Feb 12, 2021
Date-worthy refuge visits for hiking
This Valentine’s Day weekend, think “outside” the box and bring your sweetheart to a local national wildlife refuge!
Sharing love for the great outdoors with your significant other can be a bonding experience for both. Walking is also a great way to boost creativity, which may make conversation more engaging with that special someone you’d like to know better, or for creating new memories with someone you already know well. Don’t let recent snowfall deter your date, snow covered trails just mean you’ll have to keep each other extra warm!
John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, Pennsylvania
Nestled in Philadelphia, PA, John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum offers more than 10 miles of trails for you to choose from. Trails are open from sunrise to sunset and many offer a romantic view of the City of Brotherly Love’s skyline while experiencing the great outdoors at the same time. Click here for more trail information.
Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, Massachusetts
Located along the northeast coast of Massachusetts, Parker River National Wildlife Refuge provides six date-worthy hiking trails to share with your valentine. Stroll along the Parker River boardwalk, part of the Marsh Loop trail, or become one of over 120,000 thousand people who frequent the Hellcat Wildlife Trail each year. Click here for more trail information.
Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, New York
Perhaps you and your loved one are more into cross country skiing — Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge may just be the place for you! Fall in love again (but try to stay on your feet!) on their 3.2 mile Feeder Road Trail. Click here for more trail information.
Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, West Virginia
What’s more romantic than a gorgeous sunset? Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge is open one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset — making it the ideal location to watch the day turn in to night. With 28 trails to choose from, variety really is the spice of life at this West Virginia refuge. Click here for more trail information.
Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
As soon as you step foot on this paradise 26 miles west of Times Square you will rejoice that it is protected wilderness and did not become an airport (sorry Newark). Eleven and a half miles of trails await you at Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Stop by the visitor center to learn some of the history of the refuge — the first federal land protected by the Wilderness Act — to give you and your loved one something new to talk about while exploring. Click here for more trail information.
