Category: North Carolina State

South Mountains State Park
South Mountains State Park “features elevations to 3,000 feet, an 80-foot waterfall, mountain streams and more than 40 miles of trails for hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers. ”
Here is the Park website.   Phone 828-433-4772  Map 
Hemlock Nature trail 0.3 one way  self-guided nature trail “It provides an easy hike along the Jacob Fork River.”
River Trail 0.5 mile “an easy foot trail along Jacob Fork River.”

New River State Park
New River State Park is base camp for exploration of the New River, a National Wild and Scenic River.
Here is the Park website.   Phone  336-982-2587  Highway 221 Access Trail Map  Alleghany County Access Trail Map
Dogwood Trail 0.12 mile goes to a wooden platform overlooking the river.

Road To Nowhere Trail .05 mile roundtrip goes through an agricultural field that has been seeded with pines and sycamores.

Merchants Millpond State Park
“Southern swamp and hardwood forest mingle at Merchants Millpond State Park, adorning the landscape with massive bald cypress trees, beech groves, Spanish moss and exotic wildlife.”
Here is the Park website. Phone 252-357-1191   Map
Cypress Point Trail 0.33 mile self-guided interpretive trail

Coleman Trail and Bennets Creek trails both 2.0 miles described as easy.

Lake Waccamaw State Park
The State Park lies along the southwest shores of 9000 acre Lake Waccamaw, one of hundreds watery, oval depressions called the Carolina bays.
Here is the Park website.   Phone 910-646-4748  Map
Boardwalk Trail 0.1 mile “A gravel path from the picnic area parking lot winds through the picnic ground and leads to a 700-foot boardwalk.”
Sand Ridge Nature Trail 0.75  mile

These and other trails are called “easy” on the website.  Call to be sure they will work for your abilities.

Lake James State Park 
Lake James State Park offers boating, camping, swimming and fishing and 25 miles of trails, 15 of which are open to mountain biking.
Here is the Park website. Phone 828-584-7728 Map
Holly Discovery Trail 0.75 mile round trip  “a flat, easy trek through riparian forest adjacent to Paddy’s Creek.”
Overmountain Victory Trail  2 miles “follows the shoreline of Lake James and Paddy’s Creek through rolling terrain. Almost all of the trail is shaded under a mature, forest canopy.”
There are some other easy trails shared with mountain bikers.

Jordan Lake State Recreation Area
“Jordan Lake State Recreation Area is a collective of nine access areas scattered around the shoreline of this undeveloped, 14,000-acre reservoir.” There are campsites, swim beaches, and nearly 14 miles of hiking trails, most of them easy.
Here is the SRA’s website.   Phone 919-362-0586  Map
Be sure to call ahead as Jordan Lake is subject to flooding.
“The beaches at Ebenezer and Seaforth are accessible, and all the campground beaches are accessible as well. Park staff will guide you to facilities best suited to your needs.”
Seaforth Pond Trail 1.2 miles through “…Loblolly Pine forests, hardwood forests, an old field and past 3 ponds. A long boardwalk traverses a wetland teaming with Buttonbush, Black Needle Rush and other water-loving vegetation.”
Children’s Nature Trail 0.5 mile loop

There are six other easy, short trails

Jockey’s Ridge State Park
Wetlands, grassy dunes and maritime thickets, massive dune field and the tallest living sand dune on the Atlantic coast are attractions at Jockey’s Ridge State Park.
Here is the Park Website   Phone 252-441-7132   Map
“By calling ahead 24-hours in advance, it’s possible for mobility-impaired visitors to schedule a ride in our all-terrain-vehicle to the top of the dunes.”
Boardwalk 0.07 mile  “A short option for a partial view of the dunes. The 360 feet of boardwalk begins just behind the visitor center and leads to a deck with benches. Along the way, live oak branches curve overhead and wildlife tracks are often seen.”
Soundside Nature Trail  0.60 mile round trip

Hanging Rock State Park
Hanging Rock State Park has a “73-site campground, picnic grounds, stocked lake for swimming and canoe rentals and more than 20 miles of hiking trails that climb onto spectacular views and weave alongside clear streams and waterfalls. ”
Here is the Park Website. Phone 336-593-8480 Map
Rockgarden trail 0.1 mile one way

Upper Cascades Trail. “The trail to the Rock Garden is a paved 0.1 mile walk (0.2 miles round-trip). The trail to the Upper Cascade Falls is a 0.2 mile walk (0.4 miles round-trip) on crushed rock. The entire TRACK Trail is 0.6 miles round-trip.”
Tory’s Den Cave and Waterfall Trail 0.2 mile

Riverbluffs Trail 1.3 miles round trip. Call ahead to be sure this is easy enough for you.

Goose Creek State Park
Goose Creek State Park brings a “…broad range of coastal experiences—live oaks draped in Spanish moss, wetlands along the Pamlico Sound and a cypress swamp viewed from an extensive boardwalk. A visitor and environmental education center explains it all with detailed exhibits. Getting into or onto the waters of the sound is easy at a sandy swim beach, a boat ramp or a separate paddling launch.”
Here is the Park website.   Phone 252-923-2191  Map
Palmetto Boardwalk Trail 0.5 mile across a freshwater marsh.

There are 7 trails described as “easy”.  They include the Flatty Creek, Huckleberry, Goose Creek Trail, Ivey Gut , Live Oak, Mallard Creek and Tar-Kiln trails.  Be sure to check at the Environmental Education Center to see if these are easy for you.

Mount Mitchell State Park   Map   (828) 675-4611  Trails described on the WNCoutdoors.info website.
Commissary Trail  1 mile.  “Provides spectacular views of Mount Mitchell and the mountains below. Passes through grassy fields on Bearwallow and Grassy Knob Ridges; also Spruce-Fir forests.”
Summit Trail 0.1 mile A paved path from the summit parking area to the observation deck at the top.
The State Parks’ website says there is a trail for the visually impaired at Mount Mitchell, but I haven’t found any information about it.  Try calling the park.