Washington Valley Gallivant

 October 24, 2026
Washington Valley Park
10.44 miles
4h32m

 Before we got any further, I want to point out that I narrowed this down from 300+ photos to a mere 82. You're welcome.

After a week of exploring new places, Hannah and I were ready for one more epic adventure. 

Originally, we planned to ride from the barn and around Round Valley (like... all the way around.) When we scoped out the route, there were several problem spots. Plus I didn't want to risk Max on the toughest parts of Round Valley while he was freshly recovered from his abscess.

Reluctantly, we put a pin in this adventure. We were back to the drawing board.

Once again, I found myself scrolling across the map in search of green patches.

I settled on Washington Valley Park. I knew from hiking there with Mike in 2017 that there were plenty of trails and several fun things to look at. 

It was unclear whether horseback riding was allowed, but it wasn't prohibited outright. We agreed we could give it a try. Worst case scenario, we'd drive up the road to the Watchung Reservation, where horses are definitely permitted. 

The bigger problem was trailer parking. 

The main lot is on the small side and gets very crowded, especially on the weekends. Extra especially during peak fall foliage. I wasn't sure we'd fit even if the lot was empty. It wasn't worth the risk.

There are a handful of even smaller roadside lots throughout the park, but those weren't an option either.

Nearby Chimney Rock Park has a large parking lot and the trails connect. However, Google implied that this park did not allow horses. 

After some satellite stalking and street view viewing, I found a large church and strip mall around the corner from the park. There would be a short stretch of road riding, but it looked like a quiet street. 

With a rough game plan in place, we stuffed the horses in the trailer and set off in search of adventure. It was a pretty straightforward half hour drive from Hannah's to the church parking lot. 

Along the way, we called UVM and bought three books of tickets for this year's raffle horse. Sadly, we didn't win, but it was worth a try.

We arrived to find an empty lot with plenty of room. However, the church had all kinds of outdoor walkways and prayer areas. Additionally, there were signs posted that said, "Private Property. No overnight parking." We weren't intending to park over night, but I also didn't want to trespass. 

I thought about calling the church to ask permission to park for the day, but then we'd really be in trouble if they told us no. Instead, I went back to the map. Two doors down was a strip mall. This included a Dunkin Donuts. It looked like there were a few parking spaces behind the Dunkin where we could be on public property and discreetly out of the way.

We drove over to check it out. This proved to be the perfect solution.

Look, I'm in the lines and everything. Very mindful. Very demure.

As always, I try to support any business whose lot I borrow for shenanigans. Hannah and I agreed that breakfast would be nice. I enjoyed a breakfast sandwich and hashbrowns while Max and Merlin munched hay in the trailer outside. I also got a large hot coffee to go, and even purchased a mug that would fit perfectly in my saddle bag for the day.

Soon we were unloading the horses and tacking up. While we were saddling, the Dunkin manager stuck his head out the back window and called out to us. 

"I love this!" he shouted. "It's so great to see horses here!" We promised to bring them back for a visit at the end of our ride. 

This assuaged my concerns about getting towed. Ahem.

As luck would have it, the parking lot connected to a quiet residential road. AllTrails revealed that the trailhead for the white loop was right at the end of this same road! We enjoyed a perfectly peaceful mosey without any traffic and arrived successfully within the park boundary.

We were instantly delighted to find that the trails were very horse friendly. We squiggled around the white loop, taking in the fall colors and the beautiful weather. The day was off to an excellent start!

The white trail eventually took us to the edge of the lake. The views were spectacular and I observed some low cliffs on the other side of the water. Hannah enthusiastically told me we would have the option to ride over there later. 

We ran into several people on the white trail. This ranged from bike riders to couples to a woman and her daughter walking with their cream retriever. 

Hannah and I were pleasantly surprised at how genuinely happy everyone was to see the horses. It was like we had stepped into some strange alternate reality where everyone actually follows trail etiquette and happily yields to equestrians. It was very refreshing.

We rode along the shore, stopping in several places to take pictures and enjoy the view.

The trail eventually took us over Middle Brook via a sturdy wooden bridge. This dumped us out in the main parking lot, which was full to the brim. I was glad we hadn't attempted parking there.

