4.5Jockey's Ridge State Park(2.303 reviews) - Highlight of our trip! Saturday: 8:00 AM - 9:00 PM State Parks • Parks • Geologic Formations
Two of the highest sand dunes on the East Coast are located here, providing excellent take-off points for hang gliders.See more..
5.0Fort Macon State Park(1.069 reviews) - A very pleasant stroll through the park Saturday: 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM State Parks
If you have one or two hours you should visit this state park. We happened to meet a very nice staff (could be a volunteer) dressed up in the old uniform and carry the old riffle doing the demonstration of how the riffle & bayonet worked. He also explained what the symbol of different buckles on the uniform stands for. We went on a short trail to a gazebo through the wooden walkway. It was a nice view of Beaufort and etc...See more..
4.5Mount Mitchell State Park(791 reviews) - You Can See Forever in Every Direction Spent More than 3 hours State Parks • Mountains
The highest mountain in the Black Mountain Range.See more..
4.5Pilot Mountain State Park(764 reviews) - Great views. Go on weekends to avoid crowds Saturday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM State Parks • Mountains
Great experience and doesn’t take too long to see. Only need a couple of hours to see everything and very convenient to US 52 highway. You could tell there has been a fire but the views are still beautiful and everything is open. This includes a brand new and spacious visitors center at the base. You can drive up to the top of Little Pinnacle, which is next to the top of the Big Pinnacle on weekdays. On weekends there is usually a shuttle to the top (March-Nov) but check website to make sure. To avoid the crowds go on a weekday or go early on weekends. Went here on a sunny Friday in early April and it wasn’t crowded at all. Once at the top, there are spectacular views of the Piedmont and the Blue Ridge Mountains. If you have 30 minutes, make sure to take the .8 mile Jamokee trail loop, which walks from Little Pinnacle to the Big Pinnacle. This trail has spectacular views of Hanging Rock and Flat Mountains to the East.See more..
4.5Fort Macon(541 reviews) - Cool fort Saturday: 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM State Parks • Military Bases & Facilities
A Civil War fortress located at the entrance of Beaufort Inlet.See more..
4.5Umstead State Park(462 reviews) - Tree art State Parks • Nature & Wildlife Areas
Sandwiched between downtown Raleigh and the airport, this oasis of green features a stand of 300 year-old hardwood trees, more than 32 miles of hiking, biking and horseback riding trails, camp sites and lots more for nature lovers.See more..
This region is a popular source of outdoor recreation for boating, fishing, hiking and windsurfing, plus being one of the largest summer homes of the American Bald Eagle.See more..
I’ve done the Cole Mill Loop and the Pump Station Loop, both were great hikes. Easy and well maintained. Wildflowers I saw were spring beauties, ground ivy, rue anemone, buttercups, chickweeds, and violets. The old pump station is a neat place to poke around and I’ll be going back when I have more time to explore.See more..
We stayed at morrow mountain campground for 5 days during a holiday weekend. Loop C is the best if you have a camper. The inner loop has electric and water. We stayed in loop B. There were mostly tent camping there. The site we had was very uneven for a camper. We called and emailed to make sure we could fit and when we arrived it was a nightmare setting up. They have showers that were clean and good water pressure. We did a few hikes and went to the lake a couple of times. You can rent kayaks or canoes, have a picnic or go fishing at the lake. It was very loud in the campground with dogs barking in the middle of the night. Once everyone left on Sunday. We spent Monday and Tuesday in a peaceful and quiet space. It was great!See more..
My wife and I visited on a Friday looking for a casual stroll through the woods. We found an easy trail heading out toward a little lake. The lake area was shut down due to the pandemic, but the scenery was quiet and peaceful, perfect for our casual jaunt. A great, free way to pass an afternoon.See more..
We spent a lovely day kayaking on the lake. I like seeing nature, having some peace and quiet, and getting some exercise, so at first I was a little disconcerted by the large number of jet skis. Loud and gassy-smelling! But if you go past the swim beach to the right, eventually you get to a large area that is shallow and full of stumps—no good at all for gas-powered boats. It was quiet and beautiful, with lots of interesting bird life. We watched ospreys fishing, and there were herons, egrets and woodpeckers everywhere. Just lovely, and so much better than expected. We usually go to Beaverdam Lake (no power boats at all) but were ready to try something different. There’s a nice swim beach with lots of sand. We went for a cool-off swim after kayaking, and though the water was quite warm, it still felt good. There are two bath houses with changing rooms, and picnic spaces. It seems well run. We are planning on going back to explore more.See more..
