When I did my first hike at Pisgah State Park, I was thinking it would take forever to complete all the trails and all the miles.. I hiked in Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.. there were some amazing days, and some not so amazing days (it gets reeeeeallly buggy there in Spring/Summer).. but looking back, I can say this place is special. There is nothing specific to see, no high summits or must see places.. just miles and miles of peaceful trails. Some lovely ponds.. an overlook here and there. If you don't want to see many people, this is the place to go. Today I tackled my last 2 trails to complete the park. I had a half mile on South Woods Trail and the newly built Habitat Loop Trail. I spent almost as much time driving out there than I did on the hike, and it was bittersweet after all this time to be done.. I lingered a little longer than normal today. I parked at the Horseshoe Road parking lot, where there were already a few cars.. but I only ever saw folks while in the parking lot, none out on the trails. I was looking for no snow, as I'm not mentally ready for Winter hiking yet.. there were small traces of snow and ice, but nothing that caused any issues and I needed no traction. I continued down Horseshoe Road. Just a couple tenths down this road, the first of the Habitat Loop Trail markers can be seen. There are 26 markers along a roughly 2.5 mile loop pointing out places of interest.. being almost Winter, most of them today were not really visible, but I took a peek each time I passed one. A guide to what each marker represents can be found on the Friends of Pisgah website, along with a map. I continued past South Woods Trail, which also coincides with Habitat Loop Trail as this would be my return. At the fork where Winchester Road meets Horsehoe Road, Habitat Loop Trail veers right, but having done that section on my very first hike in the park, I opted to head towards Old Chesterfield Road and cut off that corner of the Habitat Loop Trail. Continuing onto Old Chesterfield Road, just about a tenth of a mile down, Habitat Loop branches off to the left. This whole section is snowmobile trail/gravel road so the footing is easy going. After 0.3 miles, Habitat Loop rejoins Old Chesterfield Road for 0.2 miles before taking a left hand turn at a cleared section which is clearly marked with blazed stakes and crosses into the woods. The next half mile or so was a lovely ramble through the woods before reaching an intersection with a spur path to a marsh overlook. I followed the spur, which is only about a tenth of a mile long reaching a nice spot to stop for a snack with 2 lovely long new wooden benches overlooking said marsh and surrounds. Back on the main trail, it continues for another tenth of a mile before reaching the intersection with South Woods Trail, which was my turnaround point a couple months ago. I did take a right and head back down to the scenic overlook where I had visited previously. Along my final half mile South Woods Trail and Habitat Loop Trail follow the same route, which is more lovely trail before reaching back to Horseshoe Road and my completion of every mile in Pisgah State Park. It took me 15 trips and roughly 100 miles of hiking total!
Strava Activity
 |
| looking down Horseshoe Road |
 |
| marker 1 was remnants of an original house |
 |
| where Habitat Loop branches of Old Chesterfield Road |
 |
| a pond created by beaver |
 |
| Habitat Loop off Old Chesterfield Road again |
 |
| new and old bridges |
 |
| this marker was for the hemlock trees, but I liked the fungus! |
 |
| new benches at the marsh overlook |
 |
| South Woods Trail/Habitat Loop intersection |
 |
| but first the scenic overlook on South Woods Trail |
 |
| Eastern White Pine |
 |
| and that's a wrap on Pisgah State Park! |
No comments:
Post a Comment