trail is if you take the trail going counterclockwise and go DOWN the long straight grassy hill toward Forest Lake. This way you travel the trail along the lake on the way back and don't have to trek the grassy portion UP hill for over a mile. There is a small waterfall before the split to the Hickory Trail to sit toward the end of the trail and rest your feet.
	May 2007	This was a beautiful hike. We first went through a shady wooded area, then a sunny meadow-type, then shady along the lakeshore. Wildflowers and animal tracks were everywhere in all terrain. This was by far the best hike yet in this program, but hard to find the starting point. Look for the Thousand Hills Trail trailhead marker, but follow the white markers. This was a very easy trail to follow--look for the marker on a Kansas state tree (a utility pole).
	May 2007	Best part of the hike, the rocky areas, reminded me of the north woods. If you hike this trail, near the beginning at the junction, go right (or straight) first, because we hiked the left side first, and at the end of the hike it was a very long uphill out in the blazing sun. Also, the park needs to have maps available or at the very least a locator map so you would have a general idea of what the trail was going to do. We drove all over the park looking for some sort of a map and found none.
	May 2007	Follow the white blazes when the blue ones break left at the white and walk counter clockwise. Check for ticks in the grassy portion. The parts along the lake can give you a nice breeze to eat lunch beside. Lots of interesting scurrying along the wooded parts. Must be lizards.