Trail Review: Moneta Park

About twenty years ago, when the Falling Creek Park trails were first being created, my husband and I decided to check them out.  There were no trail maps available.  There was very little signage at the time, but we didn't think too much of it because we thought it was a loop course.  Boy, were we wrong.  We wound up getting so lost.  We had no map, no compass, or cell phone.  Smartphones didn't even exist yet.  We couldn't navigate by the sun because it was cloudy.  Finally we went off-trail and climbed a big hill to get our bearings, (we saw U.S. 460 in the distance) and finally found our way out.

You'd think a person who had that experience would at least look at a trail map anytime she runs somewhere new, but I didn't.  I wasn't sure which parking lot was closest to a trail entrance since none seemed very close to the woods, so I just picked one.  Luckily, I saw a man get out of his car and go running down the paved trail past the restroom building.  I decided to also head that way and found the entrance to the woods with a sign marked Left XC trail.  I had my AllTrails app open with navigation turned on for this particular trail.

The first 3/4 mile or so of the Left XC course is one of the rootiest I've seen (but not rocky, thank goodness!)   It is also plain dirt and made me glad I didn't do the Frozen Toe 10K here back in January on a rainy day.  It was probably very muddy and slippery that day, and I was just starting to get back into trail running shape at the time.  I am not sure I could have handled it then.  However, in dry conditions today, it was fine... I was just very careful.

At about 3/4 mile into my run, I reached a triple fork.  To the left took me out of the woods onto the disc golf course.  I figured I probably shouldn't go that way, so I headed straight.  After running a little, I checked AllTrails navigation and saw that I was off course.  According to the AllTrails app, I was supposed to go onto the disc golf course.  So I reversed course, went back to the fork, and followed the AllTrails navigation.  

At times, I found myself running literally right beside the start pads, fairways (if that's what they're
called) and baskets.  At Falling Creek Park and (especially) New London, I'm used to the trail crossing the disc golf course.  I simply look before crossing to make sure I don't get in anyone's way, and quickly run across.  At Moneta, I felt like if there were disc golfers playing that hole, I could potentially hold up someone's game.  But maybe I wasn't running in exactly the right place.  It was hard to know.

Moneta Park is not as wooded as the other Bedford County Park trails.  A lot of the course reminds me of the Bluebird Bike Trail at Falling Creek Park, going through fields, up and down hills (which is unlike the Bluebird Bike Trail, which is flat.)  I don't mind running on a grassy trail, but on the day I ran, it didn't appear to have been mowed in a while and was sometimes hard to see where I was supposed to go.   

Once I came out of the woods at mile 2.33, I could see my car parked across the field.  I still had a little bit of running to do in order to complete the AllTrails loop, but decided to turn around at this point and run in reverse.  I thought maybe the trail might be more visible and obvious in the other direction.  In a couple of places it was, but in general (especially when in the grass alongside the disc golf course), I just didn't know where to go.  I hiked and kept my eye on AllTrails.

While I liked Moneta Park, it seems it could benefit from more signage and blazes (although I don't know where you'd put blazes when running through a field).  But blazes would definitely help at the entrances to the woods.  There were also several places where I couldn't tell if it was the trail or what appeared to be a trail but was actually water runoff.

I wound up completing the entire AllTrails map, which also directed me to run behind the two baseball fields.  A game was going on at the time, so I didn't want to run behind the outfield.  Instead I ran in front of the ballfield and then headed to the park perimeter.  I closed out the AllTrails loop and then ran to the car, putting me at just over 5.2 miles for the day.  Of course, it may be slightly longer than that, as Garmin usually drops a little mileage on trails.

Moneta was pretty, peaceful, and seemed like a nice park.  I don't think it's been around as long as Falling Creek or New London, so maybe it will just take a little more time before the signage and blazes are added.  New London has only recently gotten extra good signage.  I would definitely run here again, as there are challenging ups and downs throughout the course which make for a good workout.  I don't mind sharing a course with disc golfers, as long as it's expected and no one minds yielding to each other when necessary.

Of the trails I've run in Bedford County, this one has the least mileage, is the least woodsy, and is pretty far from my house.  So for those reasons, I think I'd put it last in my rankings of the Bedford County Parks & Rec trails.  However, I head out this way sometimes to visit my parents, and I'm sure I'll run here again.

Next time, I think I'll download (and maybe even print on paper) this trail map (or maybe I'll just wait until I can go with someone who knows the course.). Happy Trails, everyone!