From the parking lot we had the option to follow the red trail around the lake or add on miles by doing the blue loop across the street. Of course, Hannah and I wanted to do as many miles as possible. We chose blue.

This is when we got the answer to "are horses allowed in the park?" There were signs posted about the various trail uses. The signs included a hiker icon, a bicycle icon, and a horse icon! Hooray!

For the first of many times, we said, "I don't understand how we've never ridden here before..."

The blue loop was about three miles and very beautiful. There were a fair number of rocks, but it was very doable. While there were no lake views, the fall foliage was on point. I took many, many photos.

Along the way, we passed a couple walking their two small dogs. We were surprised to turn around a mile or so later to find them still hot on our heels. They were walking almost as fast as we were riding. 

"Man, you guys are making really good time!" I called. 
"Our dog is obsessed with your horses! He's determined to catch up to them," the man laughed. 

And that's how the dogs ended up meeting Max up close. The one dog really was very interested in sniffing Max and checking him out. It was adorable and all of us had a good laugh about it.

Max gets his muzzle licked by a very excited JRT.

We let the couple go ahead of us so the dog wouldn't have a heart attack trying to keep up with us. We gave them a few minutes to get a head start before continuing down the trail.

At the bottom of the hill, we came to an intersection. Right continued on the blue loop back to the parking lot. Left was the Middlebrook Trail, which would be an out-and-back that left the park. Still eager to explore as much new trail as possible, we went left.

Unfortunately, this ended up being a dead end for us. After traipsing through some swampy footing, we reached a large bridge that did not look like it was designed for horses. We may have been able to get around it, but we agreed that with so much good horse-friendly trail, there was no reason to take risks just for the sake of taking risks. We could always come back another time and explore this direction. 

We made our way back to the parking lot. Along the way, we noted that there were several interior trails intersecting the main blue loop. Even though we were covering a lot of new ground, we weren't coming anywhere close to doing all the trail in the park. We will definitely have to go back!

We continued across the parking lot and picked up the red trail. This was another loop with several additional interior trails. 

Riding along the cliffs on the lake side of the loop was the obvious choice. We figured we would hit the opposite end of the loop on our way back. As it later turned out, we did not come back this way at all! Even more trail for next time!

Doing the shoreline trail was an excellent decision. It was breathtaking with countless vistas over the water, framed with brightly colored leaves overlooking the sheer drops at the edge of the trail. 

Hannah and I joked that it was going to take us ten hours to do a five mile ride because we were stopping so frequently for pictures.

Check out this beefcake!

Sometimes I feel like the horses enjoy the views too.

View from the top of the cliffs.

Eventually the trail wound back down to water level. There we joined a gravel road that brought us past the dam. We could see a waterfall down below, but it was inaccessible. Still, we enjoyed looking at more new things.

The red trail dumped us out on Chimney Rock Road which is a very busy thoroughfare with a high speed limit. The spot where the trail pops out is on a blind turn, which is also not great. 

To reach the orange trail, we would need to go up the road and then cross the street to the trail head. 

Even with a wide shoulder and very safe mounts, we decided to hop down and lead the horses on foot. Thankfully, it was over quickly.

The orange trail started with a steep climb and some switchbacks to the top. 

Even though Max has shoes up front, I decided to err on the side of caution. Since I didn't know how rocky this trail would be, I put a pair of Cavallo boots over top of Max's shoes. He was wearing his Scoot Boots behind, as usual. The front boots felt like overkill at the beginning, but as we climbed the orange trail, I felt validated in my decision.

I was also impressed with how fit Max has gotten! He wasn't even breathing hard when we reached the top of the climb. I don't think he could have done this trail when I got him in July. I know Max is getting better with more riding, but having measurable proof was nice.

Hannah and I resisted the temptation to add more trail by doing the whole orange loop. Instead, we hung a left and started to descend toward Gilbride Road. Here, the flora seemed to change. We commented on the variety of terrain we'd encountered on the ride so far.

A tunnel lined with burning bush. Pretty!

At the bottom of the hill we did a quick dog leg up the road to the yellow trail. This was the furthest part of the park from where we were parked. I was tickled that we had managed to hit each trail, even if we'd left plenty to explore. 

