Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area

The Occoneechee Mountain TRACK Trail links three of the park’s trails (Chestnut Oak, Brown Elfin Knob, and Occoneechee Mountain Trail) into an easy 0.7 mile loop. On the trail, you will hike through a diverse natural community with rare species that are found nowhere else in the Piedmont region. Enjoy the hike and discover the parks wonders.

Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area offers a quick escape into nature with its three miles of trail exploring riverside forests, bluffs reaching to the highest point in the area and mountain laurel and rhododendron thickets. Visitors can fish in a pair of quiet ponds for bass and panfish or in the Eno River, either from the bank or by wading its shallows. Picnic grounds supply a grassy lawn and large, shading oaks. Rangers lead regular interpretive programs about the state natural area and its piedmont monodnock that supports species that are rare and significant in the region.
 

Excerpt from N.C. State Parks, Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area.

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Location Details

Recreational Features: Picnic Tables, Fishing
Amenities: Restrooms
ADA Compliant: No
Seasonality: Open all year
Trail through forest

Adventures for Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area

Track Adventure
Hiking

Occoneechee Mountain Bilingual Nature's Hide & Seek

Difficulty:
Easy
Trail length:
0.70
El Juego Del Escondite En La Naturaleza/Nature's Hide & Seek brochure is designed so that kids of all ages can walk along the trail and discover common things that are often overlooked in nature. Written in both Spanish and English, discover new things hiding in nature with the help of this bilingual brochure.
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Track Adventure
Hiking

Occoneechee Mountain Bilingual Animal Athletes

Difficulty:
Easy
Trail length:
0.70
The Animales Atletas/Animal Athletes adventure challenges kids to exercise with the animals. This bilingual brochure gives kids eight different animal exercises they can do along the trail, written in both English and Spanish. From hummingbird hand-swings to lizard pushups, kids are sure to have fun getting in shape with the animals during their outdoor adventures.
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Track Adventure
Hiking

Occoneechee Mountain: Pond Life

Difficulty:
Easy
Trail length:
0.70
Ponds may seem quiet, but they are actually teeming with all kinds of life. With the Pond Life brochure, kids will learn the difference between producer and consumer organisms, and how to identify where a plant, animal, or insect fits into the ecosystem of a pond. This brochure will have kids keep an eye out for 12 common pond residents, and teach how these plants and animals use the pond.
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Track Adventure
Hiking

Occoneechee Mountain: Need for Trees

Difficulty:
Easy
Trail length:
0.70
By following the picture and textual clues found in "The Need for Trees" brochure, you will discover six of the more common trees found in the area. During your adventure, you will learn about the need we, and other animals, have for trees and about the roles they play in the forest.
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Directions

625 Virgina Cates Road
Hillsborough, NC 27278
Latitude: 36.059656700000
Longitude: -79.113908300000
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Partners

The Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area TRACK Trail was made possible through partnerships formed between the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation's Kids in Parks program and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the National Park Service. With assistance and advisement from the local Daughters of the American Revolution chapter.

Trails Nearby

6 Miles
Eno River State Park
10 Miles
Town of Carrboro
10 Miles
Sandy Creek Park
11 Miles
Whippoorwill Park