When we arrived at Springwood the rain had more or less stopped so while my wife and brother-in-law did the tour, I went exploring with the dog. After walking around a bit near the house I was pleased to discover that there is a fairly extensive system of trails. They meander around the property and then go off in one direction up to Val-Kill and Top Cottage; and in the other into the neighboring Vanderbilt Property.

Not far from the beginning of the trail you pass an orchard with a nice view back to the house (see picture above).

Farther along I passed these odd structures. The one on the right appeared to be a seat of some kind, but I have no idea what the other one (on the left) is.

Continuing you pass a waterfall.

We kept walking but as we did so the rain was getting worse and worse. After about thirty minutes I could see that Harley was not enjoying the walk too much (and he’s usually pretty blasé about rain) so we turned around and walked thirty minutes back to the Visitor’s Center. By this time we were both soaked. Luckily the Visitor’s Center is dog friendly so we were able to sit indoors to dry out and wait for the others to finish their tour.

I’d like to come back on a nicer day and explore the trails more thoroughly.