Fayetteville Waterfalls

Sunday, we checked out of the hotel and headed north towards Fayetteville.  We first drove to J. Bayard Clark Park and Nature Center and the Cape Fear River Trail parking.  After getting our stuff together, we headed into the park.  Clark Park Falls is right behind the Nature Center.

It's not a huge waterfall, but pretty impressive being in Fayetteville.  Right next to the nature center was a covered bridge.

Across the bridge, we could get to the other side of the gorge for some more pictures of the falls.  There was a lot of down trees in the gorge so hard to get an unobstructed view.

Then we set off on the Cape Fear River Trail heading north.  This paved greenway trail is part of the East Coast Greenway.  About two thirds of the way, the trail runs over a covered bridge under the railroad tracks.

After the railroad tracks, the trail crosses another bridge over Sandy Dam on a tributary of Cap Fear River.  There was another waterfall here.  The upper part is over a manmade dam but it was really scenic in high water.

Another unexpected waterfall in Fayetteville.  We followed the trail to the end at Jordan Soccer Complex and turned around.  Our next stop was at Methodist University.  Parking at the baseball fields at the back of the campus, we hiked the Pauline Longest Nature Trail system to another tributary waterfall.

This one fell into a small slot canyon.  Really scenic and out of the ordinary for here in the Sandhills.  After some pictures, we started making back and driving home.

Near Erwin, we parked at the Cape Fear River Trail Park.  A half-mile gravel road ran along the river parallel to the road and factory.  Right past the factory, a connector trail led to the Dunn-Erwin Greenway Trail.  The trail ended where a small tributary dropped into Cape Fear River.

And there was another small waterfall down here.  I found a way down to river level here.

It was tricky getting back up the tributary for a picture of the waterfall.

When we were done, we headed back to the car and finished making the drive home.

Spring Walks in Fayetteville

Today, we knocked off hikes 30 and 31 in Fayetteville from 100 Classic Hikes. It was a beautiful spring day, around 70°F and sunny - perfect weather for seeing spring blooms. We started at the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens, arriving shortly before opening time at 10.

After purchasing admission, we headed around the Cypress pond to the River Trail and followed it to the Cape Fear River. There were two overlooks here, Paw Paw and further down was River Overlook. There was too much foliage to see much from the first, but we were able to climb down at the River Overlook to the shore of Cape Fear River.

We continued on and took the Oak Loop Trail for another overlook on Cross Creek, then finished up the trail to Laurel Loop Trail and took Rim Walk back into the cultivated gardens and finished up the official hike.

Since we had some extra time, we continued walking through the gardens. I stopped at the Butterfly Stroll - beautiful flowers, but no butterflies today.

Then we went to the Shade Garden and saw more flowers and hostas that need a lot of shade. Then we took Oak Loop Trail back to the river and went in the opposite direction.

Finally, we stopped at the Children's Garden before leaving the gardens.

We got some fast food lunch and took it to Clark Park and had lunch near the amphitheater before setting up the shuttle. We walked a bit through Clark Park before starting the official hike along the Cape Fear River Trail. The trail starts along a wetland area with boardwalks across the swampy parts then comes out along Eastwood Road. Following the road a short ways, the greenway picks back up past a neighborhood, then into the woods and along the Cape Fear River. Unfortunately, the foliage was blocking out any real view of the river.

We continued on a ways across a couple bridges, then a covered bridge that goes under a railroad trestle.

The trail finished up past a golf course and a couple of ponds near the Methodist University and terminates at Jordan Soccer Complex.