I was looking at maps and noted a small park in Shepherdstown, next to Rumsey Park. Cullison Park isn’t big, it’s not particularly visible, it’s on the edge of town, but is a great treasure to check out.
To find it, go through Old Town on German Street and turn onto Mills Road.
Mills Road is a quiet residential street with meter parking on one side. It also has sidewalks on both sides, which isn’t common. We were able to get a nice spot in front of the stairs going up to the park. You must bring coins – 25 cents is 30 minutes. Shepherdstown checks the meters, even those far from the downtown core. The parking meter people ride around on a Segway all over town. Do not park in residential parking slots – you need a permit to use those. Because of the college, there is no free parking in general, though the meters are only Monday through Friday and free on holidays/weekends.
As you come into the park, there is a large playground.
The perimeter of the park has a paved blacktop trail that is smooth and flat. It is mostly accessible (there were many tree limbs down, but it has been windy the past couple of days. Ford and I kicked many off the path onto the lawn.)
There is an accessible parking lot off of Rocky Street, by the fence above. That parking is free.
A vintage adult outdoor exercise gym awaits you. In the 1980s, as a kid, these were everywhere: the calisthenics parks. This one is in good shape. I got the enjoyment of watching my adult son trying out a few. He had not seen a park like this since he was a kid.
The trail curves around.
We passed the first of three trails that went off into the woods.
The last one we walked up.
It quickly takes you to the road that Rumsey Park is on, at its entrance.
With fall here, the leaves are falling, and the views are coming back. We walked in Rumsey Park, up to the monument, and over the back, and explored the trails I had not taken before.
Old bridge pylons over the Potomac River.
Potomac River, railroad bridge, and Maryland.
On the way back, we exited the park to the left, where you can see a trail heading downhill. It splits early into two trails, one going uphill, the other downhill.
The uphill trail is the first trail we passed, and the downhill trail is the middle trail. We popped back into the park and completed the paved loop.
It is a great way to connect the town to the two parks and is easily walkable. Combined with other things, you can get quite a few steps in.
Another fun area to visit, just a couple of blocks away, is the historic Shepherdstown Station. The train has not stopped here for a very long time, yet it howls through town many times a day, on its way in and out of the state. The same line that runs behind my home, whistling its song across the valley. It has public parking, with meters, for off-street parking.
~Sarah