Worden's Ledges

OMG, this place is a very beautiful with amazing paths to walk. The story behind the carvings is what brought us here to see the area. The man's wife died a year after marrying her and he went to the woods she had inherited from her father and then passed down to him after her death, to honor her and most likely heal. He spent many hours in those woods to make the beautiful carvings that he made well over 100 years ago. I would definitely recommend a visit here. I wished I lived closer bc I would definitely walk this place over and over. Of course, some added bonuses was walking there in the fall with all the colors and the sound of the fallen leaves crunching under our feet and if you know what geocaching is there are several geocaches in the area as well.

Went here on Buzzard's day in mid-March. The trail to the ledges and the sculptures was a bit muddy from rain earlier in the day. Overall, the hike was pretty easy, and the view of the ledges as well as the sculptures was beautiful. There is a large handicap porta-potty in the parking lot at the trail head, but the trail isn't handicap accessible. I was also able to get some good views of the buzzards that had flown in that morning. This trail is also only a 3 minute drive from Buzzard's landing, and about 4-5 minute drive from the main boathouse and its facilities.

It was a short little hike, but really beautiful! Kinda muddy / mucky, but that was expected because of the weather. There are two trails you can walk, but the trail you would need to see Worden's Ledge has raccoon pictures attached to the trees. The locals were super nice and helpful, too!

Beautiful short hike. Worden's loop is less than half a mile and you stumble upon the carvings. Very serene with not many people there in a weekday. There's parking at the beginning of the trail for a few cars and it has multiple spots open. Portable potty by parking, had toilet paper and sanitizer.

This is a beautiful park with spectacular carvings! Some of the carvings just make you wonder, how long did this take to make? There are very cool and interesting rock formations, overall 10/10 (5.0 stars)

Fantastic trail for a peaceful walk about n hike! This is not a paved trail, this is definitely off reading. Proper shoes and trekking poles are a good idea. There is minimal parking with a over flow lot for trailers wanting to use the bridle trail. No WC located here. No bike trail, this is strictly for walking, hiking and bridle. Enjoy the carvings of Nettie Worden absolutely amazing. Very cool story behind this piece of tranquility.

Underrated gem. Not a long trail but so much to see it will take you awhile. Great place to hike on a hot day as well the caverns keep you cool. Art everywhere you look.

Great experience, beautiful area to hike and great adventure discovering the sandstone carvings in the woods. Pay attention to raccoon trail markers to find your way to carvings in woods.

My friend and I thoroughly enjoyed this very short and easy hike. We loved looking for the carvings in the various rock formations and didn't even manage to locate them all. From reading online, apparently the carvings were done back in the 1940's. Aside from the carvings, the rock formations were filled with color and truly stunning while a light snowfall was landing on them.

I ran through here for the first time over the past weekend and was quite surprised by the eerie impressions left on the rock-walls. I found it fascinating and took a few photos before we moved on. Later on, I looked up and read a bit about the place. Turns out, although the dates carved deeply into the rocks are in the mid to late 1800s, they were actually carved in the mid-1900s by a son-in-law of Worden's. The land belonged to the Worden family prior to passing down to him. He carved several detailed faces, names, a schooner, a bible and a cross, among other things often so deep into the rocks it's hard to imagine them ever washing away. I admit, at first it appears to me just some modern graffiti, but no graffito of this day-and-age is going to spend that much time cutting rock when they can tag tons of train cars with spray paint in the same amount of time. The place fits neatly into the geology of the area which has been all around surprising to me ever since I moved here. The further surprise came when I found out these rocks were primarily cut from water erosion in an ancient inland sea, rather than the glaciation I expected. It kinda makes sense, with more rounded edges and undersides of overhangs. Definitely worth a hike, as is the entirety of Hinckley's.

I have been going to Hinckley reservation for years. As a child I swam in the summer and ice skated in the winter. As an adult I ran around the lake on the dirt trail and also on the multi-purpose trail. I only discovered this hidden gem of Worden's Ledge and the beautiful rock carvings. Mr. Worden purchased his homestead in 1851 and married in 1860. They had several children and the oldest was Nellie. The parents died and left Nellie in charge of their settlement. When Nellie was 80 she married 63 year old Nobel Stuart. This marriage was not seen favorably by their family and friends but they decided to go through with it. Nobel was a bricklayer and an aspiring sculptor. Nellie died about a year after they got married and Nobel acquired the homestead. Shortly after her death he enjoyed taking walks in the wooded land on his property. This area included sandstone ledges which he carved and created interesting images from mythology, dates, and tributes to others. You will see his Nellie etched in the stone. You will see the date 1851 which was when the Worden's were married. There is a carving of a schooner which was in honor of his father who died on one in Lake Superior. The faces are of George Washington, and others. Baseball player Ty Cobb is also seen. You will roam around and see the sphinx, crosses and moon shaped faces. The loop trail is about one mile long. The trailhead is located off of Ledge Road. When you approach the ledges it feels like a scavenger hunt. You need to carefully and slowly explore all surfaces and ravines to see this hidden treasure. I do want to go back and look for some of the carvings which I did not see on this adventure.