Spring Hike at Raven Rock

Saturday, we took Alex for a spring hike at Raven Rock State Park.  We were hoping to see some wildflowers but it was a little too early.  Parking at the visitor center, we started off on Campbell Creek Loop Trail and went right at the split.  The creek and river were up with the recent rains.

The trail follows the creek down to where it emptied into Cape Fear River.

Looping around, we spotted a snail on the trail.

A little further, we took the split and went down to Lanier Falls.  The water was way up and it was difficult to get out on the wet works, so I didn't go all the way down to the creek.

As the trail looped back around, it passes an unmarked tributary with a small cascade over a rocky ledge.  Normally, there's not much water, but it was looking nice today.

The loop finished up at the bridge and we followed the trail back to the parking area.  Next, we got on Raven Rock Loop Trail.  About a mile in, we stopped at the overlook.

Then we continued to the park's namesake and took the steps down to the base.

It was very scenic down here and we stopped for a snack.

Then we had to climb the stairs back up and finish the loop.

After finishing our hike, we went to Aviator in Fuquay-Varina and had lunch outside with Alex.

Chilly Hike at Raven Rock

I was gone all week in Austin for work and since Sandy had Sunday off, we took Alex for a hike to Raven Rock State Park on a very chilly morning.  We started off on the Raven Rock Loop Trail and took Fish Traps Trail down to the river.

I hopped out to the rocks, but Alex wasn't interested in getting wet.

Then we backtracked to the Raven Rock Loop Trail and stopped at the overlook for a snack.

Then we descended down the stairs to Raven Rock.

We walked as far as you can go and stopped for a snack.

I was surprised how few people were down here on a weekend.

We enjoyed walking around the base for a while and getting some pictures.

Then we climbed back up and hopped on Little Creek Loop Trail.

At the end, we took a short detour on American Beech Trail and then Longleaf Loop Trail.

And that concluded our hike.

From the park, we stopped at Aviator in Fuquay-Varina for lunch on the way home.

Bridle Trails at Raven Rock

Sunday, I headed to the Avents Creek access on the north side of Raven Rock State Park.  The main side of the park is usually packed on the weekends, but this side is not so well known.  When I arrived, there were a couple horse trailers but just one other vehicle.  I first hiked down the East Loop Bridle Trail.

The trail made a loop through the eastern end of the park with several crossings of small tributaries.  All were easy enough to cross dry.

After about four miles, the east loop ended back at the parking area and I got on the west loop.  Heading up to River Road, I made a quick detour to see the small waterfall on Avents Creek just upstream of the road.

Then I got back on the trail to loop around the western side of the park.  As the trail looped around, there were some nice little cascades on Avents Creek.

Soon, I came to the ford of Avents Creek below Jumping Fish Falls.

I couldn't get across this one dry.  The water was refreshing and I waded around for a bit.  There was a fish not far below the falls, but he wasn't jumping.

I climbed up on the other side for a view of the falls, but the lighting was poor.  It's not a huge waterfall but pretty nice for this far east in North Carolina.

As I was putting my boots back on, some horseback riders came through.  The horses stopped for a drink.  One waded into the deeper part for a drink so she didn't have to bend over so far.  It was just a short but uphill hike back to the trailhead.

Raven Rock Hike

Sandy had Saturday off, so we took Alex to Raven Rock State Park for a day hike.  First, we stopped at the visitor center to get his passport stamped.

Then we started hiking the Campbell Creek Loop Trail.  The trail descends to the creek, crossing on a bridge.  We went right to hike the loop counterclockwise.  The trail follows the creek down to the confluence with Cape Fear River.

The river was way up today.  Continuing on, we took the Lanier Falls Trail to its namesake.  But high water prevented us from getting down to the falls.

We took a short break at a bench near the top.  I climbed down to see the river and falls, but there was a lot of foliage in the way.

After our break, we continued along the loop.  There was an interesting rock with water dripping down - too small a tributary for a waterfall, but scenic with the little overhang.

We finished up the loop back to the visitor center.  It was still early so we took the Raven Rock Loop Trail.  Fish Traps would be underwater so we didn't go down there.  Along the main loop, we took another break at the overlook at the top of Raven Rock.

The river was definitely high but we could see Northington Lock and Dams way upstream.  Shortly after the overlook, the stairs led down to the base of Raven Rock.  We found a cool spot under the rock to take a little break and have a snack.

