Wake County Preserves

Saturday, I went for a couple hikes in the Wake County preserves in the southeastern part of the county.  My first stop was at Sandy Pines Preserve, the county's newest park, having opened in October 2021.  The preserve has over 6 miles of hiking and equestrian trails through an area that was previously farmland and pine plantation.

The Longleaf Pond Trail went out to a small pond, but there wasn't much water with the drought.

I hiked all of the trails through forests and scenic farmland.

As the morning progressed, I started seeing horseback riders along the trails.  Only a few hikers but quite a few equestrians before I left.

Since I was nearby, I made a quick stop at Robertson Millpond Preserve.  The park is mainly for paddling on the beautiful cypress swamp, but I walked out to the boardwalk for a couple pictures.

I also headed down to the millpond dam.

Then I headed back to the car.

I had one more stop to make before heading home at Turnipseed Nature Preserve.  Parking at the Pleasants Road entrance, I hiked down Boulder Trail towards Gin Branch Creek.

There was an overlook with views of the wetlands along the creek.

Across the bridge, I picked up Gin Branch Creek Trail to the other parking area and then hiked down Hunt Valley Trail, the entrance road.  There was an old chimney just off the road near the entrance.

Then I hiked back and took the foot trails back.

It was a nice and unseasonably warm winter day in Wake County.