The Magical Path in Ofer Forest
Let us be honest. There is nothing particularly magical about this forest path. However, it provides a minimally challenging, but not at all difficult ascent, walking sometimes on bare rock, making it a short, ideal hike for families. Ofer Forest is on the slope of the Carmel Mountain Range, near the Carmel Beach region, and approximately 8.5 kilometers northeast of Zichron Ya'akov. The forest offers a variety of trails for biking and hiking and is known for its Mediterranean woodland scenery, and pine and oak trees.
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Time: about ¾ hour
Distance: 2 km
Type of hike: Circular
Difficulty: Mainly easy gentle ascent, sometimes walking on bare rock, but with no climbing.
Directions and parking: Enter “יער אופר חניון הזיתים” only into Waze. You will need to scroll down until you find this specific parking lot. Adjacent to the parking lot is a large picnic area on a grassy area with many picnic benches, many of them shaded.
THE TRAIL:
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From the parking lot look for the sign indicating שביל הקסום (magical path) and ascend on the red-marked trail. After some time, you will come to a T-junction.
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Turn right at this T-junction onto the blue-marked trail. This is a jeep trail which will take you gradually down to the parking lot and your car.
The descent is on an easy jeep trail