Length: 3-5 hours; 3 km trail one way (not a circular route)
Mode of Transport: Carrier; not stroller friendly; best to use two cars
Why Go? Cool caves, spectacular views and swimming holes
Toilets? Only at Yad Kennedy
What to Bring: Hats, sunscreen, water, snacks, bathing suit/change of clothes, friends with another car ;)
Entrance Fee: It's a KKL park, so it's free, but the popsicles at the end will cost you
Important Note: This is NOT a circular hike. You can either leave one car at the start and one at the end OR you will need to walk 3 km there and retrace your steps 3 km back, which is not kid friendly. Of course, you could also only walk 1 km or 2 km and retrace you way back.
It was a Saturday, post-Corona lock-down and 21 degrees in June. Say what? Say get your hiking packs on, cut up the watermelon and let's boogie. And boogie we did, friends, all the way to the Aminadav Forest.
First, we drove with friends to Yad Kennedy 1. because there are proper toilets and 2. I'm American and a sucker for any opportunity to get a picture with the sign of Delaware. The striking memorial was dedicated in 1966 to JFK after his assassination. The architecture is inspired to look like a tree stump cut down, symbolizing a life cut short. There are 51 columns for the 50 States + Washington DC. It was also a nice lil' area for the kiddies to run wild. Side note - does this mean I have become Israeli, since I used the words "memorial" and "kids run wild" in the same context?
We got back in the car and drove just 3 minutes to the starting point of Shvil Ha'Ma'ayanot - a place called Khirbet Sa'adim or חורבת סעדים. The area is equipped with picnic benches, a little playground, camping site, and you know, ruins of a 5th Century Byzantine farm. Now, this is the important and semi-annoying logistical part of the hike: it's NOT circular. Meaning, if you have only one car, you need to hike out 3 km and then hike back 3 km retracing your steps to the car. OR if you come with two cars, like we did, since we came with friends, you breathe deep and:
This whole shenanigans took about 30 minutes to orchestrate. We put the dads in charge of the MacGyver car operation while we fed the kids breakfast at one of the many picnic benches. And when we finished, there were also these cute fake sheep to play on.
Alas we start walking.
Check out the map of the path. I marked the start at Khirbet Sa'adim in a green X and the end where we parked out car at Ein Sarig in a red X.
The path is relatively flat and wide with decent shade, but there are some rocky patches that caused a few of the kiddies to lose footing and, well, eat it. Along the way the path is dotted with fresh springs and caves, in which we played my favorite game, "who do you think lives here?" And to which G always replied, "Goldilocks and the three bears!". Decent guess.
Spring #1 is Ein Aminadav and there was this spooky, yet fascinating peek-a-boo tunnel connecting to the fresh water kids could crawl through. Your feet will get wet, so if you have a kid that has soggy shoe aversion, they should pass.
Spring #2 is Ein Uzi, and bless my hubby's kibbutznik soul, he peeled down to his skimmies and jumped on in with G. The water was cold, the view was excellent, and I just prayed no one had Corona. Googaley!
Spring #3 is Ein Tamar and resembled a brownish colored kiddie pool. We passed in the name of time, plus it was pretty crowded, but definitely seemed like the place to be.
Now, here's the kicker folks: the end of the hike is at Spring #4 called Ein Handak. You could very well end there, but keep in mind it will tack on another 1 km/20 minute walk with a steep downhill. Since we were walking with turtles, er, I mean toddlers, we decided NOT to tackle that adventure, but rather leave car #2 at a closer point called Ein Sarig. And most importantly, Ein Sarig has an ice cream truck open for business, with whom we could not have done without. Praise be to the mighty Magnum bar, can I get a hallelujah, amen! Besides, we needed a way to kill the next 30 minutes of reverse car flip flop escapades.
To give you a run down of our timing:
9:30 arrive to Yad Kennedy
10:00 arrive at Khirbet Sa'adim
10:30 start hike
13:00 arrive at Ein Sarig
13:30 ready to roll on out
Overall, it made for a lovely day. A bit challenging for our four-year-olds, but they were little ballers and enjoyed mini-adventures along the way. There is enough to see and do to keep them engaged during the hike. It was a longer outing than we are used to walking and takes some planning. However, it got a big thumbs up from G, whose favorite part was "looking for Goldilocks in the caves". That's exactly my answer, too.
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