Local Hiking Series – Eno River State Park
Posted on | September 11, 2007 | No Comments | Share!!
We love living in the Triangle. There is no shortage of fun things to do (music, arts, parks, etc!), some of which we do habitually to the exclusion of all the other potentially great stuff that’s out there. For example, we’ve been here for about 7 years now, but we really haven’t done much hiking locally with the exception of Umstead Park and a few visits to Falls Lake. We know that there are some other parks nearby, several that we have never even been to yet, and so we’ve challenged ourselves to visit these parks over the next few months and try out some other local hiking. We plan to visit as many as we can over the coming months – We’re pretty excited about exploring our backyard!
Our first trip was to Eno River State Park, in Durham over Labor Day Weekend.
The stats:
- 2600 acres
- 24 miles of trails – 16 trails
- 5 sections – Few’s Ford (@ 11mi. of trails combined); Cole Mill Road (@ 8.5 mi. of trails combined); Pump Station (@ 1.5 mi.); Cabe Lands (@ 1.2 mi.) and Pleasant Green (canoe access only)
- 5 Tent platforms are available for individual or family camping – 1 mile from access point below the park office
- Group Camping is available – .2 miles from access point below the park office
Resources:
Eno River Association
Division of parks and Recreation
Tad and I have been hungry for some “real” backpacking – our last trip was two years ago to the white mountains and due to the demands of life and the kids and whatnot, we’ve not been able to make a big trip since then. The Eno River is not very strenuous, but for a good close-to-home option, it’s excellent!
The 16 trails are relatively short mileage, but can be combined for a more challenging trek. The separate sections of the park are not all joined by trails, but the Few’s Ford and Cole Mill Road sections have decent mileage on their own. We focused on the Few’s Ford section this trip and have plenty more exploring to do.
There is a group camp located about .25 miles in from the Few’s Ford parking lot, just down the road from the ranger station, and primitive sites for individuals are a one mile hike in – this is where we stayed. Note that you will need to carry in water or treat it from the river, or be prepared to hike out the mile to the ranger station to get more. The hike in to the campsite is enough to make you feel like you are out there a bit, but not so much as to be prohibitive to a new hiker/camper (or our kids!). Each of the five sites has two platforms and a pole to hang your packs and food. There is one platform for your tent, and one for the fire ring with a bench for eating; firewood is provided. Note, however, that current restrictions prohibit open fires even within the fire rings,
but a camping stove can still be used. The tent platforms and fire rings are well-maintained and there is a pit toilet nearby. A short walk down the hill from site 1 where we stayed is the pit toilet and a little further downhill, the river – beautiful. The sites are well spaced – only one was in plain view of our site and no one was there, so we were pretty secluded. During the day, despite that it was a holiday weekend, we did not see too many people and it was easy to pretend that we were further out than we really were. At night however, we did notice a fair bit of road noise from nearby I-85 which was not as noticeable during the day. There were many deer, which we heard lots and saw a few, and the requisite squirrels, spiders and the lot. I hear that there are many snakes there by the water, but we did not encounter any on our trip. We did see this tiny frog though 
Vicious!
We hiked @ 3-4 miles on Saturday with the loop by the river and going back out to get water. And @ 4 miles on Sunday on the Cox Mountain Trail (elevation 688’ – he!) and then over to the group camp to check it out. Not the kind of mileage that we’re used to with the 3Day just under our belts, but considering pack weight and trails vs. pavement (not to mention the dogs, who are pretty low energy), it was enough to be a challenge and a lot of fun.
Verdict: Eno River State Park is a great option – not far from home, we can bring the kids and it’s not too strenuous for them – it’s a beautiful area, well maintained with some real trails, and some small elevation changes. We will definitely be back again as the weather gets cooler. In fact, I think this is liable to be a favorite over camping at Umstead (somehow pulling the car right up to the tent pad just doesn’t feel like we’re “Out There!”) Go to our Flickr Page here to see all the pics!
Next up in a week or two:
—————-
Now playing: Yo La Tengo – Daphnia
via FoxyTunes