Best hike for young kids

Let them scramble up the sloping hills on a 2-to-3-mile loop of the Mason-Dixon Trail below the Holtwood Dam and look down on power-line towers where bald eagles nest.

To get there: Take Route 74 to Route 372 (Holtwood Road), which will take you to Lock 12 Recreational Park. Drive upriver to the parking lots.

Best hike for leaf-peeping

Hikers agree that Lake Redman and Lake Williams are two of the best places to view the fall foliage because you can catch the canvas of color across the lake, or see the leaves reflected in the water.

To get there: From York, follow South George Street to Jacobus. For Lake Redman, turn left on Church Street, and the boat launch is on your left. For Lake Williams, turn right on Water Street.

Best hike for a workout

A section of the Mason-Dixon Trail that runs between Long Level and Apollo County Park.

“There are a couple of climbs, but in Pennsylvania it’s hard to find (a hike) without climbs,” said Jim Hooper of Lower Windsor Township, a member of the York Hiking Club. “It’s better to have a dirt trail with variations though, so you don’t have the same stride all the time.”

To get there: From Red Lion, follow Burkholder Road east to New Bridgeville. Take Route 425 east for 3½ miles. Turn left onto Boyd Road. Parking lot is at the end of the dirt road.

Best hike for a great view

Rocky Ridge County Park, so named because of its location on a rock-strewn hilltop northwest of Hallam, offers a variety of trails that lead to two overlooks. From the north overlook, you get a panoramic view of the Susquehanna Valley. The south overlook shows off the York Valley.

To get there: From Route 30, take Mount Zion Road (Route 24) north for 1 mile. Turn right onto Deininger Road and follow to park.

Most accessible hike

The boardwalk over the backwaters of Lake Redman. “It’s shallow back there, so there’s lots of wildlife viewing,” says Jodi Sulpizio, Nixon Park naturalist. And, you can push a wheelchair on it with ease.

To get there: Take Route 214 south from Dallastown. Turn right on Iron Stone Hill Road, and park in the first lot you come to.

For more information

• York County Parks: http://www.york-county.org/gov/Parks/park_brd.htm

• Pennsylvania State Parks: www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/recreation/hiking.aspx

• Pennsylvania State Forests: www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/hiking/index.apx

• Keystone Trails Association:
www.kta-hike.org

• York Hiking Club: www.yorkhikingclub.com/index.html

Mason-Dixon Trail System: www.masondixontrail.org/index.htm

Leaf art projects for kids

• Handprint tree. Gather colorful leaves from outside. Then trace the child’s hand and part of his arm on a piece of brown construction paper or a brown paper bag. Cut it out and glue on leaves to make a fun fall tree.

• Leaf painting. Paint one side of a leaf and press it onto paper to make a kind of rubber-stamp leaf. Or tape several leaves to a piece of paper, and paint the whole sheet of paper. Be creative: make polka dots or splatters, or dribble paint on top. Then remove the leaves to show the leaf pattern in reverse.

• Leaf rubbings. Place a leaf on the table, top it with a piece of white drawing paper. Use a crayon to color over the leaf to make a rubbing of the leaf’s texture.

Fall foliage frolic

Learn a little bit more about the trees your admiring this season during a walk with forester Bill Greenawalt through Richard M. Nixon County Park, Nixon Drive, Springfield Township, 2:30 p.m. to 4 Oct. 14.