Guidebook for Rawley Springs

Hiking in GW National Forest: From the Stream-Side loft, face the gravel road and go right, you will quickly come to the end of the lane and the beginning of GW National forest. Go straight past the end of the cul-de-sac and you are at the trail head. (Note: If you are staying in Woodpecker Cabin, follow Rawley Springs road to the gravel road and continue to the cul-de-sac). There is a beautiful little wading pool just steps down from the road, and miles and miles of trails begin just across from the stream. If the stream is up, you might have to get your feet wet if the stepping stones across are covered with water. There are three stream crossings on this trail within the first quarter mile or so, after which it follows the right bank for miles as you gain elevation. (At the second stream crossing you can follow the right bank over the bluff to avoid the second and third stream crossings). Just over the first stream crossing and to the left is a beautiful little picnic spot on the rocks across from a steep rock wall. A really great hang-out spot. (If the stream is too high, or you don’t want to get your feet wet, see the description for “Juliette’s Tower” to access the more difficult but equally beautiful trail that is on the opposite bank of the stream, and which requires some climbing, but no stream crossings). The trail into the forest is occasionally marked on the trees by two yellow squares or diamonds, and pretty much follows the stream. You can’t get lost if you remember that the stream flows towards home – it will bring you back to the cul-de-sac. The trail presents some really lovely and intimate views. After the third stream crossing the trail is a bit rocky for a hundred yards or so, then evens out. After this rocky bit, the path diverges from the stream for a stretch - look for a small cairn of stones and one oblong stone on the left side of the trail pointing toward the stream. The oblong stone points to a large, flat boulder just above a lovely pool into which rush a few small rapids. Gorgeous, secluded and peaceful. Sit on the boulder over the pool and become a fully realized being. Further on the trail is a beautiful long view of the stream, and also a section with a beautiful tall rock face on the other side. It’s easy to lose your sense of time as you delight in all this beauty: Remember to be back before dark! Of course, animals live in this huge forest, including black bears, and it’s conceivable, though very rare, that you might see one, as well as other forest creatures. They want to avoid you and it’s very unlikely that you will end up in the belly of a wild animal. Remember, you don't have run faster than a bear, you just have have to run faster than the person you're with :) We have never heard of anyone being attacked by a bear around here. so don't be afraid to go hiking. More Hiking - Juliet’s Tower and the Left Bank: Also at the end of the cul-de-sac, to your left, will be a path that goes up the side of the very steep hill (use the tree roots as steps). Climb past the first large granite boulders and outcroppings, and about 200’ above the road you can hunt around to find the path that runs to your right. This path leads to a long, tall, granite wall (not just a bunch of boulders) and on to “Juliet’s Tower” (see photo). The wall is, perhaps, 100 feet long and 20 feet high and the path runs along its base, so if you don’t know if you’ve found it, you haven’t. There are great hang-out/picnic spots up here. You have to be a good rock climber to get up on the tower itself, which is a granite outcropping/spire about 20’ high, but the path along the rock wall is pretty cool too with a nice view. Well worth the effort. The Left Bank: If you are following this path because the stream is too high to cross and want to hike in the mountains along the left bank of the stream, continue on the narrow footpath past Juliette’s tower and down the side of the hill. This path is seldom traveled and a bit overgrown, but manageable. At the base of the hill you will cross over a little tributary brook (about 4 feet wide) and continue on the path as it opens up and becomes wider. In a few hundred yards you will come to a campfire pit and the path leads to a stream crossing. However, look to the left from the firepit and you will see a path that follows the left bank of the stream. Follow the left bank trail, picking your way through a pathless area of boulders (across from which is the meditation rock and pool mentioned in the “yellow rectangles” trail on the other side of the stream) until you come to a new stream/tributary that comes in from the left (and is about 20’ across). Follow the left bank of that stream until you come to another firepit, across from which is a really magical spot with small waterfalls and rapids with a little island in the middle. This is the best spot on this stream. A perfect place to have lunch and lounge by, or in, in the water. Further along this trail dead-ends on the left side and requires a stream crossing to continue on the right bank, where it gets rougher. Lower Rawley: If you prefer strolling to hiking take a walk through the pleasant village of Lower Rawley, population 20, more or less. If you face the gravel road and turn left you will walk out the way you drove in. It’s a nice walk into the little neighborhood of “Lower Rawley” (see drawing). Just make sure you stay on the road and respect private property. By the way - You will pass a bridge over the stream with a sign for “Highlands of Rawley Springs” that is just down from the loft. You can go to the middle of the bridge to get a view, but please don’t go all the way over the bridge and up into that neighborhood. Farther on down the road, there is a hard-to-see path that is on the left side of the road, just past and above the first big newer house on the left, that leads down into Lower Rawley. Go down that path into Lower Rawley. If you miss it, no worries, just keep going on the road past the mailboxes and little stone spring house and down the hill. Take a hairpin left on Gum Run Trail which brings you into Lower Rawley from the other end. In the 1920’s locals began building cabins in Lower Rawley and you are our guest and therefore free to walk around the troll-free neighborhood and enjoy this pretty area. Gum Run Trail dead-ends at the aforementioned newer house, and the path you missed is now on your left and runs along the fenced-in yard. Follow the path up to the paved road and turn right to get back to the loft. In the 1800’s Rawley Springs was a retreat renowned for its “healing waters” (see photos). Fires twice destroyed the main hotels that were built – as you walk around you can still see the stone foundations of the hotels above the mailboxes next the small stone springhouse. The Upper Westward Path. Farther up the hill from Juliet’s Tower, there is a trail that leads West into the forest that may be of interest to the serious woodsman. You can continue straight up the steep slope through the woods (no path and a difficult and brush impeded climb) and in about 100 yards you will strike a trail that runs perpendicularly to the hillside. Turn right and you can hike West for miles. You should mark your entry point to the path with something so that when you return you know when to go back down the hill to the Cul-de-Sac. People get lost up here. However, if you turn left when you strike the path it will take you back to gravel roads in Upper Rawley (Cliffside Trail), so if you miss your mark on the return hike, you can always come back around the long way just by continuing on the path. We don’t recommend this trail except to those who are equipped with a topo map and maybe a gps. It’s not particularly scenic when compared to the stream-side trails, as it is uninterrupted forest.