Olde Rope Mill Park — Attraction in Woodstock

Personally love the trails. However, today encountered some unfriendly bikers so would like to suggest ways to inform hikers they’re traveling in the wrong direction. Online it states, ‘ Hikers are welcome, but must yield the trail to bikes and travel in the opposite direction from the bikes. Most of the trails are directional by day of the week’. I’ve been here about 20 times to run or hike and have never ran into the amount of bikers I did today and if so, no one has ever been as confrontational. I wasn’t wearing headphones so I could specifically hear bikers and move off the path to give them the right-of-way. Today one biker yelled ‘You’re going the wrong way’ when he zoomed past me so the next two lovely gentlemen said I’m ok, it’s a safety precaution, and the trails are to be shared. I continued hiking feeling better about the first encounter until a biker stopped and in a perturbed voice said ‘Did you lose your map?’. Giving him the benefit of the doubt I said ‘No? I saw someone had dropped something on the trail…’ to which he aggressively followed up with ‘you’re supposed to be going in the opposite direction’. I responded by quoting what the ‘nice’ bikers had said earlier about the trails being shared and you could tell he was floored so sped off. If I based wanting to get into mountain biking off of the people I met today I would never want to surround myself with approx 50% of the people encountered. There are polite ways to inform hikers they are going in the wrong direction. I’m 35, an ex field botany TA for a professor that wrote a guide for the Green Berets in the 90s, I own a 60 acre farm in another state, have had similar encounters on private property and seemingly handled it more smoothly than these 40-60 year old men. Now that they are actually using the bike trail since the past 19 times I haven’t seen them, I’d recommend informing hikers without being a jerk, if possible. An example would be ‘Hey! Getting some hiking in today? These bike trails are good for that! You may already know but they ask hikers to travel in opposite directions on alternating for the safety of all’. If you’re going to come to a halt to say something don’t be a jerk about it. It’s weird I’m having to explain common etiquette and how to present an obstacle to people so much older than I… ….Thank you to the few kind gentleman I met today that confirmed some bikers can be...

When I’m not reviewing coffee spots, I’m indulging in my other favorite activity: hiking and being immersed in nature. There’s nothing like taking in the fresh air. We set out early in the morning with a clear goal—to find a waterfall. It took us a few hours, but the journey was worth it.

Now, let me see if I can guide you to this beautiful spot, which I highly recommend. Once you get there, be sure to take a few minutes—or longer—to sit, relax, and enjoy the sound of the water streaming. It’s truly amazing.

To get there: start by walking over the bridge on the red path. Continue straight until the road splits. Make a sharp left and follow the road under the highway. You’ll pass by a big construction site with a yellow tractor. After that, follow the river and head towards the woods. Keep an eye out for a white arrow, which will point you directly to the waterfall. As you get closer, listen carefully—you’ll hear the sound of the water cascading.

Our hike took longer than expected because we accidentally followed the river to a dead end, but even that detour added to the adventure.

Just be careful—this trail is shared with mountain bikers. Certain days they occupy parts of the park, so be mindful as you hike.

Nature always finds a way to give back, and there’s no better way to experience it than by discovering this stunning waterfall with a great companion by your...

This is a go to trail of ours. We love all of the different trails within this park. If you want a short trail without too much grade veer toward the railroad tracks. About a mile to the tracks. When you get to the end you’ll see the street art often changed. You can keep going and add more on if you like. This part has no bikes which we enjoy. One concern is if you have small kids, or older or handicapped kids/adults there is a small area in the middle that may be hard to navigate. Also, there is a very small paved trail very easy to the right before entering woods. For another fun option there is a trail when you first arrive to the right that can offer 2-4+ miles. It is bike and hike friendly. Also, another favorite is to the left. It has directional signs as bikes and hikers must go opposite ways, for safety. This option offers 1-3+ miles of trails. This one has lots of switchbacks. Also, many love to take pics here.. some even bring kayaks. Personally, I would stay out of that water. We’ve seen snakes near the swings up front, and the water is still much of the...