Coopers Rock State Forest, WV

On June 25, 2025 By JC ThrashIn Bikes & Hikes, Dog Companion, Travel

Long overdue for our first camping trip of the season, we hit the road, heading west to a new state park in West Virginia (new to us, I mean!). My wife grew up camping in the Upper Peninsula, and I grew up camping in the higher altitudes of the Smoky Mountains, so camping in extreme heat is a no-go for both of us. Although June is typically mild in Ohio, this weekend was predicted to break into the mid-90s, so I researched as many parks and campgrounds that I could find in the mountains, landing at last on Coopers Rock. It’s about as high of elevation as I could find in under 4 hours from Columbus, but it was just enough to to drop the temperature about 10 degrees.

The campground has two camping circles – one fixed with electric and water for RV camping, and a second circle for tents only. The tent area is smaller, but the spots are spacious, shaded and semi-private. My first complaint is that most of the firepits are right along the road. Due to the campground being a small circle, we didn’t have to deal with much motor traffic, but it did feel less cozy to not be nestled under the trees of the campsite.

The tent loop circles a single bathhouse, with trails through the woods to reach it. They had running water and real flush toilets, not too rustic for camping-newbies, but a bit of a hike to the toilets for those who want closer proximity.

My second complaint was that the camp store closes at 6pm, which is right around the time we pulled in. They allow after-hours self check-in, but the closed camp store meant no firewood for us during our first night. This was a bummer, but the scattered showers led my wife and I to grab some illegal beers (no alcohol at the campground, whoops, didn’t realize that at first) and lounge in our tailgating tent to chat and stay dry.

I have aired my grievances – now, to the good stuff. Because the campground consists of a single loop, the campsites on the outside lead right into the forest. This offers a more private experience, but also allowed us to see some wildlife! When we first pulled in, two deer were chilling at our campsite, and we saw nearly a dozen more throughout the weekend. We also saw a deer feeding its fawn!

The hiking was the best part. Near the camp store (the “trading post”) is a brief, accessible trail to a large and gorgeous overlook. You can also hike the “underlook,” which is a trail going below the lookout. It’s very short, but steep with some scrambling bits at the end. I would highly recommend this trail to see more of the forest and to feel like you’ve really earned your reward (the view!).

Another trail to an overlook is Raven’s Rock. The trailhead is a bit confusing; on the first day, after parking, we began hiking the trail by the sign board and maps, but after a while all the blazes disappeared. There are still trails to explore, but not the main hike to Raven’s Rock. We passed a couple other confused hikers, so we know it wasn’t entirely user error!

The next day, we did find the correct trailhead, just a bit further down the road, towards the park’s cabins. The area had gotten a significant amount of rain in the week leading up to our trip, so to say we hiked through a creek would have been more accurate than on a trail. We definitely saw more hikers on this trail than any other, but it was still calm without a ton of traffic, which was nice. The trail (river, in our case) crawls steadily downhill for the first mile before reaching a steep incline at the end towards the lookout. The view was worth it!

Overall, perhaps my favorite part of this area was the proximity of all of the trails. While there is parking at all of the trailheads, you can walk to most of them from your campsite, limiting the need for your car while camping. We did this to reach my favorite hike, the Rock City trail.

Rock city started with a nice, gradual incline through the forest. After about a half mile, you reach a fork in the road and a picnic shelter. You can do a sharp left to take the Rattlesnake trail, or continue on past the shelter for Rock City. We had actually planned on the more moderate hike of the rattlesnake trail (hopefully free of any poisonous snakes), but upon witnessing what the rock city trail looked like, we continued that way. The trail passes through rock walls on either side, with rhododendrons creating a gorgeous canopy above you.

On our way back, it began pouring, and so we picked up our pace and took shelter in the covered picnic area, JUST in time. When the rain lightened up, we hit the trail again, back “home” to our campsite.

Back at our site, the rain continued to roll through. It’d pour for a few minutes, then the sun would come out, then out of nowhere, it poured again. Our ability to cook dinner was beginning to look a little bleak, so we hopped into the car, drove down the mountain, and went to a lakeside restaurant. We felt a bit like we were cheating, but the draft beer was fresh, the food was good, and the post-rainstorm lake breeze was lovely.

