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| Trail Map |  Hike it with Google Earth | Terrain View |
| Distance: 1.2km | Time: 1 hour | Difficulty: Easy-Moderate |
| Ascent: 46.2m |
One of our priorities over the Passover holiday was to visit my oldest daughter’s family at their new home in Gofna. Their (almost finished!) little hilltop home is located in a beautiful natural setting in the Binyamin area of Israel: we love spending time there and watching their slow and steady progress.
Their move to Gofna means that they are much further away from us than before. But on the positive side, visiting them gives us an opportunity to explore a previously uncharted part of the country: the forests, springs, and hiking trails of the Shomron.
So during the Pesach holiday, we embarked on a journey to the Springs Trail (Shvil HaMaayanot) in “Park Giborot HaTanach”. This hiking trail was said to be especially gorgeous during the spring season. We looked forward to encountering flowing springs and plentiful wildflowers on the trail. Not only that, but the path was located less than 5 minutes from my daughter’s new home in Gofna: it seemed like the perfect Passover adventure for our family.
We had an incredible time on the Springs Trail in Gush Talmonim. The scenery was magnificent, and although the weather made it too cold to go for a swim, the springs pools were lovely to see. The entire walk (including a long picnic lunch) took a couple of hours, giving us plenty of time to hang out at our daughter’s home afterwards.
I’m so happy we discovered the Springs Trail in Gush Talmonim. Here’s how we hiked it:
Follow the Marked Path
We followed the clear signs off the road for Shvil HaMa’ayanot and parked our car. A few cars were parked there, but the trail looked quite empty, especially for a holiday. We got ourselves situated and enjoyed the sight of another large family picnicking under a tree, amidst rampant yellow wildflowers.
Our own family wasn’t sure which way to go – some hikers told us to go one way, but I wanted to follow the posted signs pointing in the opposite direction. I lost that battle and ended up following the rest of my family away from the signposts in the direction suggested by other hikers, towards the first spring pool.
It soon became apparent that we were following the right trail…we were simply following it backwards. We passed signs facing the opposite direction, and climbed up a hilly, flower filled pathway towards the spring.
Picnic by a Spring
First stop: a spring pool surrounded by picnic tables. This spot was deemed to be a perfect place for our picnic lunch. But rather than sitting at the table like normal people, we traipsed off into a field of tiny white flowers and spread out our picnic blanket
As everyone arranged themselves on the ground, I took the opportunity to snap some cute photos of my adorable granddaughters. The older obediently smiled for the camera, while the younger grabbed fistfuls of flowers.
After our photo op, we ate matza sandwiches and potato chips, classic Passover hiking trip cuisines. And we spent a long time taking in the magnificent views and examining the many wildflowers in our midst.
Let’s Get Hiking
After lunch, we were ready to really tackle this trail. If the first spring pool was any indication, we had much to look forward to. We packed ourselves up, then proceeded to hike along slowly, past red, purple, and yellow wildflowers, enjoying the gentle spring breeze and little bursts of sunshine between the clouds.
We reached the second spring pool, which we stopped to peek at. It looked like a great place to wade through on a hot day. But that day, a cold breeze made us all pull our sweaters a little closer. So, we continued along the trail.
Many Springs on One Little Trail
And on we traveled. We passed by large and small springs and enjoyed the gorgeous scenery along the way. There were many places to sit, and we encountered almost no other hikers on the trail that day.
We didn’t see anyone in the water at all, but the last pool looked sufficiently deep and clear for some sort of swimming. We tested the water with a stick and found that it was about waist deep.
After the deepest pool, the trail passed another picnic area and then made a sort of U-turn down into the valley. We followed the signs (backwards!) towards the little valley where we encountered wild beauty.
Through the Valley
This part of the trail was more overgrown and much wilder, which our family enjoyed very much. We stepped over a natural stone pathway, past puddles of water, through overgrown brush, towards fragrant bushes filled with bright yellow flowers, navigating through small obstacles along the way.
It took a while with our slow pace, but eventually we found ourselves back at the trailhead. The full circle was complete.
This Day’s Not Over
After our hike, we still had another important destination on our day’s itinerary: HaBayit SheBaGiva, our daughter’s little hilltop home in the (very) small Yishuv of Gofna.
We gathered ourselves together and took a short drive to our next beautiful destination, where we settled in for an afternoon of basking in the views and impromptu dinner preparation.
HaBayit SheBagiva is not officially opened for business yet, but eventually, it will be another great spot to visit in the area, hosting art and music workshops in what is truly a beautiful setting.
More to come on that topic in a future post. In the meantime, the Springs Trail in Gush Talmonim (about a half hour from Modi’in) is a perfect little hiking trail for a warm spring morning.
Hikers’ Notes:
Here’s what you need to know to hike the Springs Trail in Gush Talmonim:
- This trail is located in Judea and Samaria. Please make sure you feel comfortable with your level of personal safety before you hit the trail.
- This is a circular trail.
- Great for kids.
- Suitable for dogs.
- This is an all season trail.
- To follow the trail, used the posted signs on the route. You can also use the Google Earth file posted in the table at the top of this page.
- There are no facilities on this trail. Make sure to bring the water you need, and wear good shoes, a hat, and sun protection.
Don’t forget to read my guide to the navigational features in this post before you hit the trail!
Trail map from Amud Anan.
Questions? Have you hiked the Springs Trail in Gush Talmonim? Let’s hear about it in the comments!
