Raleigh/Cary Parks and Trails Archives

Myrtle Beach – 5 Days of Walks and Outdoor Fun!

Most recently updated October 15th, 2024

Estimated Reading Time: 18 minutes

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is a favorite Summer family vacation spot!

Located in the center of the 60-mile long stretch of beach known as “The Grand Strand”, it’s one of the major tourist destinations in the entire country, attracting over 20M visitors each year.

Myrtle Beach Spring Break

Spring Break reveler at Myrtle Beach :-) — Spring Break reveler at Myrtle Beach 🙂

Myrtle Beach is also a notorious Spring Break destination, but it’s not what you think!

The Spring Break crowd in Myrtle typically has adult supervision and isn’t the crazy College break scene like you get in Fort Lauderdale.

So Myrtle Beach is a good choice for both adult travelers and families with school-aged children on Easter break.

Winter at the Beach

I usually go to Myrtle in the off-season, because it’s both less crowded and less expensive then.

And I like the beach in the Winter, because you can walk by the water for miles without suffering heat stroke 😉

That said, more things are open in the Summer season, when more people are around.

Read on to learn about fun activities I’ve found in every season – including the beach – that work for adult travelers and families, too.

Continue reading Myrtle Beach – 5 Days of Walks and Outdoor Fun!

Tour Apple Hill Farm near Grandfather Mountain!

Most recently updated October 15th, 2024

Estimated Reading Time: 13 minutes

Apple Hill Farm is very close to Grandfather Mountain and other areas of North Carolina and Virginia that were hardest hit by Hurricane Helene.

Grandfather Mountain State Park, along with many other NC State Parks are closed. That said, many of the surrounding communities are open for business and could really use your Fall vacation dollars to help rebuild! So please check with Apple Hill Farm directly.

Go to my Hurricane Helene page to get the latest updates on the latest area Park, Trail and road repairs.

Mists rise from the mountains after a summer rain. — Smoky Mountains get their name from the mist that settles in the valleys.

I found Apple Hill Farm – a working Alpaca textile farm – when I was hiking out in the Grandfather Mountain area few weeks ago.

I was looking for an activity to take a break from hiking (uphill!) in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, but was still outdoors.

Apple Hill Farm was the perfect find! It’s a working textile farm on the site of an old apple orchard that offers farm tours, and even has a fiber gift shop on site.

The farm was started in 2002 by a single Mom (and cancer survivor) with just 2 pregnant female alpacas and one young male.

Today Apple Hill Farm is home to 9 kinds of animals: alpacas, llamas, angora goats, zebu cattle, horses, pigs, donkeys, chickens, and livestock guardian dogs.

The farm site includes 15 fields, 4 barns, and a farm store on 43 acres of land.

They’re still a working textile farm, and lucky for us, they now also give visitors educational tours of the farm all year round.

Read on to learn about my tour, and how you can visit too.

Continue reading Tour Apple Hill Farm near Grandfather Mountain!

Explore the Rolesville Batholith at Mitchell Mill State Natural Area

Most recently updated July 23rd, 2022

Estimated Reading Time: 13 minutes

I’ve been exploring and hiking on trails in North Carolina for more than 20 years, but one thing I’ve neglected – partly because they don’t have many long hiking trails – are the State Natural Areas.

Though not great for hiking North Carolina State Natural Areas are good for exploring nature and different habitats in a fairly small space.

This kind of place can be an exciting outdoor adventure for small children, like your kids or grandkids.

Mitchell Mill State Natural Area in Northern Wake County is one such very unique spot to explore.

The 93-acre site is a Registered Heritage Area, and sits atop one of the largest granite domes on the east coast, called the Rolesville Batholith.

Plant life from lichens to full grown trees sit atop the Rolesville Batholith.

Mitchell Mill State Natural area protects this Paleozoic-era granite, and also houses a fragile and rare ecosystem, including native plant communities that can only grow in such a “granitic flatrock” environment.

Read more to learn how you can visit and explore this unique State Natural Area!

Continue reading Explore the Rolesville Batholith at Mitchell Mill State Natural Area

Hike the Mountains to Sea Trail at Rolling View in Falls Lake

Most recently updated October 15th, 2024

Estimated Reading Time: 11.5 minutes

The Mountains to Sea Trail (MST) runs through or very near areas of North Carolina that were hardest hit by Hurricane Helene.

The Falls Lake section of the MST is open, along with many other NC State Parks and trails in the Eastern part of the State. That said, Parks and the MST on the Western side of the State have been damaged and may be inaccessible.

