The Shades of Death Trail in Hickory Run State Park is a lovely trail. It’s nice to come here on a weekday when it’s not crowded. It’s one of the more popular trails in the area, and I can see why. The trail is fairly steady most of the way and has plenty of scenery to enjoy as it undulates along Sand Spring Run passing by waterfalls and cascades, through hemlock forest and rhododendron thickets, over bridges and through large boulders. There are sunny meadows, a fishing pond and the ruins of an old logging mill and a dam. This trail is an out and back of just one mile each way. We walked up to the visitor center and then onto the Beach Trail which is just across the street to add a little more time to the hike. We had really great weather today. Here are some photos from the trek.

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