Every North Carolina State Park offers at least one first day hike. Haw River State Park is a place I've never ventured to so I chose this hike. It is led by Kelly King, Park Superintendent. We are hiking a a new trail in a section of the park not currently accessible. The road we drove in on is gated but open today for our group of about 70.
Kelly leads a slow hike on farmland recently owned by a Richardson family. Their ownership dates back a couple hundred years. The farm borders the Haw River. Although, if you are familiar with the Haw River as it flows through Saxapahaw and Bynum on its way to Jordan Lake, you'd not recognize it at all. Here is is 20 feet across and resembles a creek. Creeks are not defined by their width, but by their length. If you look along the NC coast, there are very wide creeks. Some as wide as a mile but they are very short.
Eastern Red Cedars on this former farm are huge. I also note many hickories and beech in the area. As we approach the creek like river, there is a wetland of several acres. Beavers have constructed a lodge at the edge of the wetland, partly on sound ground and partly in the water.
After 4.5 miles we are back where we began. the plan is to build a parking area in the vicinity and open this part of the park up. For now you can still access it but from the other side.
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