4.5Raven Rock State Park(151 reviews) - Beautiful day for a hike Saturday: 8:00 AM - 9:00 PM State Parks
Family friendly park, lovely welcoming at visitors center. Trail was marked well. Can be tricky in the wrong shoes. Scenic view of the river. Campground seems good. We do not camp but it seemed fine. Bathroom available. Get there early, we arrived at 930am and left at noon. We saw a line of cars attempting to get in. I feel like many were disappointed.See more..
I had no idea this park existed until recently. I did a trail run on the Lakeshore Trail. It was a cold Saturday morning, so traffic on the trail was limited. The loop is 6.3 if you include all the spurs. Great lake views. Lots of roots. Bikes not allowed on Lakeshore, but there are 30 miles of bike trails in the north section (check to make sure they’re open if there’s been any recent rain). Honestly I’d like to come back and hike to enjoy the views that you don’t get to see while running. There is a good visitor center on the north side of the park with snacks and souvenirs. See more..
4.5Medoc Mountain State Park(63 reviews) - Very nice way to get away Saturday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM State Parks
We were getting very antsy sheltering in place at home. A friend told us about this state park and its trails. So we hopped in the car and drove an hour and a quarter from Raleigh. The park is open, and, as expected, all the facilities were closed. There were six cars in the large parking lot, and on our hike, we saw four other people. So social distancing is very easy. We decided to hike the Summit Loop trail. To get there, we hiked another mile each way. Leaving the picnic area, we hiked along the Fishing Creek and came to a bridge where we crossed the creek and started the loop. The loop had an initial climb up to the ridge - all that's left of the mountain. At the top, the hike goes through peaceful forest. We saw no one there. On the way back, after crossing the creek, we took the Discovery trail back to the parking lot at the picnic area.See more..
4.0Carvers Creek State Park(38 reviews) - Sandhills Access Saturday: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM State Parks • Parks
In May 2019, Carvers Creek State Park opened the Sandhills access with over 10 miles of multi-use trails just north of Fayetteville. We took our dog here for a hike on the sandy trails. Longleaf Pine is a 4 mile trail through the area, with the other trails looping off from it. It's a beautiful longleaf pine forest with great trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding. And it's still relatively unknown, as we only saw a couple other people during our hike.See more..
In September I visited falls lake with my family and loved the place. It was very quiet on the day we were there but the lake was beautiful and we went for a walk along the shore through the trees, it was lovely. There are lots of different areas around the lake and they seemed to have the same features There was plenty of tables for picnics and places where you could barbeque and washroom facilities were spotless. We loved the place and will definately visit again See more..
Fishing, hiking, birding, and photography all in one place. The trail was well marked, and turtles in the pond were fun to watch. There were two shelters with well maintained facilities. We enjoyed the day.See more..
Haw River is one of the newest state parks and is still in a state of development. The park's primary feature is The Summit Conference Center. Additionally there are a couple miles of hiking trails at the visitor center and Iron Ore Belt access. We took our dog to hike the trails. There are some nice views of the upper Haw River and the expansive wetlands. We'll visit again as the park becomes more developed.See more..
My daughter and I wanted to camp and kayak for the weekend and decided on visiting Lumber River State Park - Chalk Banks. This is the western portion of the park located north of Wagram, NC. The campground has 14 sites, pit toilets, and a water spigot. The sites each have a gravel tent pad, picnic table, fire pit, and lantern post. The campground and facilities were clean and ready for our use. The park also has a large picnic area along the river and a 3 mile trail that meanders through the forest. Next to the picnic area is a boat ramp for canoe and kayak access to the river. There is also a WRC Boat ramp immediately outside the park off Highway 401. The river is truly the focus of the park. The black water river is scenic and is wonderful for floating and paddling. We decided to paddle upstream and float back for a few hours and were amazed by the forest and river. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and wish it could have been longer.See more..