The rain continued off and on for the rest of the night, but we fortunately were able to get our fire hot enough to keep rebuilding it after each shower. Overall, we had an amazing time at Coopers Rock, and would definitely return to this campsite again in the future.

Big South Fork Nat’l Rec Area

On November 18, 2024 By JC ThrashIn Bikes & Hikes, Dog Companion, Travel

As a kid, I’d go camping most years at Big South Fork, a national recreational area in Tennessee. Within the park, accessible only by foot (or horse), is Charit Creek Lodge. They provide the room, bed (and bedding!), breakfast and dinner. The meals are served family-style, offering the chance to meet people from all over the country. At our table, there were several Tennesseans, but also folks from South Carolina, New York, and Michigan.

The main lodge with the dining hall has two private cabin rooms on either side, with a shared back porch. I will admit that I initially balked at the price of one night stay for two humans and one dog, but when I realized that the food is, like, absolutely delicious, and far exceeded my expectations (I was picturing basic “camp food”), the cost seemed to be much more reasonable. And if you’re staying multiple nights, you also get a sack lunch! Our dinner consisted of meatloaf, a cheesy pasta dish with baked beans, vegetable casserole, and a fresh salad with nuts and goat cheese. Our breakfast was a delicious crustless quiche, sausage, and nut muffins.

Upon arriving, the first trail we tried was the Slave Falls Trail, but, just as Ohio is experiencing with this long drought, the waterfall was, well, nonexistent, and the creek a mere trickle. The woodsy stroll was lovely though, although we were a bit alarmed early-on in the hike at our first bear sighting! We’d slow down and make noise at every sharp turn to not catch a bear by surprise.

From there, we drove from the Slave Falls trailhead to the Twin Arches trailhead to eat a picnic lunch. We then hoisted on our packs, hoping to not fall off an arch with the weight of our overnight stay on our back.

The arches were incredible! Of course, the pictures don’t do it justice, but it was wild that, growing up in Tennessee, I never hiked that trail to see them.

The rest of the trail was steep down into the valley where the Lodge sits, but a nice, enjoyable and woodsy path. Most tourists hike the small, 1-mi arches loop (the larger loop is over four miles), and so we only passed two other people as we hiked about 2 mi of the full loop to arrive at the Lodge.

After checking in, we dropped off our belongings in our massive room with one queen bed and four single bunks. They provide lanterns, as well as a cooler to put in any food or other yummy-smelling thing to the bear neighbors. We went to shower next – it is a shared facility for all Lodge guests, but the individual stalls were large, spacious, the room was warm, and the water was hot – definitely the best “camp” shower experience I have had. Note: towels not provided!

I’ve already shared what they served for dinner (while drooling just thinking about it). They also offer beer and wine for purchase, so my wife and I tied up the dog with a bone and sat in large rocking chairs with our beers, enjoying the gorgeous Tennessee fall weather.

In the morning, full up on quiche and sack lunch stored in our cabin cooler, we hiked up the Charit Overlook Trail. It’s a very wide horse trail, and though steep, it wasn’t rocky. All three of us could walk side by side. It was a hike I wish we had taken more time with, because the views from the top were lovely, but we hastened back down the mountain to check out by 11.

We packed up and gathered our belongings from the cabin and returned to the rocking chairs to eat our sack lunch.

On our way out, we did the western part of the Twin Arches Loop, about 2.5mi. It climbed out of the valley much more gradually than the eastern part of the loop, and once we were up on the ridge, the views, rock formations, and parts of the arches all were incredible to enjoy.

To make the most of our second day in the park, we booked a hotel in Richmond, KY, to avoid driving the 4.5 hours home in one go. We drove the two hours to our hotel, picked up a pizza. We were way too pooped to enjoy the stop and went right to the hotel, but we’ve been to Richmond before; it’s a cool college with great BBQ and beer. Dogs were allowed at Dreaming Creek Brewery, and they typically have a food truck on site as well. Smitty’s BBQ was fast-food meets cafeteria-style restaurant barbecue (reminds me of Buddys BBQ back home in Knoxville); we got tons of food for so cheap, and all of the everything was tasty.