Then we climbed back up the stairs.  Alex was getting a little hot, so we took a short detour on Little Creek Trail and let him get his feet wet.  Then we finished up our hike back at the car.

On the way home, we stopped at Aviator in Fuquay for a late lunch and drinks.

Late Autumn Hike at Raven Rock

Wednesday, I took a floating holiday for the day before Thanksgiving since Sandy had the day off and we took Alex to Raven Rock State Park.  Parking at the visitor center, we took the Raven Rock Loop Trail and then took the Fish Traps Trail down to the river.  The water level was up a bit, and we had to jump across just above a scenic cascades.

Once across, it was easy to get out into the middle of the Cape Fear River and take a short break.

Alex was really enjoying the view of the river out here.

Then we headed back to Raven Rock Trail and made a quick stop at the overlook, high above the river.

The trees near the river had lost most of their leaves, but further from the water, there was a lot of color.  I was surprised how the fall foliage had lasted so long into November.  We continued on and headed down to Raven Rock and stopped for a snack break.

It was a week day and we had arrived early enough to have the area to ourselves.  That's not too common at Raven Rock.  I walked around to get some pictures and then we headed back up.

We had gotten there at the right time as more people were arriving as we were heading up.  We took the Little Creek Loop Trail out again, further from there river here, there was some nice color.

Where the loop cut back around, we followed the Group Camp Trail down to the river.

Then we headed back taking Little Creek and Raven Rock Trails back to the parking area.  Just outside the park, we turned on the gravel Moccasin Branch Road and parked at the Overflow Parking and trailhead for Mountain Laurel Loop Trail.  This is the newest trail in the park and primarily for mountain biking, but also open to hikers.  We hiked the loop in the clockwise direction, opposite the bikers.  The total loop was a little over 6 miles and it was a nice trail.  True to its name, there was a lot of Mountain Laurel along the trail.  I imagine in early May, it puts on quite a show.  There was also a lot of nice fall color along the trail.

We really lucked out on our hike.

After finishing, we headed to Fuquay and had dinner at Aviator.  Alex had a couple tator tots with his dinner and he sure enjoyed them.

Small Falls at Raven Rock

Saturday, Sandy and I headed to Raven Rock State Park for a hike with Alex.  We left Raleigh and headed south to Lillington, arriving at the park before 10.  The park had suffered damage from Hurricane Matthew, but most of the trails were reopened.  We started on Campbell Creek Loop Trail, turning right after the bridge and following the creek downstream towards the confluence with Cape Fear River.  At the river, I got a couple pictures and then we continued to Lanier Falls.

Although marked as a Falls on the topo map, it's more of a rapid than a waterfall.  In fact, I've been here when the water was so high that it was completely submerged.  Still, being this far east and on the mighty Cape Fear River, it's a cool spot.

The water level was fairly high and the rocks surrounding the Falls were wet so I didn't scramble all the way out.  After a couple pictures, we continued on and finished up the loop.  Back at the visitor center, we got on the Raven Rock Loop Trail to visit the park's namesake.  We followed the trail and first made a quick stop at the overlook with great views of the Cape Fear River from above Raven Rock.

Then we hiked to the stairs and descended to the base.  It was very crowded down here on such a warm February day.  We found a spot near the octopus tree to sit and have a snack.  Alex met another husky, but he snapped at Alex.

After our snack, we headed back up and finished the loop back at the parking lot.  From here, we drove to the north side of the park to hike the West Bridle Loop.  Hiking in the counterclockwise direction, we followed the trail north towards River Road, crossing Avents Creek along the road.  Just upstream of the road was a small four-foot slide.

Across the bridge, the trail headed back to the woods and soon we came to a closed section.  This trail still isn't completely repaired after Hurricane Matthew.  Fortunately, they have a detour and we followed this to the ford on Avents Creek.  Jumping Fish Falls, a small, but surprisingly nice waterfall was just upstream of the ford.

Although only five feet high, the water level was up and it was quite photogenic.  I got pictures from both sides of the creek.

We had to ford and it was rather cold, but Alex didn't seem to mind.  From here, it was just a short hike back up to the car.  On the way home, we stopped in Fuquay-Varina for dinner at Aviator.  It's dog-friendly, so we sat outside with Alex and had some good food and beer.