Spring has officially sprung, and the Spring StoryWalk has been posted! This season’s book is The Secret Pool by Kimberly Ridley with illustrations by Rebekah Raye. Grade levels 2-4.

After some deliberation, we moved forward with posting a new StoryWalk with the understanding that for many families with young children, familiar routines are crucial at this time. With the implementation of temporary one-way signage on our popular loop trails, the Ring and the Big A, the StoryWalk can help serve as an additional form of wayfinding. Also, this is a beautiful and informative book about one of the most amazing habitats we have here at Mount A, and it would be a shame not to share it with you even if the season to observe these ephemeral places is slowly coming to an end.

We do ask that visitors enjoying the StoryWalk continue to maintain a recommend 6-foot physical distance from other trail users, and announce their presence as they approach others. Avoid touching the story panels; if you do, make use of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, as water is not available for hand washing up at the summit at this time.

For those of you unable to visit us and enjoy this story, our Outreach and Education Coordinator has received permission from the author to share a video walk and read aloud here online. We hope to have this posted soon! The Secret Pool will be up on the trail through July, at which point we will switch over to a new book for the remainder of the summer into fall.

Our walk starts at the lowest parking lot on the ring trail, continues on the west side of Ring, and up the Witch Hazel trail to finish on the summit. The trail is somewhat steep in places but comfortable at easy stroll pace with stops at the reading stations. Terrain varies from gentle slope on dirt trail to rocky sections with short climbs or descents. Distance is 1.3 miles. Allow 1 ½ hours for younger children. For good hikers just stopping to read, time can be reduced to about half an hour.

Last modified: July 10, 2020