Pickerington Ponds & Walnut Woods

On November 18, 2024 By JC ThrashIn Bikes & Hikes, Columbus, OH, Dog Companion

Pickerington Ponds

After two days of hunkering down from the hurricane (who knew those could be such a big threat in landlocked Ohio!), the dog and I were going stir-crazy. The winds had died down but the rain continued steadily; despite the weather, I hit the road and headed to Pickerington Ponds metro park.

My dog, who usually has no problem with rain or being wet, kept giving me this look as if to say, “really? a two-mile hike in this?”

I started on the Blacklick Trail – the 20-mile paved bike path – to reach the trailhead of the Burning Lake loop, the only dog-friendly hike at Pickerington Ponds. Similar to other dog-friendly paths at the Columbus metro parks, it’s a big loop through grassy meadows, with a very small woodsy stretch at the southern part of the loop.

On the way back, I noticed a trail connector to the Arrowhead Trail, a slightly shorter walk back to the parking lot and way to bypass the paved portion of the bike path. Ignoring the “no pets” sign (honestly, it was pouring, and I was the only one desperate enough to be walking in those conditions!). We enjoyed the Arrowhead much more; a wide path through the woods, it shielded us from the worst of the rainfall and had a much more quiet, peaceful vibe (and better sniffs for the dog).

Overall, not a great option for dog-parents, what with only one trail to use (assuming you want to follow the rules, don’t take my example). Additionally, as it was pouring, I did not take any pictures!

Okay, so… I also confess to breaking the rules at Three Creeks Metro Park. Our favorite spot for biking, we’ve also brought the dog for a walk along the paved trail. I was surprised to see that, even after the hurricane, the pond is still dried up from our summer (and now autumn) drought.

When I reached the Confluence Trail, a narrow path through the woods and along the creek, marked clearly with a “no pets” sign, I decided to give it a whirl. We had never explored this path as we always have either our bikes or the dog. I was hesitant to break the rules, but I didn’t pass a single person for the mile hike, and really enjoyed being in the woods. Note: this area was heavily infested with ticks.

Walnut Woods

Now to one of my favorites: Walnut Woods Metro Park. Every single trail is dog-friendly, and most trails are paved, as well, for those preferring a more accessible stroll. The best is the “Tall Pines” area of the park – specifically, the Sweetgum Trail. It’s a 2.6mi figure-8 loop trail, with an additional unpaved cut-through to one of the largest trees I’ve ever seen in Ohio. This half-mile option is lovely: typically quieter and less trafficked, you certainly feel more in the woods. And the smell of that pine? It makes me think of the smell of home every time.

We love the Sweetgum Trail so much, we haven’t even explored some of the other trails at the park, but we’ll report back once we have Tonks’ stamp of approval.

Chestnut Ridge & Three Creeks Metro Parks

On August 12, 2024August 12, 2024 By JC ThrashIn Bikes & Hikes, Dog Companion

Chestnut Ridge, sadly, is among those that just doesn’t want your fur-kids around much. With only one dog-friendly hike, there is much of the park we were unable to explore.

Milkweed Trail is a meager half-mile loop trail that is dog friendly. It is mostly a grassy meadow path, and the flowers were indeed gorgeous this time of year (August). It cuts into the woods for just a moment, with one small hill that is just steep enough to fire up some muscles in your quads (but not much). It’s a nice trail, and even though it is the only dog-friendly option, we might come back if it were a bit longer, but unfortunately just isn’t worth the drive for a .5 mi of walking.

We DID take advantage, however, to being a bit of ways down 33 to stop at Outerbelt Brewery, which brews some of our favorite local beers. The taproom is huge, with lots of space for dogs (and human kids!) to enjoy the space while not getting in the way of the drinking adults. Their food menu is small but decent; we really enjoyed our sandwich and sweet potato fries. They have dozens of beers on tap, and their Oktoberfest is among the best.

