Camp Columbia State Park

Up the hills, down the hills, up the hills, down the hills. And sliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide through the mud. To me, there’s just something off about Camp Columbia. It’s not the hills, not even the excessive amount of mud, or the multiple ticks. I didn’t hear any birds and there was only the faint roar of traffic. It feels completely isolated, even though you can see the houses boarding the property. I heard rumors once it was supposed to be haunted, and if that’s true I cannot say. But the past is definitely present. From the remains of the original camp we found a slowly decaying building someone had managed to rip the door off (although the inside was surprising clean), the tower (the door was open, although I wasn’t going to try the steps up without the blessing of the parks service), a rusting basketball hoop with trees going through it, and the odd foundation here or cement here and there.
It took a few tries to find the start of the actual trail. Go left before you reach to Tower, and just keep going until you find another map. That is the start of the trail.
My dog loved it. Lots of trees and apparently interesting smelling nature. There were a decent amount of trees that fell over the path, and even with his tiny basset-​hound sized stature he hopped right over them. Maybe wait until summer though. I wasn’t kidding about sliding in the mud, and my jeans will never forgive me.