When visiting Palmyra, too many people just breeze through here. A recent guest at the mansion commented that it took her nearly 3 hours to walk through the Sacred Grove, and she had thought she was only going to be there about an hour. (Folks, the enjoy the grove, plan on spending at least 1/2 the day there! Oh, and do it after you’ve had a good rest, not after driving or flying all day.)
For the next little while, I’m going to post 101 things to do in Palmyra.
To answer the question, when visiting Palmyra, where do you start, here’s the start of my list…
-
Walk through the Sacred Grove (Stafford Road) – give yourself 2-3 hours if you want to walk all the trails and to sit and meditate in the grove.
-
Tour the Smith Frame Home and Log Home (Stafford Road) – Add another hour to your visit to the Sacred Grove.
-
Hike the Hill Cumorah (State Rt. 21) – If you are going to hike it, an hour. Driving to the top, about 20-30 minutes to walk around and see the top of the hill.
-
Visit the Visitor’s Center at Hill Cumorah – add about an hour
-
Tour the E.B. Grandin Building (217 E Main Street) – about 90 minutes
As you can see, if you do all 5 of those things in one day, it will be a full and busy day. Can you see them all in an afternoon? Yes, but you’ll be rushed and won’t be able to enjoy them. I really recommend taking your time, especially when you go to the Sacred Grove. Nothing can ruin a walk through the Sacred Grove like feeling you need to hurry to catch your plane, or get on the road to be somewhere else.
In fact, my recommendation for these first five items are as follows:
Schedule a full day. Get up at the crack of dawn and head to the Smith Farm and go straight to the grove. Take your time. Bring your journal with you. Bring your camera. Just enjoy being there. There are many benches throughout the grove where you can site. (Oh, and put insect repellant on before going. If it is warm weather, you do not want to be “bugged” by the bugs.)
After you are done in the grove, walk to the Welcome Center and request a tour of the Log and Frame homes. By the time you are done with those tours, you will be ready for lunch. (There will be recommendations for food establishments on my list.)
After lunch, visit the Grandin Building (213 E Main Street), and take the tour there. You might also want to put your head in the bookstore next door and pickup a bunch of postcards.
From there, head south on Rt 21 to the Hill Cumorah. Tour the visitors center, and then hike to the top (recommended) or drive. Once on the top, spend some time pondering what took place at that very place. Bring a copy of the Book of Mormon with you and read Mormon chapters 7-8, and Moroni 9 and 10.
By the time you’re done on the hill, you’ll probably be ready to have dinner and spend an evening relaxing. If not, check back tomorrow as I continue my list.
The Hill Cumorah, Palmyra, New York
Our heat wave broke today. We had quite the thunder shower around 1:30pm today. One clap was so loud I about jumped from my chair. The bang was so crisp and loud I could tell it was very close. We needed the rain. The lawn was starting to look brown.