Go to my Hurricane Helene page to get the latest updates on the latest area Park, Trail and road repairs before you travel.

The Mountains-to-Sea-Trail (MST) is a simple hiking trail that spans almost 1200 miles across North Carolina, from the Great Smoky Mountains in the West to the Outer Banks on the East Coast.

Even though I’ve known about the MST for a good while, I didn’t really start hiking it on purpose until this past year.

Lately more and more people have been moving to my local area, and the easy-to-get-to hiking trails have become really crowded – especially on the weekends.

So I’ve had to look a little bit farther away for new trails – and that’s how I started paying more attention to the MST.

As of January 2019, 669 miles of the trail were completed, and even more have been done since then.

That’s just over half of the planned MST miles that are now completed in multiple segments across the state!

With temporary routes (for the unfinished parts of the MST) on backroads and bicycle paths, hikers can now follow the MST all the way across North Carolina.

One of the longest finished segments goes ~60 miles along the Southern shore of Falls Lake, just to the North of Raleigh near Wake Forest.

Even 60 miles (out of 1200) is an epic hike to most of us – but never fear!

You can hike smaller sections of the MST to make it an overnight backpacking trip, a day trip, or even just a few hours on the trail.

Today, I’ll tell you about the MST, and how you can hike my favorite local MST section (so far): MST Day Hike #22 at Rolling View in Falls Lake Recreation Area.

Continue reading Hike the Mountains to Sea Trail at Rolling View in Falls Lake

Baby Goats, Emus and Peacocks – Visit Winterpast Farm and Petting Zoo!

Most recently updated November 6th, 2022

Estimated Reading Time: 11 minutes

Winterpast Farm in Wake Forest is not your regular alfalpha and soybeans kind of farm.

And though this 10-acre family farm near Falls Lake has previously been a tobacco farm, a Christmas tree farm, and a horse farm, in it’s current incarnation Winterpast is a working animal sanctuary.

“Bedhead” the guinea pig enjoys some attention.

Winterpast provides a home for goats, sheep, emu, two mini donkeys, several types of ducklings, peacocks, a goose, pigs, lots of bunnies, hedgehogs, guinea pigs and many varieties of chickens.

And – luckily for us – Winterpast is now a place where families, students, scouts, and pretty much anyone can go to pet and play with all of the animals.

If you get really attached, you can rent a pet to take home for a week… or maybe keep fur-ever 🙂

Except maybe for the hedgehogs, because they’re hardly ever home. The hedgehogs are really popular…

These days, masks are required to visit – and never fear! There is a hand-washing facility with soap and bleach wipes available for your safety.

Anyway, if you want to visit the rest of the critters, all you have to do is look up the open hours for the week and text Farmer Mary to schedule a visit!

Continue reading Baby Goats, Emus and Peacocks – Visit Winterpast Farm and Petting Zoo!

Hike to the Zombie Tunnels! – Schenck Forest’s Richland Creek Trail

Most recently updated May 4th, 2023

Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

The Zombie Tunnel Hike is a route that goes from Umstead State Park, and all the way through Carl Alwin Schenck Memorial Forest – with the help of the Richland Creek Trail.

All tunnels could be zombie tunnels... — All tunnels could be zombie tunnels…

I’ve been leading this hike for years, and people really enjoy it.

At over 11 miles, it’s a good long hike, but it’s pretty flat, and has a lot of different features – like Zombie tunnels!

Okay, there may not *actually* be any Zombies, but it sure looks like there could be….and one time I did find a mutant fish in there 🙂

According to legend, Brigadoon only appears for one day every 300 years.

I don’t host this hike very often because conditions need to be just right or the route is impassable, and I hate to disappoint anyone.

The other thing about this route is that, depending on recent weather conditions or new construction, parts of the trail have been known to disappear like Brigadoon at sunrise.

So earlier this year, before I posted the hike for others to join me, I decided to take a look and see if the route was still there – and still the same.

Good news! The route was still there – and still mostly the same. In fact some parts had actually been improved!

Now – just in time for Halloween! – I’ll tell you what I found, and how to get there – and maybe you can go try this somewhat spooky trail for yourself…

UPDATE: There have been some major changes to the Schenck Forest access area over the past few months. Read on for more updated info.

New construction on the Schenk access road off of Reedy Creek road. — New construction on the Schenck access road off of Reedy Creek road.

