Opened in 1936, at only 424 acres in size, the park is one of the smallest state parks in North Carolina.
But with 1.3 million visitors annually, despite it’s small size, Fort Macon State Park is the second most visited state park in North Carolina.
I’ve always been too busy on my Coastal visits to be one of those visitors.
But I made up for my previous neglect a couple of weeks ago on a spontaneous overnight trip to the Coast.
A visit to Fort Macon was the main thing on my “must-do” list. I was delighted with what I found!
The park surrounds the US Coast Guard Station
The park completely surrounds the United States Coast Guard Station Fort Macon, and park visitors can catch a glimpse of one of the Coast Guard Cutters that are moored there.
The infamous pirate Blackbeard’s ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, has been discovered in shallow water right off the Park in the Atlantic Ocean and is being recovered.
The park is also the site of the Battle of Fort Macon, which was fought there March-April 1862, during the American Civil War.
A map of Fort Macon State Park
In addition to tours of the fully restored fort, the park offers both sound-side and surf fishing, hiking trails, ranger guided tours, a protected swim area, a refreshment stand, and a bathhouse.
– – Week 4 of the ReFit Training began with a long group hike (<25 people in accordance with current restrictions) at Umstead State Park.
We hiked 8 miles on Company Mill trail to Big Lake and back on a combination natural trails and multi-use trails.
The route was designed to avoid the spots that were still muddy from last week’s rain.
I was starting to worry when we didn’t see our snake friend, but then we spotted him towards the end of the hike on higher ground.
And the hikers who joined were amazing as usual! 🙂
A Different Sort of Week
It was a holiday week, since the work week started with Memorial Day.
For me, that meant an extra day to hang out with That Man and explore some new (to us) local places on foot.
Specifically, we spent time checking out the Rolling View section of Falls Lake.
View of Falls Lake from the Rolling View side.
Falls Lake State Recreation Area
Falls Lake State Recreation Area is made up of seven access areas scattered around the shoreline of an undeveloped 12,000-acre reservoir.
The Falls Lake Trail (a portion of the North Carolina Mountains-to-Sea State Trail) can be joined at the Rolling View access – which was one of the places open despite COVID restrictions – so that’s where we started.
Map showing the Falls Lake Trail in Rolling View section
The Falls Lake Trail follows the entire south shore of the lake, traveling over 50 miles from the shore of the Neuse River below the Falls Lake Dam all the way to the Eno River.
We were only able to go a couple of miles before the trail was too flooded to pass, due to the high water from recent heavy rain.
But we improvised on some other trails and got about 5 miles in anyway 🙂
Strength Building Hike – Bond Park, 6 miles
The middle of the week was dry (finally!) so I loaded 20 extra pounds into my pack on Tuesday for this week’s Strength Building hike in Bond Park, a 6-ish mile hike that included the Bond Park Lake Trail.
Midweek Beach Escape
After months of being unable to travel due to COVID restrictions, I decided to gamble on the weather and take a little overnight road trip to the Coast.
Though beaches and State and National Parks are still partly closed, some trails and facilities are available, and some coastal parks have beach access.
I booked a room in Atlantic Beach, and headed for Fort Macon State Park.
Fort Macon State Park map at the Visitors Center
Fort Macon State Park
Nearly surrounded by water at the eastern tip of Bogue Banks, Fort Macon State Park is the site of a restored Civil War-era fort, a couple of hiking trails, and offers unspoiled shoreline for swimming.
Canons line the upper fort wall on the beach side
Unfortunately, the interior of the fort and the Visitor’s Center are currently closed due to COVID restrictions, but the beach and trails are open.
There are also restrooms available.
Trailhead sign in the Visitors Center parking lot
Elliott Coues’ Trail – 3.3 mile loop
The main thing I wanted to do at the park was hike the relatively new Elliott Coues Trail.
I started at the trailhead in the far corner of the Visitor’s Center parking lot.
Raised boardwalk on the Elliott Coues’ Trail
The trail is a 3.3 mile loop that goes along the beach, through salt march and forest, and even along the road beside the Coast Guard station for a short time before returning to the park.
It’s a beautiful trail, with the beach side of the loop paved with a new layer of soft wood chips.
The wooded side is a combination of soft dirt and some boardwalks.
You can see different kinds wildlife from the trail: there were a lot of different birds and I startled a young doe near the marsh side.
View of the beach from inside the upper fort wall.
Atlantic Beach is one of my favorite North Carolina beaches, not in the least because I usually stay in a place where can get up in the morning and walk to the beach – without worrying about trying to move my car or pay for parking.
When I’m there I usually do about 4 miles on the beach in the morning, more if time allows.
This time, I was able to get 4 miles in but couldn’t do any more because of a fast-moving thunderstorm.
The rain wasn’t going anywhere, so after my run I packed up and headed back inland.
Storm rolling in to Atlantic Beach
Company Mill Accidentally Underwater Hike – 6 miles
Friday was rainy at home, too. But I decided to risk an afternoon hike between rain storms on the Company Mill Trail in Umstead State Park anyway.
Unfortunately, a couple of miles into the hike a downpour started.
I was on the natural trail when the rain started, but the trail quickly became a raging stream.
Reedy Creek Lake and multi-use trail on a sunny day.
So I diverted my route to get back to the the drier multi-use trails, and ended up with about 6.5 miles and lots of mud on my boots when I finished.
In addition to hiking at home and on the coast this week, I also kick-boxed, ran on my treadmill , lifted some weights, and did some Bodyweight Training exercises.
With 4 weeks down of the allotted 6 weeks to get back in shape , I’m still not seeing the kind of results the I’d hoped for, but I’ve still got a couple of weeks to keep trying 🙂
If you’re local and would like to join us, check out the I’d Rather Walk Meetupfor hike postings.
Looking down Atlantic Beach towards the pier.
I hope you’ve found my Training Log ramblings to be helpful- or at least amusing! 🙂 To see more of them go to my Training Log.
Take a look at my 6 Week Training Planpost to see what other kinds of training I’m doing, and what other hikes I’ll have coming up.
Thanks for stopping by – see you next time! LJ
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