Back at the main parking lot, we had run into a group of men on their mountain bikes. They were very excited to see horses. We ran into them again on Gilbride Road. They were very surprised to see how far we'd made it.

The head guy said, "Your horses can handle all these trails? I'm impressed. I guess they have four wheel drive!"

We laughed and let them go ahead of us since they would likely be going faster than we were.

As we picked up the yellow trail, the head bike guy asked if we ride at Washington Valley regularly. We told him we'd hiked the park, but had never ridden it before. 

He warned us that the yellow trail could get "narrow, technical, and cliffy". We thanked him for the heads up but assured him we weren't worried.

After he was out of earshot I said to Hannah, "So do you think this will be like the time that nice kid tried to warn us about the rock scramble at Baldpate?"
Hannah replied, "I still think it's hilarious that some guy out there thinks two insane women rode their horses up that..."

Luckily, the yellow trail was perfectly passable and we had a lovely time.

First it took us along the river, which was so clear we could see fish swimming in the bottom of it.

Soon we found ourselves climbing steeply with the river falling away to our right. I was surprised because I expected to ride along the bottom of the falls further down. It turns out the trail Mike and I had previously hiked was on the other side of the river. It was the stretch of orange trail Hannah and I had skipped. Notes for next time!

When we realized we were at the top of the falls, we started to look for a way to get close enough for a photo. 

We soon found a trail that veered in the right direction. It wasn't long before we were on foot. It was a steep descent with loose rocks along the way. To be honest, the horses had an easier time walking down it than we did. There may have been some sliding and falling on my part.

We were rewarded by an excellent view of the falls. I even got brave enough to climb back in the saddle for a between-the-ears photo, but I'll admit my fear of heights was fully activated by this maneuver.

Trying not to curl into fetal position.

Predictably, it then turned out that there was a perfectly reasonable trail to our right that took us back to where we started. Turns out the downhill scramble had been unnecessary. 

We found ourselves at the top of the spillway, where we paused for more photos. Merlin wanted to walk right down the concrete like a balance beam and Hannah moved quickly to stop him.

"What is wrong with you?" she chastised him.

A much safer vantage point.

Proof of adventure.

From the dam, we followed the yellow trail, climbing until we were high above the quarry.

Our next stop was the Hawk Watch platform. We stopped to take in the view of the quarry and Chimney Rock. 

Here we ran into our biking friends. They were once again impressed by the fact that the horses were still tackling this trail. Head Guy also took our picture for us.

Thank goodness for railings.

Chimney Rock is to the right of Max's ears. It's not as white as it was the last time I saw it.

Just two horses on the Hawk Watch. 

From the Hawk Watch, the yellow trail took us to the parking lot on Miller Lane. If you cross Miller Lane, the yellow trail continues for a few more miles. 

By this point, however, we were over seven miles in and daylight was about to fade quickly. Reluctantly, we made the next left and started making our way slowly back to the trailer.

The yellow trail wound us down the side of the hill back to Gilbride Road. The colors on this stretch were particularly vibrant, with the yellows glowing warmly in the golden light of late afternoon.

I completely failed to capture the magic, but here are some photos anyway.

Love me some golden hour.

As we made our way down to the creek and road crossing, we discussed our options for the return trip. We had originally planned to go back via the parts of orange and red that we'd skipped earlier. That was the long way to go. 

Hannah zoomed in on the map and concluded that we should be able to go up Gilbride Road just a hair past the orange trail and turn right instead. This would leave Washington Valley and drop us into Chimney Rock Park. 

Assuming there was nothing posted about horses being prohibited, we could take a short cut through Chimney Rock Park, follow the road for a second, and then connect back to the white trail opposite of where we originally went in. 

We agreed it made sense to take the shorter route, though neither of us was ready to be done riding.

The Chimney Rock trail opened with water access into the creek. This was perfectly timed and both horses drank deeply before continuing along.

I would like to point out that Max had both front boots in this photo.

We were only in Chimney Rock Park for about half a mile, but it was a lovely stretch. 

It was interesting to see that the few bridges/boardwalks along the way all had wide go arounds as if they were specifically built for horses. There was nothing posted about equestrian use one way or the other. We ran into a few people along the way. Like everyone else all day they were thrilled to see us. 

