Challenge at Joseph Smith Birthplace

Quick Facts:
Easy to moderate incline, estimated 2 mi round trip, elevation unknown.

Highlights:
Wide paths, quiet and not heavily traveled.

Directions:
Follow the directions for my prior blog on Joseph Smith Birthplace, except when you exit the parking lot, take a left towards the visitor center and then venture into the yard (with benches in it) on the opposite side of the building from which the memorial stands.

Details:
Facing the yard from the building, you'll mosey to the far right corner and into the woods where an old road/trail begins. Bypassing the first switchback trail to your left, continue to the next left which leads up to an small meadow. Walk straight through the meadow until you can see a stone wall through the trees and brush. If you cut through the trees to the stone wall, and then follow it to the left, keep your eye out for a big dead tree, and then another live one which has a brightly-colored tape tied around its trunk. The challenge in this hike is not physical, but instead finding the trails from this point. If you can locate the Big tree with tape tied around it, you've located the opening where this second set of trails at the Memorial begin. I urge you to venture throughout the small network of trails, don't worry about getting lost as most of them are marked with different color tape along the branches which hover over the trail, and eventually lead back together at some point.

Most of this land may lay on private property, so tread peacefully and abide the leave-no-trace rule. The walk is not strenuous at all, and is mostly flat save for some very moderate hills running throughout the forest.