Charon’s Garden/Post Oak/Treasure Lake Trailhead — Attraction in Cooperton

100% love you this place. It’s not the best for fishing; granted, I suck at fishing. There are two parking lots, one for treasure lake and the other for…..the other lake (I can’t remember the name). Make sure to bring a lot of water, good shoes, and either higher socks or pants. Theres cacti on both sides that I’ve walked into many times. If you have kids, make sure to bring sunscreen/hat and bandaids. For everyone, I’d suggest bring tweezers in case you walk into a cacti. Absolutely stunning place all year long. It’s my favorite in the refuge. If you go to the parking lot all the way to the end of the road, you can reach post oak waterfall and boulder rooms. If you park in the parking lot just off to the side before the end of the road, make sure to bring a compass/use backtracking on your Apple Watch. **If you have a bad sense of direction, PAY ATTENTION TO THE SUN. Once the sun sets it can get cold and hard to find your way back……just uh speaking for a friend who got lost with her daughter….🤣🤣🤣.

I have chronic pain and I can walk a decent distance with taking a lot of breaks. A walking stick helps a ton for me because you can walk on a lot of...

I enjoy it out there. Sometimes I take trails, but most of the time I dont. I'm working on exploring the far west-side of the Gardens, also curious of all these mines. There's not too many people you'll come across in the Gardens, which imo is best. I wouldn't say it's a hard area to hike especially if you're on an actual trail. But it's the hardest compared to the other trails on the Refuge. With that being said. Folks need to be smart. Wear the appropriate clothing, footwear and bring proper hydration. Bring a bag with first-aid/emergency gear and necessities. If it's suppose to be hot, bring gloves, those rocks get hot. If you don't have navigation knowledge and/or ability,(excluding phones) stay on the trails. You can get cell signal at most of the highpoints out there, if you need be. But be smart, have a plan and...

I hiked the Charon's Garden Trail beginning at the Post Oak trail head. It is a lovely but rugged trail, but well worth the effort. There are numerous excellent views of the cliffs and boulders. Post Oak Falls is worth the short detour to get there, but there wasn't much water flowing when I was there. Sadly, the trails are poorly marked and there are numerous places where the trail forks and I was not sure which way to go, and had to backtrack to try a different way. I don't know why such a lovely trail has not been improved...