New Hope Creek Wildflowers

Saturday, we took Alex for a hike along New Hope Creek to see some wildflowers.  We parked at Hollow Rock Nature Park and took Hanging Rock Trail down to the creek and started following it upstream.  There were some painted buckeye growing along the trail.

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.

New Hope Creek Hikes

Sunday, I went for a couple hikes along New Hope Creek in Orange and Durham Counties.  My first stop was Johnston Mill Nature Preserve, a Triangle Land Conservancy property.  I arrived pretty early and there was still plenty of parking.  Hiking down to the creek, it was pretty dry as we haven't had much rain in a while.

I took Bluebird Trail through an open meadow along a powerline clearing.  There were lots of yellow ironweed flowering in the open area.

I continued on and got on Old Field Bluff Trail and hiked around the rest of the trails.

Finishing up here, I drove to Erwin Road and parked at Hollow Rock Nature Park.  First, I crossed Pickett Road and hiked the Headwaters Loop.  Then, I hiked Hanging Rock Loop down to New Hope Creek.

There was very little water in the creek.  The trail also passed through an open meadow.

Right before the spur, I went out to New Hope Creek Overlook.

Then I hiked under the Erwin Road bridge and into the Korstian Division of Duke Forest.  The New Hope Creek North Trail follows the river upstream.  Almost immediately, there was an old dam along the creek.

The trail stayed close to the creek through a really rocky and scenic section.

Further along, I had to scramble in places along the creek - it was a really fun trail!  Eventually, the trail departed from the creek and climbed up Piney Mountain.

I was able to make loops along the hike back to Hollow Rock and my car.