Hannah and I walked down Gilbride and across Chimney Rock Road, where we picked up the white trail head north of the dam. We found ourselves overlooking the reservoir once again.

After a series of switchbacks, we found ourselves on a lovely flat stretch of trail with good footing. For the first time all day, we cantered. It was wonderful.

Shortly after our canter, we crossed over the northeast inlet of the reservoir via a long wooden bridge. 

Daylight was fading quickly as we rode up the final stretch of shoreline. 

Along the way, Hannah spotted something swimming in the water. It turns out there were beavers in the reservoir! I always love seeing them because it doesn't happen very often.

Hannah and I mostly retraced our steps out of the park from there. We did accidentally miss a turn towards the end. This led to a lovely detour that included a view of an algae-covered pond in the woods.

As we rode down the street toward Dunkin, a local pulled over in his car and rolled the window down. It turns out he had seen us on the far side of the park. He couldn't believe how much ground we had covered, and was intrigued by where we could possibly be parked. I do love to baffle the neighbors.

It wasn't until we reached the parking lot that I realized Max was missing a front boot. At first I thought he had lost it in the final stretch, but when I reviewed Hannah's photos and videos, I realized I lost it somewhere between the creek crossing and the wooden bridge. Dammit!

We didn't let that spoil our day however. Instead, we ended as we began: with Dunkin Donuts. 

We made good on our promise to bring the horses up for a visit. Sadly, this location didn't have a drive-thru so we just brought them to the front door. Hannah stayed outside with the horses while I went inside to get hot cocoa, donuts, and some very cute dog toys for Guppy and Bonnie.

Nothing to see here.

We got the horses loaded pretty quickly, then enjoyed our hot chocolate on the drive home. 

Hannah and I agreed that this park made for some amazing riding. We couldn't believe neither of us had ridden there before, though the lack of parking was definitely a factor. We concluded that Washington Valley warrants revisiting on a regular basis. I am officially adding it into the rotation! 

I went home gushing about our ride, then told Mike I'd lost a boot. I think he wanted to see the beautiful trails I'd described and he suggested we spend the next day looking for my boot.

We left Bonnie at home because she had tweaked something earlier in the week and was resting. I was sad to go without her, but Mike and I had a beautiful four mile hike. 

Since we didn't have horses in tow, I decided we could park at Chimney Rock Park. Mostly this was because that was where I thought my boot was. The side quest, of course, was scoping out the parking. 

Despite the Google warning, there was nothing posted to indicate that horses and horse trailers aren't allowed. The parking lot was spacious and fairly quiet despite it being a weekend. The spots are in the center of the lot, so you could definitely park a trailer in the lines. 

Next time we ride these trails, that's where I'll park. 

Mike and I started by hiking the stretch from the bridge behind the disc golf course to Gilbride Road. We crossed that and hiked to the wooden bridge, keeping our eyes peeled for a boot that might have flown off during our only canter. 

No luck.

Mike was enjoying the scenery and mentioned he'd be up for a longer walk, so we continued all the way around the lake from white to red. 

There were many turtles along the way.

We meandered through the main parking lot and I showed Mike the cliff trail. We retraced the route Hannah and I took the previous day, eventually popping out on Chimney Rock Road.

By this point, we were pretty committed to the route so we crossed the road and climbed up the orange trail. Doing it on foot made me appreciate how much effort Max had put in to carry me up the hill the previous day. It was technically a walk in the park, but it certainly wasn't easy.

Mike and I did not walk all the way out to Buttermilk Falls or the Hawk Watch. Instead we followed orange down to Gilbride Road and did a quick left-right to hit the other side of Chimney Rock park. 

This closed our loop and ensured that I covered the entire stretch where I think the boot came off. Sadly, we didn't find it. I suspect it either got flung way off the trail or someone picked it up. We did check both parking lots in case someone brought it in. 

It was a bummer to lose a boot, but I was glad to share this part of the park with Mike. Doing almost 15 miles of trail over the weekend left me feeling very satisfied. 

This was definitely a top ten ride for this year. It left me feeling very satisfied on the fall riding front. We certainly saw plenty of beautiful foliage. 

I had a busy week planned and this ride set me up to go into it with a shiny attitude. 

To close, here's a video Hannah put together from our ride: