Bridle Trails at Raven Rock

Sunday, I headed to the Avents Creek access on the north side of Raven Rock State Park.  The main side of the park is usually packed on the weekends, but this side is not so well known.  When I arrived, there were a couple horse trailers but just one other vehicle.  I first hiked down the East Loop Bridle Trail.

The trail made a loop through the eastern end of the park with several crossings of small tributaries.  All were easy enough to cross dry.

After about four miles, the east loop ended back at the parking area and I got on the west loop.  Heading up to River Road, I made a quick detour to see the small waterfall on Avents Creek just upstream of the road.

Then I got back on the trail to loop around the western side of the park.  As the trail looped around, there were some nice little cascades on Avents Creek.

Soon, I came to the ford of Avents Creek below Jumping Fish Falls.

I couldn't get across this one dry.  The water was refreshing and I waded around for a bit.  There was a fish not far below the falls, but he wasn't jumping.

I climbed up on the other side for a view of the falls, but the lighting was poor.  It's not a huge waterfall but pretty nice for this far east in North Carolina.

As I was putting my boots back on, some horseback riders came through.  The horses stopped for a drink.  One waded into the deeper part for a drink so she didn't have to bend over so far.  It was just a short but uphill hike back to the trailhead.