On to Three Creeks Metro Park. Much improved for doggie visitors over Chestnut Ridge, it still leaves much to be desired for those wanting more of a woodsy adventure. Despite having a large and nice dog park, the only dog-friendly trails are short, paved loops around the ponds and the Blacklick Creek Greenway. For those who live on the southside, it’s a convenient option to get some steps and sniffs in, but I wouldn’t recommend traveling to it.

As a cyclist, however, the park is a convenient entry point to the Blacklick Creek Greenway, my absolute favorite bike path in Columbus. It’s beautiful, shaded, smoothly paved, and not wildly crowded, especially once you get outside the park. There is also access to the 24-mi Alum Creek Greenway.

Columbus Metro Parks & Dog-Friendly Hikes

On August 12, 2024 By JC ThrashIn Bikes & Hikes, Dog Companion

One of my favorite parts about Columbus is the number, and quality, of their metro parks. It’s so easy to escape the city vibes and fall into nature. Many of these parks have miles of paved bike paths, which is also a huge plus.

The downside is the lack of dog-friendliness. Look, I get that a lot of dog owners are assholes and don’t leash their dogs or pick up their poop, but the good dog-parents suffer the consequences. If a metro park has a dog-friendly trail, it’s typically a grassy path through a meadow, which, hello tick-city. My dog is protected, but do I want to bring a bunch of those blood-thirsty bastards into my car and home by way of them getting lost in her massive pile of floof? Hellll no.

Despite my love for Columbus, I recognize it’s not the best place for woodsy or lakeside adventures, let alone the chance to get your heartrate up on a ~~mountain~~ hill. Well, we can’t just drive to Tennessee and West Virginia every weekend, so we have to make do with what we’ve got. There are hikes out there. And we’re going to find them.

So, it’s time to address which parks have decent sniffari opportunities for the fur-kids we love. Also to be discussed: how far into suburbia do these lesbians dare travel.

I’ll start with our go-to: Scioto Grove Metro Park. On the southside (thus, close to us) it offers more dog-friendly trails than any of the other metro parks we’ve been to yet. We also see park rangers while we’re there, indicating the park is well taken care of (and it does seem to be). Our most common trail is the Overlook Trail; this makes the trail sound a bit more exciting than it is, but there are wooden deck overlooks into the woods and over the river. Most are shaded, and some have tables to sit and enjoy the nature. The Overlook Trail is gravel, and though I wouldn’t say it’s crowded, there are also a good number of humans and their dogs enjoying the trail. The Overlook trail connects with the Arrowhead Trail, which loops back around to the large picnic area and playground. From there, we head back up the overlook trail to our car.

For a longer hike, you can continue on the Overlook Trail past the Lodge, which offers a nice wooded section of the trail, complete with a rope bridge that our dog is very frightened of (warning: it does get slipper when wet). Past the rope bridge is a very long loop trail (Mingo Trail) through meadows and woods, which we particularly enjoy after a good snowfall.

Lastly, the REI River Trail: a delightful trail through the woods, along the river and around the pond. It’s wooded and shady, but can get very muggy and buggy. I would not recommend this route on a humid day, but when the air is dryer, it’s really lovely.

Vermont

On October 23, 2021May 11, 2023 By JC ThrashIn Bikes & Hikes, Dog Companion, Travel

For our third anniversary, we wanted to get out of the city: enjoy nature and explore an area with minimal covid-risk, which brought us to the beautiful outdoors of Vermont. We found a lovely airbnb in the town of Ryegate, near the border of New Hampshire.

As a New Englander at the time, all the fuss for nature and mountains is focused on New Hampshire. Let me be clear: Vermont is far superior to New Hampshire. As John Oliver once said, “New Hampshire is just Florida with foliage.”

Vermont is just as beautiful, and though it boasts lower peaks than New Hampshire’s white mountains, you get to avoid the traffic, tourist crowds, and focus on enjoying nature.

In mid-October, it was peak autumn colors. Near Ryegate was a cluster of state parks that we explored, all around the Groton State Forest: Kettle Pond, Big Deer, New Discovery, Ricker Pond, and more. An old rail-trail (Cross Vermont Rail Trail) links many of those state parks. The packed-dirt path leads through the woods with great views of the foliage and the water. We had our dog with us on the trip, so we didn’t bike for long, but I would definitely return and do more of this 30-mile bike path.

