Seidman Park, , 8155 Conservation Dr, Ada ~ 12/7 & 12/14/20

 

This is a park you can walk again and again and not get bored. If you're looking for flat, paved trails, this is not your park. If you like varied elevations, dirt paths, and walking in the woods, this is your park. We came in off Conservation (there is also an entrance on Honeycreek) and foolishly took the paved path that led to a boardwalk that led to a paved path along Honeycreek.
We thought there would be a cutoff into the park and after about a mile we just took a man-made semi-trail that got us off the road path. We had a map and the few trail markers we found indicated we were on the yellow trail. So not knowing the park, we just sallied forth into the woods.
And what a lovely woods it is.
We found ourselves down by the water & back near the parking lot so we circled back to get a few more miles.
Our only complaint about this park is that some of the trailer markers are confusing, and there are not enough of them. We came to too many unmarked forks in the road and so had to guess which way to go to stay yellow.
We crossed back over a bridge and enjoyed all that the woods had to offer.
Up a hill we came across this kind of magical place in the sand.
There is no hunting here (although you might hear the occasional gun shot from a nearby gun club) so maybe this is a photographer's blind or maybe it's just someone picking up sticks.
Very kindly, a park person has painted pink many stumps that might trip you up.
So take the trailhead behind this sign and enjoy the yellow trail.
4.4 miles covered on the yellow trail.

On December 14, we returned to try the blue & red trails so entered off Honeycreek.
Happily for us, on this cold day, there were only a few cars in the parking lot.
The map makes it looks like the trails are perfectly clear and obvious but that is not the case, due to unmarked offshoots and a dearth of trail markers.
Nevertheless, we managed to cover both the red and blue trails, starting at the trailhead for the red.
At one point we arrived at a crossroads under the power lines.
Trail markers are here and there.
Several ponds afforded us views of beaver lodges.
None of the stumps on these trails are painted pink but there was a steep hill warning.
We found bridges, boardwalks, and a baby white pine.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable park with mixed elevations on all trails.
Never miss taking that long and winding road.
3.3 miles walked on the blue and red trails.

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