This morning, I traveled 30-miles (50 KM) north to Raven Rock State Park, a small park that wraps around the Cape Fear River. When I drove to the park, I intended to hike the Campbell Creek Trail (which is decent-length 5.5-miles (9 KM) hike.) My guidebook recommended this trail because it is the park's least traveled trail - and provides quiet walks through the woods. The first three-miles of the trail pasted through a forest filled with the sound of animals (birds, frogs, and a variety of small rodents shuffling through the dead leaves.)
After walking about three-miles of the Campbell Creek Loop, I came to a small side trail that descended to the Cape Fear River and a very small Lanier Fall (thankfully I had read in advance that the waterfall was only a couple feet tall, so I wasn't expecting a huge waterfall!) The river and "waterfall" provided a welcome break from the forest, though the river banks were a little crowded...
After the waterfall, I the trail continues along the river until it meets Campbell Creek. From here, the trail turned away from the river and followed the smaller creek for a couple more miles. Although the creek provided a welcome view, it definitely didn't look like water I'd want to step in! For some reason the water was nearly stagnant (and almost black in some areas); although this didn't make me want to swim, it did provide some nice reflective surfaces. It was particularly nice since there were several mountain laurel trees growing along the creek's banks (and throughout the park!)
After finishing with the Campbell Creek Trail, I decided that it would be a shame to leave the park without seeing the shorter (and more popular) Raven Rock Trail. This 2.5-mile (4 KM) trail loops through a thicker portion of the forest (and leads to Raven Rock Cliff.) Raven Rock is a large sandstone cliff that borders the coast of the Cape Fear River; after descending several flights of stairs down the cliff, I was a little disappointed by the actual cliff.
When I returned up the cliff, I continued around the loop trail, which provided little else of interest other than a small lookout point that provided a panoramic view of the Cape Fear River and the surrounding forest. I believe the view from this lookout would be much better in fall or winter (there were far too many leaves at this point to provide a good view...) After a long morning of hiking, I finally found my way back to the parking lot and returned home for a quiet afternoon.
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