We hit up many hiking trails nearby, but our two favorites were Owlshead Mountain Trail (park at New Discovery State Park, pay to enter) and Devil’s Hill.

Owlshead Mountain Trail was a moderate out-and-back trail, up to the 1800ft peak with incredible views. Devil’s Hill, however, was our favorite; lightly trafficked, and free parking at the trailhead. Devil’s Hill is a partial loop, so the dog got fresh sniffs and our legs got a bit of a break with the more roundabout, less steep descent.

And though I harp on Vermont being better than New Hampshire, we did swing through the White Mountains on the drive back to Rhode Island – stopping for a couple of hikes at Franconia Notch State Park. And I stand by my judgment: it was packed. We did the Artist’s Bluff Trail, and though beautiful, it was crowded, and at certain points, we had to wait a while for others to pass before we could continue the climb. We also did Bald Mountain, a short out and back hike that was slightly less crowded and had incredible views as well. But overall, my main memory is how the parking lots were mostly full, the portable toilets were overflowing, and all this on a random Wednesday in October… what is it like on a Saturday?! Listen. Just go to Vermont. If I could do it all again… I’d have spent our last day in Vermont, too. Though we had two full days of hiking in Vermont before heading out, it wasn’t enough!

It’s hard to comment on a Lez-Travel rating on this trip. Because we traveled from our airbnb and only did hikes, even cooking and eating at our Airbnb, we didn’t really explore the surrounding towns or go out much. It was a rural part of Vermont, and the interactions we had with other hikers were friendly, but minimal.

Acadia National Park

On September 15, 2021May 12, 2023 By JC ThrashIn Bikes & Hikes, Dog Companion, Travel

Finally – after several years together in New England- we made it up to Acadia National Park. We camped at Mount Desert Island Campground, a private and slightly pricey (but well worth it) campground in Acadia. We had a hike-in campsite – which proved challenging to carry our belongings up the hill through the woods, with a dog, but the privacy and the views were well worth the effort.

Initially, we had made this reservation for the summer, then it was cancelled due to covid, then rebooked – and finally, rescheduled again, as by that point we had adopted our dog, but as dogs are only allowed at this campground during off-peak months. So – September of 2021 – we made it.

A short hike through the woods from our campsite brought us to the “Gathering Place.” Normally when camping, we like our slow mornings and make our own coffee and breakfast, but the Gathering Place had delicious, fresh pastries – something different each morning – and coffee. The prices were reasonable, and like a hotel, they’d add the cost of everything to your “tab,” by campsite number, to pay alongside your reservation total upon checkout. Now that’s some fancy camping.

In the summer, shuttles service both Bar Harbor and many of the popular trails throughout the national park, but during our visit in the off-season (post-summer but pre-fall foliage), we drove where we wished and had no issues with parking. Note: you do need to purchase a pass, which allows you to park wherever in the park. You can do this online in advance, or at the ranger stations in the park.

Our hiking adventures were fun and flexible in Acadia. With the small peaks, most hikes were quick, and we could bounce around and do a couple each day, stopping for excellent seafood around the many restaurants in Bar Harbor especially, but also Northeast and Southwest Harbors. In fact, we’d recommend the latter two areas – the food was just as good, prices were cheaper, and we never had to wait more than a couple minutes for a table. Bar Harbor is definitely worth spending at least one evening, though! The one night we attempted to dine in Bar Harbor had its struggles (definitely plan ahead and make reservations!). We ended up on the patio of a Irish pub that had good beer options and decent food.

For day one, after our hike, we hit up a bar for lunch and to watch Ohio State and Tennessee football games. Unfortunately, both of our teams lost in their final drives, but we made great friends and had a lovely time with tourists and local alike.

You can’t go wrong on any hike in Acadia. We chose Kebo Mountain, Gorham Mountain, Jordan Pond Trail, Flying Mountain, and others I failed to note. All were not too challenging and rewarded us with beautiful views. Jordan Pond is an easy, but quite long, hike around the lake, and we enjoyed that when our knees were tired! Jordan Cafe we missed out on – they shortened hours post-summer and only are open for lunch.

