Saturday, March 26, 2011

Raven Rock State Park NC…

012Since we have to drive to the town of Buies Creek to watch our daughter play her sport at Campbell University we thought it would be a good idea to find something else to do along the way. So out of003011 our search for something do we came up with Raven Rock State Park. We had been here a couple of times before in the past while visiting our daughter but it was such a nice place we decided to do it again.

The park is located near Lillington, North Carolina, it is about 4,600 acres in size and it is situated along the banks of the Cape Fear River on the eastern edge of the Piedmont. The park has been recently face lifted with a new visitors center and all the dirt roads and parking lots that were there in the past have been newly paved. It is still free to enter the park but with all the cost of renovations here I don’t expect that to last much longer. Raven Rock’s name is said to have come from the common sighting of ravens that roosted on the rock ledges.

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So we packed up a picnic lunch and set off for the park. Once we arrived we found the picnic area and ate lunch. Then it was off to Raven Rock Trail for the 2.2 mile loop trail. Again early signs of spring were everywhere as the yellow jasmine and dogwoods were beginning to bloom. The trail starts out as a relatively easy hike but starts to give up elevation till about one mile in when you hit the stairs down to the rock. Not too bad until you walk around for a while and then realize you have to climb back up all those stairs.

006Raven Rock is pretty impressive with the shear rock bluff overhanging the shoreline of the cape fear river. The wild violets were in bloom as were many small yellow lilies. After taking a few photos we began the climb up the stairs and were well winded when we reached the top of them. One hundred and forty eight steps…

Raven Rock State Park is great for a day getaway if you are near by. There are more trails with the longest being 5.5 miles in length. We will come back again to do some other trails…

10 comments:

  1. I sure wish the NC St Parks had better campgrounds for rv's. We like electricty especially in the humidity of summer. I was sorta wondering why y'all wanted to be near Campbell.
    Syl

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  2. a great day for a picnic and a hike..good for you both for doing the 148 steps!!

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  3. We love visiting these little State Parks and are doing just that here in Florida. Liked all your pictures today, but my favorite is the very large rockface.

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  4. 148 steps....now that is some exercise!!
    Glad you enjoyed your day at the park! :-)

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  5. Howdee
    I see you are near where we are headin~my sister lives in Carthage - there is a small, new RV park at a cool small plane airport and an excellent BBQ place called the Pik n Pig- don't know the name of the RV park, you could call the restaurant....

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  6. I'd look for a trail without the stairs!

    But then it's good for you young folk to get the exercise.

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  7. Thanks for the tip Dawn we will try to check it out and yes we are very near Carthage as we pass it going to Campbell to watch our daughter's games. The 148 steps was indeed a work out... one I would still recommend.

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  8. Oh man, 148 steps??? Glad it was you and not me!! Sounds like you had a fun time and the pictures are wonderful. Thanks for sharing.

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  9. Sure wish we could have taken our time going though North Carolina instead of racing through. That is the kind of place Kevin, Whiskey and I love to explore.

    Kevin and Ruth
    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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