Haw River Trail

Sunday, I headed to Burlington to hike a section of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail following the Haw River Trail.  I parked at the Indian Valley Drive Paddle Access, the northern terminus of the trail.  The trail followed the river closely then led along Whispering Wind Road and then around the perimeter of a golf course.  After this, it came to Great Bend Park.

The river was really scenic.  Further into the park was the Glencoe Mill Dam, a beautiful old dam just upstream of Glencoe.

I walked the short Island Trail out to the end and then left the park.  From here, the trail led through Glencoe and then back along the river.  Some pretty bloodroot was blooming along the trail.

Past here, the trail crossed two streets and then along the shore of Stoney Creek Reservoir.

After the marina, I followed streets to a bridge over the river just down from another dam.

I got off the road one last time to head into the woods towards the Haw.

The next couple miles were more rural, staying close to the river and away from roads.  After going 6 miles or so, I turned around and headed back.