Heintz Open Space Preserve
After parking, and as soon as you enter Heintz Open Space Preserve, there is a fork in the road. To the right is the Vista Trail and to the left is the trail that leads to Belgatos Park. Well, the girls decided to check out the Vista trail first.
Much like Belgatos Park, the trails were well maintained, wide, and easy to walk. The view from the vista point was nice, but not as nice as I thought it would be. Instead of going back to the entrance of the park, we headed off the map on some unmapped trails!
What we found were narrower, but very established trails. I was hoping that it would merge back to the main trail that led to Belgatos. After 1/2 mile or so, it did. Though, the last bit of the trail was so steep and slippery and I essentially had to pull both of the girls up it.
This picture does not do this hill justice in terms of how steep it was.
We hiked down the entrance and called it a day. The hike down was on the main trail, which wasn’t as interesting or as pretty as the unmapped trails.
What I Learned:
Usually, I like to stay away from side trails. But I am glad I took the less traveled road and found a more interesting path up to the top of the hill.
1.7 miles, 61 min, 453 ft of ascent
Hike Review:
The unmapped trail was the most fun part of the hike. Because it walks a valley before a super steep ascent, there’s shade and plant life all around the trail.
Like Belgatos, all the trails here are bike-friendly, and look to be really fun on a dirt bike.
The vista point had a good view, but the view from the Sky Lane Trail is better.