New Hope Creek Hikes

Sunday, I went for a couple hikes along New Hope Creek in Orange and Durham Counties.  My first stop was Johnston Mill Nature Preserve, a Triangle Land Conservancy property.  I arrived pretty early and there was still plenty of parking.  Hiking down to the creek, it was pretty dry as we haven't had much rain in a while.

I took Bluebird Trail through an open meadow along a powerline clearing.  There were lots of yellow ironweed flowering in the open area.

I continued on and got on Old Field Bluff Trail and hiked around the rest of the trails.

Finishing up here, I drove to Erwin Road and parked at Hollow Rock Nature Park.  First, I crossed Pickett Road and hiked the Headwaters Loop.  Then, I hiked Hanging Rock Loop down to New Hope Creek.

There was very little water in the creek.  The trail also passed through an open meadow.

Right before the spur, I went out to New Hope Creek Overlook.

Then I hiked under the Erwin Road bridge and into the Korstian Division of Duke Forest.  The New Hope Creek North Trail follows the river upstream.  Almost immediately, there was an old dam along the creek.

The trail stayed close to the creek through a really rocky and scenic section.

Further along, I had to scramble in places along the creek - it was a really fun trail!  Eventually, the trail departed from the creek and climbed up Piney Mountain.

I was able to make loops along the hike back to Hollow Rock and my car.

Towpath Trail North

Sunday morning, I went for another hike on the Congressman Ralph Regula Towpath Trail, this time heading north.  I parked again at the trailhead on Lake Avenue and started hiking north, going under OH-21 right away.  This section of the trail was mostly forested in contrast to the urban trail going south.

I passed a couple more parking areas and followed a fairly long section away from roads.  About half way, I passed the High Mill Bridge over Tuscarawas River.

There were lots of wildflowers blooming along this section of trail as well as some not so wild.

After about 5 miles, I turned around and hiked back.

Towpath Trail South

Saturday morning, we took Alex for hike on the Congressman Ralph Regula Towpath Trail, part of the Ohio and Erie Canalway National Heritage Area.

We drove west into Massillon and parked off Lake Avenue.  Hiking south, the trail followed Tuscarawas River downstream, the first part following OH-21 through downtown Massillon.  At Tremont Avenue, it crossed the river on a bridge and ran through a neighborhood and park.  Then, after crossing the Walnut Road, it became more rural, eventually getting away from OH-21 with nice views of the river.

A good number of wildflowers were blooming.  The yellow ironweed were quite impressive.

There were also some giant ironweed growing as well.

I also spotted some orange jewelweed.

A lot of invasive species too, such as smartweed.

Towards the end, I saw some evening primrose, a few of the flowers were open, even though it was morning.

We hiked a little past where the trail led under US30, then turned around.  The abandoned Ohio Canal was right along the trail.

It was a nice hike back and saw surprisingly few people the entire way.

After our hike, we got lunch at Eadies Fish House and ate outside with Alex.

Jameokee Trail

Friday, we had to travel up to Ohio for a family emergency.  It was a long drive for Alex, so we stopped on the way for a short hike at Pilot Mountain State Park.  Parking up at the top, we hiked the Jameokee Trail around the Big Pinnacle.

It doesn't look that big from the highway, but up close, it's huge.

The trail and views were really nice in the evening light.

We could see the Saurotown Mountains in the distance.

The entire loop is just a mile, but it made a nice break, both for us and for Alex.

After finishing the loop, we continued the long drive north to Ohio.

Hillsborough Hikes on Labor Day

For Labor Day, we wanted to take Alex for a hike since we had left him for a week.  So we took him to Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area to get his passport stamped.

We started off hiking the Occoneechee Mountain Loop Trail clockwise around the mountain.  The trail passes some rock outcrops and then heads down to the Eno River.

Past the river, the trail leads to the old quarry.  We took a short break here to enjoy the view.

Then we made the steep climb up to the overlook.  There were some Virginia meadow-beauty blooming in the powerline right-of-way.

At the summit, we had real nice views of the river and town below.

After some pictures and a break, we took Chestnut Oak Trail back to the car.  Next, we headed to Gold Park in Hillsborough and went for a hike along the Riverwalk, part of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.  The trail runs from the park to downtown and then through River Park.  A wooden fence of some sort was here.

We continued on a ways, but it was getting hot for Alex so we didn't go much further.  I spotted some spicebush berries along the river as we started making our way back.

For lunch, we got Cook-Out so Alex could get a hot dog.