Beehive is a favorite, but not dog-friendly (lots of climbing, ladders, cliffs, etc!)

On our second day, we headed to the west side to Nor’Easter Pound and Market (Northeast Harbor). They have a huge outdoor patio that is dog friendly, and the food was great!

On the third day, after Flying Mountain Trail, as we were already on the west side of Mount Desert Island (Southwest Harbor), we headed to a restaurant called the Upper Deck. It was not dog-friendly, but our dog was exhausted from the hike, and the weather was cool, so she was happier to nap in the car and we were able to keep an eye on her from this casual, bright marina restaurant.

Resources:

To plan our hikes, we visited the Park Visitor Center. The line was quite long (so I hesitate to think what’d it be like in peak season), but it moved fairly quickly. There, we were able to tell the ranger what we were looking for and get some advice on the best moderate-difficulty and dog-friendly hikes. The ranger gave us a map and circled all the hikes we had discussed, which was very helpful!

Lez-Travel Rating:

Three rainbows for Bar Harbor and Acadia. Hopefully it’s fair to speak of the stereotype of my own people: a lot of gay women love dogs, and love hiking. We felt like we were in good company on the hikes and around town. No funny looks, and we saw plenty of other queer folk, among locals and tourists alike.

Burlington, VT

On July 26, 2021May 11, 2023 By JC ThrashIn Dog Companion, Travel

For my wife’s birthday, we headed north to what must be the most lesbian-friendly city in the world: Burlington, Vermont. A magical place filled with dogs, hikes, lakes, beer, and – of course – gay women – it was the perfect birthday adventure.

We booked a spot at the city campground – North Beach – which was tucked away just north of downtown along an old rail trail. Dog friendly year-round, the prices were reasonable and the campsites – despite being so close to the city – were decent. You won’t find yourself tucked away in the woods out of view from all of your camping neighbors, but you still have some shade and privacy and a decent amount of space for your car, tent and gear.

The first night, we walked to the downtown area to a nice restaurant with a dog-friendly patio, water bowls for the dogs already set out all over. We ordered cocktails, which were delicious, and definitely felt safe and in good company as dog-moms and as lesbians. We watched the sunset over the lake and enjoyed some music traveling over to us from a venue across the parking lot.

Downtown and the campground were linked by a paved walking trail, which sits along several urban parks on one side and gorgeous Lake Champlain on the others, so every morning we’d begin our day with a nice long walk, plenty of sniffs for the dog. For breakfast we headed to the Skinny Pancake, specializing in, of course, crepes. The food was great, and they had live music! Tonks was not keen on the trumpet.

For my wife’s birthday dinner, we hiked over to a seasonal waterfront restaurant, Spot on the Dock. The food and drinks were okay, but the view, atmosphere and live music were definitely worth it. Not trying to hide its success as a tourist spot, it still had much to offer. Tonks, again, was scared of the trumpet.

The highlight of the trip was definitely getting to sample all of our favorite Vermont beers from the source. Switchback Ale is one of my go-to favorites, and was just as enjoyable from the brewery. The other beers, however, we weren’t as fond of, but we had fun picked out flights and sampling their many brews. At Switchback, dogs are allowed inside and outside. As we were camping and had Tonks with us, we hadn’t been indoors during our entire visit, so we took that opportunity to sit by the windows inside and enjoy some AC!

Exhausted after our big day, Tonks naps at Switchback Brewery

We also visited Zero Gravity, and I love their beer – in New England I snag a mix-pack every time I see one at the liquor store. The brewery is a great spot, with tons of dog-friendly outdoor space, and, they’re open all day! Like, in the morning, too! Kegs and eggs, anyone?

Foam Brewers was another great brewery we tried out. Also with a dog-friendly patio. A smaller brewery than the other two, it sits along a park and by Lake Champlain, easily walkable from our campsite (about 1 mile).

On our way out, we hit up Myers Bagel Bakery which was… the best damn bagel I have ever had in my life. And yes, I’ve been to New York. After we feasted, we waved farewell to beer-loving, bike-loving, outdoorsy, lesbian metropolis of Burlington. It’s the greatest gem of all of New England.