One of the area's newest trails is at Holiday Island, which was created a few years ago with funding by the Holiday Island Theatre Guild.

The trail is three to four feet wide in most places, with periodic maintenance performed by the road department of the Holiday Island Suburban Improvement District. This is essentially a wilderness hike through unimproved land.

Better than a mile in length, the trails starts just north of The Island Motel on Woodsdale Drive. While the landscape is wild, you will see occasional signs of civilization.

The path goes through a thick stand of woods where sunlight is filtered through the branches.

Another arm of the path leads through more woods, and the terrain is slightly more rolling. The hardest part of the walk is from the end of the trail back up to the parking area next to the motel -- that is all along the shoulder of Woodsdale Drive, so be alert for traffic.

Beaver

The nearby Town of Beaver has established a Walking Trail, which follows an old railroad bed alongside the headwaters of Table Rock Lake.

The best time to take in the Beaver trail is in the morning as the sunshine breaks from the east, casting dappled shadows on the wide trail.

The Beaver trail is generally flanked on the east by the water, and on the west are some of the finest exposed bluffs you can find in Carroll County.

At the far end of the trail, if you walk that far, you can find the remains of railroad trestles which once spanned the White River, in and out of the water like some giant dropped some Tinker Toys.