One of the nice things about living in Vermilion is being only a short drive away from the Vermilion River Reservation – that is, Mill Hollow & Bacon Woods. I spent a lot of time down there this summer enjoying the trails.
Autumn is a wonderful season down there too, and I captured a few fall photos, including the bridge over the Vermilion River and the Bacon House.
On one of my recent visits, I couldn’t help pulling off the road before descending the hill into the park, and walking over to take a look at the ‘old road.’ It’s really been reclaimed by nature since it was bypassed by the new entrance.
I’ve mentioned before how it used to be pretty interesting as a kid to go up the hill when we left the park after picnicking or camping there. The old road was pretty steep and Dad had to throw it in low gear.
In case you’ve forgotten, here are a few views of the park and the original road into it, courtesy of Historic Aerials.
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1952 – before it was a park
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1969
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Back in 2014 on
this blog entry, I posted this current aerial view (below).
And finally, here’s a ’now’ Google Maps view showing the new, gently curved entrance into the park, and the bypassed roadbed – which is still discernible, but in the process of being reclaimed by nature as I noted.
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In case it’s been a while since you visited Mill Hollow, here’s a recent view of what it looks like at the top of the hill, before you follow North Ridge Road down into the park area.
Mill Hollow has been a favorite topic on this blog since the beginning.
3 comments:
I just realized that it's been twenty-eight years since I've been to Mill Hollow; it was our jumping off point for our annual hiking and camping trips, and the last one we took as a group was Memorial Day weekend of 1992.
Mill Hollow will always have a special place in my heart. I feel like I grew up there. I have pictures of me feeding the ducks when I was not even two years old. It was the go-to place in the summer for all the families in the neighborhood. Later I often rode my bike there from Amherst. So many great memories. Going up or down that old hill was always exciting. I even got married there in October 2012. The beautiful autumn colors made one heck of a backdrop for the wedding photos.
Mill Hollow has been a part of many peoples lives. I remember playing in the river there as a kid in the 1950s before it was even a public park. Later, on a date, my future wife and I once rode a tandem bicycle from Amherst to the park for a picnic.. The ride down the hill on a tandem was a thrill, the pedal out of the park not so much. Although, unlike Drew, I didn't get married in the park I did propose to my wife there. We recently celebrated our 48th wedding anniversary -- good memories!
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