Today’s hiking adventure was at Westwood Hills Nature Center.

Our hike began on the paved trail towards Westwood Lake.

Westwood Lake appeared to be frozen over. The wind whipped across the ice making it feel colder than it really was.

When presented with a staircase, climb it! There was a wooden overlook at the top of the staircase. We took in the view and then went back down the stairs to continue our hike around the lake.

The trail closest to the lake brought us to a long floating boardwalk. Returning to this park in the summer is a must. I can only imagine all the turtles, frogs, ducks and other winged creatures that will surround the boardwalk.

After hiking around the lake, we hiked the upper trails near the interpretive center. We found lots of turkeys throughout the park. Another hiker informed us the 160-acre park has 59 turkeys! Let me tell you, those turkeys were having a grand time gossiping with each other because they were noisy.

A giant woodpecker landed on a tree right in front of us. I couldn’t snap a photo fast enough to capture its greatness. Several of the trees bore evidence of their presence though.

We looped around the upper trail before heading back to our starting point. As we neared the interpretive center, a family of gnomes made an appearance.

Two large wildlife sculptures made their home in front of the interpretive center.

Today’s hiking adventure was 3.4 miles.