Hiking Harbison

With the hope that the temperature is becoming favorable to the big dogs of the world like myself, I wanted to share one of my favorite places to take a day trip. Just two hours up the interstate is Harbison State Forest. Did you think Columbia was just some boring state capital place? Well tucked away off of exit 103 is a trail dog's dream.

Harbison has over 16 miles of trail and really offers something for everyone. If you are looking to mix up your terrain without driving really far this is a great place to practice hiking hills (oh yeah, you heard me right, they actually have hills there). Here is a link to the trail map, it is very nice and tells you a distance, estimate time and a difficulty level for each trail -- these are available at all the parking areas. Usually when we go there I can find a mud puddle to drink out of, but mom always brings plenty of water because for some reason she likes to discourage my puddle drinking. Harbison is an on-leash forest. This trail system is also a popular place for mountain bikers, however I've always found them to be very courteous to paw traffic. You do have to buy a parking pass, which is $5, but plan to stay long enough and you will definitely get your money's worth.

And while I'm excited about getting back to hiking at Harbison State Forest, I'm also pumped about the upcoming Dog Day Afternoon on Sunday, September 12th at Whirlin' Waters Water Park. Sadie and I had so much fun last year and were so excited to find out they were doing it again this year! Hope to see you and your people there.

In th meantime I'm blogging over at www.ZekeTheLab.com