Salem Lake Hike

Saturday, we took Alex for a weekend in the Triad area.  We first went to Salem Lake and parked near the marina.  We got on Salem Lake Trail and began hiking around the lake clockwise.  Right away, we passed the dam and took a detour.

There was a beautiful great blue heron here.

He let me get a couple pictures then flew up to the top of the dam.

We got back on the trail and continued on.

In about a mile, we crossed a footbridge at the Lowery Mill Creek arm.  There was a railroad bridge just upstream.

The trail continued around the north shore of the lake.

At Linville Road, we crossed over the headwaters of the lake and started the southern shore.

There was one tree along the water that was completely covered in turkey tail mushrooms.

Near the end of the loop, the trail crossed over a rocky tributary of the lake.

There were some pretty little cascades on this unnamed tributary.

As we finished up the loop, we could see the railroad bridge again from across the lake.

The loop ended up back at the marina to conclude our hike.

We had worked up an appetite and headed to the Porch Kitchen & Cantina to have tacos for lunch.  The puffy tacos were really good.  After lunch, we parked at Reynolda House & Gardens.

Dogs are allowed on the grounds and trails, so this made a nice easy hike for Alex.  The house and fountain out front were really pretty.

We then got on the Perimeter Trail and hiked down past an old pond.

The trail ended at Woodland Trail that had some nice stonework along the trail.

Lake Katherine wetlands were just beyond here.  Lake Katherine is a man-made lake that has filled in with silt and become more of a marsh.

On the hike back we saw some leatherleaf mahonia, an invasive species with unusual berries.

We finished up our hike back at the car and took off.

We checked into the La Quinta Inn in Winston-Salem and ate dinner at the hotel before bed.