Recent reviews
112 reviewsTo be honest many of the JNF forests feel like the facilities were put together haphazardly, not very well planned or executed in terms of maps, trails, and overall experience. There are ups and downs to this, since the sites tend to feel more untamed and let you discover things on your own. They're often much quieter and more expansive for when you want to go hiking or camping and really get away from civilization. But the downside is that when we showed up to visit Ben Shemen Forest, it was really difficult to figure out what to see and do, and pretty underwhelming once we actually got to the points of interest in the forest.
We first visited Mitzpe Modi'in, which had several food trucks at the parking lot selling Knafe, Malabi, Burekas, and other items. We had Knafe and coffee at a picnic table in the shade which was pretty good. We walked to the lookout tower but it wasn't that impressive. I think it would be a great starting point for a mountain biking excursion, and there is a sign with bike trails labeled on it.
We then drove to a second entrance further down 443, to visit the mis-named Maccabean tombs (which apparently are frequently visited during Hanukkah, even though they are actually from 500 years after the time of the Maccabis). The tombs are not well marked and there is no information about them, but it was still pretty cool to climb among the rocks and suddenly find a bunch of tombs carved in the ground around you. There was also a memorial for the War of Independence just past the tombs. On our way out we were startled by a family of wild boars that ran right past us.
Our final stop was at Tel Hadid, which was a pleasant enough viewpoint with a bench and shady tree at the top, but we were disappointed that it was completely unexcavated so really just felt like a hill. The olive trees on the way in were lovely, and we saw a herd of goats in the forest.
Overall I don't know that we'll be back here - maybe for a camping/hiking trip where we want to go deeper into nature, but not for any of the archaeological destinations. If I did mountain biking I would definitely check it out for that.
I love that place! The aquarium is so cool and glowing, it feels like we're inside the water with the fish and sharks.
It's really hot and not enough shade in the summer. Better to come in the winter. They sell ice cream at the entrance and there's a bathroom too.
It was a bit confusing to find, since there are couple different sites in the area with the name Capernaum (we accidentally went to the Kfar Nahum national park first before realizing this was the site we had intended to visit!).
There is a beautiful church built above the ruins of an ancient synagogue that Jesus supposedly taught at. There are also remains of the ancient town of Kfar Nahum/Capernaum, and a collection of beautiful and intricate columns and lintels. Really impressive carvings including fruit, nature, geometric patterns, and Jewish symbols on the ancient stone. Be careful what time you go though, when we arrived the church was closed to the public because mass was in session, so we were only able to view the outside. It was still worth seeing though!
There are a couple different Capernaum sites, and it was confusing to try to figure out which one was the main historical site to visit. We ended up accidentally driving to the national park site, run by the Israel Parks Authority, instead of the private site 2 minutes down the road run by the Franciscan Church, which they call "Capharnaum - The Town Of Jesus".
We did enjoy walking out on the dock (where I think they run boat tours sometimes?) and the view of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) but other than that there wasn't really much to see or do, and it was unclear what the focus of the site actually was. Apparently they are planning to build a fishing village and artists’ village, and some kind of recreation of daily life in Second Temple times. But when we visited there was no information available, and then left to visit the Franciscan monastery instead.
This site feels a bit more wild and less cultivated than many of the main archaeological and hiking sites around Israel. We walked up the hill on narrow natural paths that were overgrown with plants in some places, which gave the whole experience a feeling of new discovery. We saw lots of plants and some wildlife, mainly birds and insects.
We didn't make it all the way up to the crusader ruins but enjoyed the view from the south side of the hill toward Jerusalem, and will definitely be back for a longer hike next time to see what we missed.
היינו בפסח בחמת טבריה והיה מצוין.
שלוש בריכות קטנות עם מים חמים ונוף מדהים לכנרת.
כדאי להגיע מוכנים עם בגדי ים, כי תאי ההלבשה שם לא מאד נוחים, קצת קטנים ופתוחים לשמיים (היינו כשירד גשם וזה היה די מסורבל).
חוץ מזה מומלץ בחום.
מקום מושלם!
מים צלולים ונעימים.
בחלק מהבריכות יש דגיגונים במים שעושים פילינג לרגליים, נעים וכיף.
יש כמה בריכות שאפשר לבחור ביניהן, חלקן רדודות ומתאימות לילדים/ות.
מומלץ בחום, מחכה לחזור לשם שוב.
נוף יפה של קו השמיים של גוש דן מהמבצר המרשים. מומלץ מאוד!
Very nice nature reserve in Netanya. The trails are a bit confusing but they did a good job of marking them off so people don't trample over the fragile plant life growing out of the sand dunes. The reserve is named after the stunning rare purple irises that bloom in February.
