Jordan Lake Hikes

Saturday, Sandy didn't have to go to work until the evening, so we took Alex for a day hike to Jordan Lake.  First, we headed to the New Hope Overlook at Jordan Lake State Recreation Area to get a stamp for Alex's passport.

We started off on the New Hope Overlook Trail, blazed both blue and red.  The lake was little foggy early in the morning as the temperature was still below freezing.

Right off the bat, it was pretty swampy as the lake level has been way up from all the rain we've been having.  Soon, the trail went up enough to get out of the swampy mess.  Going right at the split, we headed towards the overlook.  There were some nice views of the lake along the way.

We made a short detour out to the New Hope Overlook for views across Jordan Lake.

Continuing on, eventually the blue and red trails split and we followed red for the longer loop.  Throughout the trail, there was evidence of damage the area had taken from storms and flooding.  There was a lot of garbage along the trail that had been left by high waters.  I had a grocery bag in my backpack so picked some up, but it barely made a dent.  There were also several trees down over the trail, including one that was really massive.  As the trail departed from the lake shore, it headed steeply up and followed a ridge back to join up with the blue trail and then back to the start.

From here, we headed north on NC-751 along the eastern end of the lake.  At Stage Coach Road, we parked for the trailhead for Eagle Spur, part of the American Tobacco Trail through Jordan Game Land.  This trail follows the original route of the American Tobacco Railroad.  When Jordan Lake was created, the railroad was rerouted to the east, the current path of the American Tobacco Trail.  Right at the start, the trail crosses a tributary of New Hope Creek.  The water was pretty deep, but there were rocks to hop across.  Unfortunately, the rocks were very wobbly, but we made it across.  The trail follows the old railroad route and like our other hike, there was lots of garbage and evidence of flooding.

After about 2 miles or so, the trail ends at Jordan Lake, with the rest of the route underwater.

A piece of land sticking out on the other side marked where the railroad line used to go.  We took a little break here and then made our way back.

Along the way, we spotted a turtle just off the trail.