Continue reading Hike to the Zombie Tunnels! – Schenck Forest’s Richland Creek Trail

Historic Yates Mill County Park – Hike and Learn

Most recently updated January 18th, 2022

Estimated Reading Time: 18 minutes

Historic Yates Mill County Park is not on my usual round of go-to parks.

This is mainly because it’s a longer drive for me than either Umstead State Park or Bond Park, both of those parks have longer trails – and these days I’m usually looking more for a place to have a serious hike than to entertain kids.

Raven Rock State Park is another great place to take younger kids, but it’s an hours drive away….

But a couple of weeks ago, I had an hour to spend and didn’t want to get too sweaty.

So I dropped by Historic Yates Mill County Park to take an active break.

I’d visited Yates Mill once before, in the winter, but this visit I got to see what it was like in the summertime.

I wasn’t disappointed.

There’s a pond, a few shorter – mostly shady – flat hiking trails, and fishing (with a permit).

Plus, it’s got a historic working water-driven grist mill. So there’s that 🙂

Based on what I found, if you’ve got grade school or younger kids, or even Middle-schoolers who (unlike mine) DON’T refer to hikes as “forced marches”, Historic Yates Mill County Park could be a wonderful hang-out for your family!

Continue reading Historic Yates Mill County Park – Hike and Learn

Hike and Bike Your Local Greenways

Most recently updated July 7th, 2023

Estimated Reading Time: 24 minutes

We have miles and miles of local greenways available near where I live in North Carolina.

Greenways are a great off-road resource for healthy outdoor family activities like bike rides, hikes and walks.

This is especially important these days, when most State Parks and National Parks have been closed or partially closed since March- and we don’t know when we’ll be allowed to fully use them again.

At the same time, schools have been closed, children have already been home for weeks, and they need someplace to play outside!

Fortunately, if you choose to leave your yard for outdoor activities, our greenways locally and across the State have remained open for use.

If you don’t live right next to one or haven’t explored the greenways yet, it can be hard to figure out where to go.

Best Local Greenways

Black Creek Greenway, White Oak Creek Greenway, and the American Tobacco Trail are some of the longest and most used greenways in the Cary/Apex area.

The greenways also connect through some of the most popular local parks!

Continue reading Hike and Bike Your Local Greenways

Outdoor Activity Ideas for Homeschool Kids

Most recently updated January 20th, 2022

Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

Home school kids need to get outdoors in the sunshine and play – for their physical and mental health and for ours, too.

If you’ve recently become a remote worker AND a home-schooler all at once, courtesy of COVID-19, you’re probably already running short on patience.

Getting outdoors, either in your own yard or in a local park or forest, can help boost the entire family’s mood and immune system.

Sitting still for long periods of time is hard for everyone, but it’s especially difficult for energetic young ones who may have shorter attention spans.

When children have the space and freedom to move around, they can work off their excess energy and be more focused on learning when playtime is over.

Through physical outdoor learning activities children can improve their speed, strength, stamina and motor skills, too.

Here are some ideas for incorporating outdoor time into your new at-home daily schedule, and some tips on places to go for outdoor fun where you can still avoid crowds, for social distancing purposes.

Continue reading Outdoor Activity Ideas for Homeschool Kids

Have a Day Out with the Kids at Pullen Park

Most recently updated January 16th, 2022

Even after the State Fair has packed up for the year, we can still take the kids out to Pullen Park in Raleigh to ride some rides and have some fair food!

The 66-acre park is a fun place for all ages, but with a historic carousel, kiddie boats and a miniature train, it’s especially fun for younger kids.

Pullen Park wasn’t really on my radar when I was in “baby jail”, but I wish it had been!

The East Coast Greenway runs along the perimeter of Pullen Park.

Established in 1887, Pullen Park is the oldest public park in North Carolina, and is open all year round.

It’s also the fifth-oldest operating amusement park in the U.S. – and 16th oldest in the world!

Little kids love Pullen Park, but it’s also a beautiful scenic place for grownups to stretch their legs:

- For hikers and bikers, the East Coast Greenway, a 3,000 mile long system of trails connecting Maine to Florida, runs through Pullen Park, too.
- The Rocky Branch Trail, another fantastic trail that connects Meredith College and NC State University to the Capital Area Greenway, also makes it’s way through Pullen Park.

As a seasonal treat, for a few magical days in December, Pullen Park becomes a wonderland lit by thousands of lights, where kids can visit with Santa and ride the “Holiday Express” train!

The Pullen Aquatic Center, Pullen Arts Center and Theatre in the Park are also located on the park grounds. Continue reading Have a Day Out with the Kids at Pullen Park