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| Haw River State Park © Katrena |
Haw River State Park is a newer North Carolina state park located on 1424 acres in Browns Summit at the edge of Guilford and Rockingham counties. We visited this park in mid March, a great time to hike when you like cooler weather, no mosquitoes, and more solitude.
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| Haw River State Park Conference Center © Katrena |
This park offers a unique feature: the Summit, an educational and conference center with residential cabins nestled among the trees. These buildings offer motel guest rooms, cabins that sleep eight, an outdoor seasonal swimming pool, a gymnasium, and two ampitheaters.
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| Haw River State Park Residential Cabins © Katrena |
We saw several buildings as we hiked but did not tour indoor areas other than the park office inside the main lodge. This park offers accommodations for groups up to about 180 people where reservations may be made for family reunions, retreats, and more.
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| Welcome Center at Haw River State Park © Katrena |
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| Park Office at Haw River State Park © Katrena |
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| Nice Touches at Haw River State Park in Browns Summit © Katrena |
The park office was inviting with a seating area and creative touches throughout the room. The map and pictures on the wall encourage visitors to notice that this park is part of a large network of parks throughout North Carolina. The restrooms were well maintained.
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| Rhonda at Haw River State Park © Katrena |
Rhonda was working at the front desk on the day we visited. She offered information about the trails and showed us a map with the hiking trails. Our state has gotten quite a bit of rain for months, so she mentioned that portions of the trail were muddy and offered tips that were relevant to unique needs. For example, another visitor was pushing a baby stroller, so Rhonda offered tips for navigating trails that would work well for her. Portions of the trails were paved, but the majority of the trails featured dirt and/or gravel for walking surfaces.
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| Hiking Trail at Haw River State Park © Katrena |
The trails began immediately upon exiting the back of the building and were well marked; that was very helpful. We could see glimpses of the lake soon after starting our hike because most of the trees had no leaves on them.
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| Signage for Piedmont Loop Trail at Haw River State Park Hiking Trail © Katrena |
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| Fun Family Hike in Piedmont Area of NC © Katrena |
We hiked portions of the Piedmont Loop Trail and the Lake Loop Trail. Both trails were marked with colored markers and signs that were easy to read.
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| Photographic Hiking Trails in North Carolina © Katrena |
Our state endured two remnants of hurricanes last fall, and we could see that several trees were down, but the trails were maintained and down trees had been cleared from across the trails. We only had to venture off the trail in one place in which a tree had recently fallen across the trail.
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| Working to Keep Trails Open Despite Multiple Downed Trees © Katrena |
A few portions of the trail were a bit muddy, particularly in the areas just before the boardwalk, but we were able to make it through on dry patches on the edge of the trail. It was worth the effort to get to the boardwalk!
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| Boardwalk at Haw River State Park © Katrena |
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| Swamp Ecosystem Hiking Trail in NC © Katrena |
Kudos to the folks who built the boardwalk, as this enables hikers to experience wetlands, a floodplain swamp, and the headwaters area of the Haw River. Several benches were added to widened areas on the boardwalk.
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| Wetlands Boardwalk at Haw River State Park © Katrena |
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| Winter Hike in NC State Parks © Katrena |
The boardwalk ended with a larger seating area where my crew enjoyed a quite picnic lunch, where we of course left nothing but footprints and a nice memory of a peaceful time of quiet contemplation.
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| Headwaters Area of Haw River © Katrena |
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| Haw River Headwaters Area Hiking Trail © Katrena |
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| NC Hiking Trail with Boardwalk © Katrena |
As we relaxed, we could hear the stream singing in rhythm with the frogs. We saw a couple of birds and an occasional squirrel. A few tiny buds hinted at the approaching arrival of spring as the bare trees swayed with the breeze.
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| Educational Seating Area at Haw River State Park © Katrena |
Along the trails, we noticed several seating areas, indicative of places where groups would gather to learn more about the ecosystem surrounding them. The lake loop trail circles the lake and was more flat than the Piedmont loop trail, but neither of the trails was strenuous.
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| Nature Walks in Guilford and Rockingham Counties © Katrena |
This park offers several camps for children and also a "grand camp" for grandparents and grandchildren to enjoy and learn together. They also have an educational program with a low ropes challenge course.
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| Lake Loop Trail at Haw River State Park © Katrena |
Overall, this park offered a restful, peaceful winter hike with a few hills and an interesting boardwalk. The two trails combined featured a little over two miles of hiking in an ecosystem that would be difficult to traverse without a boardwalk.
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| Mini Library at Haw River State Park © Katrena |
This park has a tiny library, so plan to bring a book for exchange!
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| Interesting Things to do with Kids in NC © Katrena |
Visit the
Haw River State Park web site for additional information about this North Carolina state park. Check out the
North Carolina State Parks web site for information on other parks in the system.
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| North Carolina State Parks © Katrena |
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