West House Trail

Rick Nobers

7-21-21 Reading reviews, let me set some things straight. I also question if folks have actually walked on it. This is a .7 mile trail one way. There is some shoulder parking on Church Street for maybe 4 cars but I wouldn't park my car here. The Crockett Trail is across Church Street if you wanted to do that. Ok-the trail and addressing some things I see in reviews: 1)This is an easy trail and begins on Church. It is mostly flat, clay to sand, muddy at parts, has a ton of roots, a couple of bridges, and little to no elevation change. Varying canopy with some webs and bugs. Very dense forest so you can't see much facing north. Numerical markers for safety. 2)There are no good views of the lake. None. I will repeat this. There are no good views of the lake. Zero. No cutouts to it. No parts of the trail meet it. What little you can see of it (all at the beginning) is mostly obstructed and far away. Don't believe any review telling you there are. 3)The house. One reviewer mentioned he couldn't find it. He is right because it isn't on the trail itself. The end of the trail has signage and stops at an access road (grass, gravel, etc). A neighorhood with no trespassing signs will be directly in front of you as you exit the trail/get to this road. You would have to turn right (north) and the dilapidated house will be at the end of the access road. Just beyond the house the road is gated and would lead into a neighborhood. So no, the house with all the pictures uploaded is not on the trail. As of today (see date above), there were several trees down, very large ones, across the path. Nothing that isn't passable but do require some off trail maneuvering. One of these had a numerical marker. This frankly is a boring trail to me. There. That's the truth. Unless you are a beginner hiker or maybe have young children, then skip it. There are too many trails in the area with much better scenery. Eh.

Darryl Thompson

Wonderful, short out and back trail along the headwaters of lake Townsend. Well marked and easy to follow numbered trail signs in case you run into any trouble and need to call in your location for help. A lot of trees down about midway down the trail from severe spring weather, but the trail crew has the trail nice and clear. Starting from Church street about half mile or so in your come to a t intersection and a black metal fence. Turn left and you’ll come to the spillway between lake Jeanette and Townsend, Take a right instead and you’ll come to the 200 year old plus home and the trails namesake. If your looking for a quick hike in the woods this is a pretty nice place close to the city. Your not far from civilization and a small airport, so if your looking for quiet this isn’t your trail.

daniel linville

There are a couple nice trails there. Nothing difficult. The only potential issue is parking. Need to park on the side of a busy 2 lane road and there's not much space. No dedicated parking spots. At least on the Church Street entrance anyway. Not sure about other areas.

Chris Gottfried

Great trails, well marked and a pretty easy walk. Lots of roots, so just be careful. Close quarters for passing other walkers with dogs.