There is no shade so don't come on a hot day. Most of the trails are sandy so expect a bit of a workout! We also saw a couple of black snakes crossing our trail which was slightly unnerving but were told by some locals that the black ones are harmless.
Overall lovely reserve for an hour or two, to view the coastal flowers and sea view. Great piece of nature in the city.
Disappointing. There is a shady olive Grove and a picnic table near a tiny stream but it's poorly kept and there is no particular draw. Maybe if we lived close by and wanted a place for a picnic it would be suitable, but we probably won't be back.
There weren't any signs or maps at the parking lot so we weren't sure which path to take. We first arrived at a nice pond surrounded by reeds. The symphony of frogs, crickets, and birds was really surprising! There was also a nice view from the hill overlooking Poleg stream. Apart from that though, it was a bit disappointing compared to other national parks. I wouldn't make the trip out just for this, but if you're in the area you might want to stop by.
ממש כיף פה
Avdat is a really cool ancient Nabatean hilltop city in the Negev desert. There's a McDonald's at the bottom of the hill which is convenient. If you can, it's great to combine Avdat with nearby Ein Avdat.
The park is really nicely done, seems very clean and well-kept. We loved the theme of conversation throughout the park. We didn't get to the visitor's center this time but would add that to our visit next time. The view from the top is beautiful, and it's great that it's so accessible to the Tel Aviv area. At the northern entrance (parking lot not yet open to the public as of our visit), there is a phenomenal playground area with multiple huge structures that our kids went crazy for. Can't wait to see how they continue to develop the park.
Good for a nature walk or picnic. Not particularly dramatic scenery but very lovely still. Lots of lush greenery, trees, shade, and flowers along the trails. We also passed some grazing cows along the way.
The hanging bridges are nice but there's not that much to see in the park besides them. Good for an hour or two if you're in the area. There's also a small playground with a mini hanging bridge that kids can climb on, which is cute.
Amazing views from the mountain top, but a bit too crowded for my taste. It was still fun though to play around in the snow. Next time we will try out the skiing as well.
The highlight of the forest is the striking Yad Kennedy memorial building, which is designed to look like a severed tree trunk. There is a peaceful forest and garden with winding paths around the memorial, with beautiful views over the Jerusalem hills.
There are a few different points of interest inside the national park. They are pretty easily accessed by car, so it's a nice easy road trip to drive to various points and take a short walk at each one. One of our favorites is HaMinsara ("The Prism" or "The Carpentry Shop" in English). You can park at each point or walk between them on fairly flat marked trails. For example it's only about 1km by trail between HaMinsara and the colorful sand park, where you'll find piles of (naturally) different colored sand brought together in one place from different parts of the desert. Kids often bring clear bottles and fill them up with layers of different colors, which can be a fun activity for young children (although Timna's version is nicer).
Very convenient to the Tel Aviv area, so easy to go for a couple hours on a weekend or even weekday afternoon. There's a nice fort with a turret you can climb inside, plus a pleasant walk around a lake with viewpoints from different angles. There's also a less-visited path that goes past some winter pools (dry in summer) and through some cool Roman ruins (minor compared to other sites in Israel, but it felt like our own private discovery and still impressive).
There's also a picnic area and stream with pools that's popular in the summer for small kids to use as wading pools - our kids enjoyed the muddy bottom of the stream and pools, but it can get crowded on hot weekends. There's a place to buy popsicles and a few basic food items if you didn't bring your own picnic.
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Great piece of nature in the urban center of Tel Aviv. Our favorite area in the park is the more wild section near Har Napoleon and Sheva Tahanot (Seven Mills), next to the boating lake and hot air balloon. It's fun to take a long walk all the way from the Ayalon mall in the east to the Tel Aviv port. There is a lot of wildlife in the park, including many types of birds and even packs of jackals.
We also often do a loop starting from the bird sanctuary near the junction with the Ayalon River, across the bridges at Rosh Tzipor where the two rivers meet, eastward along the northern side of the River, then back across to the southern riverbank at Sheva Tahanot and westward again to the starting point at the edge of the Haruzim neighborhood in Ramat Gan.
Very nice and popular picnic area. Has great flowering in the season, popular with cyclists too. Can get very crowded in the weekends or holidays.
There's a reason this is on the top tier of tourist destinations in Israel - very impressive Roman ruins with the backdrop of the Mediterranean sea. Note that there is quite a bit of walking if you want to cover the whole site. There's also a very nice shopping/restaurant area, and it's worth stopping at the stunning nearby aqueduct beach.
