Soon, we crossed under Erwin Road and entered Duke Forest on New Hope Creek North Trail.
Shortly past here, there was a large patch of striped cream violets blooming.
New Hope Creek is very scenic - rocky with steep cliffs, unusual for the Piedmont.
We stopped at a few places to enjoy the views of the creek.
And soon we started seeing more and more wildflowers.
There were a lot of irises, but at first most had already bloomed. I spotted a couple wild geraniums flowering.
Eastern bluestar was another wildflower we saw.
There were a number of Pinxter azaleas blooming along the creek.
Green-and-gold added a splash of yellow.
And there were some azure bluets as well.
A little further, we came to more irises and these ones were blooming. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen so many irises. It would be spectacular at the time of peak bloom.
After crossing Pine Mountain Creek, we found a nice big patch of jack in the pulpits.
And there was a single blooming bashful trillium.
As we got to the more rocky sections, there were a couple fire pink.
In about 2 miles, we came to the first rock scramble section. These short but fun parts of the trail make this my favorite trail in the Triangle.
We found a spot to take a break along the creek, then started heading back. The number of wildflowers along this trail was amazing. I think this could be the best wildflower hike in the Triangle, in addition to being the most fun.
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