Visiting NC State Parks

I have visited NC State Parks throughout my life but a recent visit to my local art museum motivated me to try to visit all 41 State Parks this year. The Art installation “Safe Places” by Robert Johnson located at the Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, NC . The artist visited various parks in NC and recorded in his field journal the complexities and unique characteristics of each park. He then turned his field sketch journal into larger pieces of artwork.

I am lucky in that two of the NC State Parks are right in my backyard. Both The Carolina Beach State Park and Fort Fisher State Park are only a few miles apart. So I started there by grabbing a NC Passport at the Ranger’s Station at Carolina Beach park. The Passport has a NC Map inside with each State Park Marked with a star, so it is easy to visualize where the parks are. Each State has its own page in alphabetical order with the park address and contact information, characteristics of the park, a place for the park’s stamp. The passport also has other fun things like a bucket list of ideas you can complete at each park. For example, one suggestion was watching a sunset at Jordan lake. After you complete 10, 20, and 40 parks you can also get a special signature and email the parks to get prizes.

I was eager to get the passport stamped at each location. Carolina Beach State Park is unique because it is home to the rare Venus flytrap , one of the rarest species of carnivorous plants. At Carolina Beach State Park there are trails , camping, and you can rent kayaks or canoes. The beach is facing the Cape Fear River and is a perfect spot to catch the sunset. Fort Fisher only a few miles away has a unique trail through the sand and marsh to an observation deck at the end of the Basin Trail where you can watch the Ferry to Southport, NC.

After a week of regular life, the itch to get some more stamps was too strong. So I hopped in the car and hit three more parks that were in reasonable driving distance. These were Lumber River State Park, Waymoth Woods, and Craver’s Creek. Lumber River State park has two locations which can be tricky. The Orrum location is close to Lake Waccam so you could do these both on the same trip. It also has a location in Wagram, NC. Waymonth Woods was a nice park and has the oldest pine tree dated back to 1548. I liked Craver’s Creek because of the history behind the park which was opened to the public in 2013, I’ll leave it as a surprise.

Speckled on weekend excursions I have also visited Morrow Mountain which was a side trip from a day at the NC Zoo. Although in the middle of the state this park gives you a feeling of being on a mountain. I would like to go back here post COVID to swim in the pool which looked amazing. One memorable hike was at Raven Rock which had a good overlook of the Cape Fear River and steep wooden stairs which led you down to a unique rock formation which gives the park it’s name. Another favorite was Eno River State Park which has a trail right by the babbling stream and unique stone steps. With some patience and a pair of trusted binoculars I saw two Bald Eagles at Jordan Lake which was amazing. Stay updated on each park’s website for closures or special events. Certain areas of Jordan Lake were flooded due to recent heavy rains and the boat ramps were closed.

I'm working on my way to see more NC State Parks and looking forward to visiting those in the mountains. Overall, this challenge looks daunting but broken up into regional trips I think I can do it. Being outdoors in nature is also my "Safe Place" like Mr. Johnson's. Maybe it will be an inspiration in many areas for me as well. Happy Trails.