Yesterday, I took the day off from writing, editing, or anything connected with my books. I went to Hanging Rock State Park and traversed the Indian Creek Trail. It was my first time on this trail as I am fond of the Wolf Rock and Cooks Wall trails in this park. 

img_9284Indian Creek Trail is lovely and for those walking the Mountains-to-Sea trail, it is part of the MTS trail in the park.

There are no ridge line overlooks, nor is there a specific destination as the trail ends at the Dan River, but the journey is wonderful. We started from the Visitor’s Center going past Hidden Falls and Window Falls. Family hikes in the summer to play in the falls are common, but I had never gone past this point.

Although it is early February, the weather was spring like. Low 60s, only a light breeze, and sunny. From the beginning I wore long sleeves, but no coat, hat, or gloves. By mile four, I was wishing I had worn a t-shirt.

This time of year, it wasn’t crowded and we managed some nice photos of Window Falls without anyone else in the frame. Past this point we walked along Indian Creek, crossing the creek seven times without the aid of a bridge. These were easy crossings. The crossings have rocks to step on and waterproof boots took care of any missteps.

Aside from the sound of water, woods are the main attraction. I can’t recommend the trail highly enough as it’s a great trail to contemplate life and to clear out the cobwebs. It is an out and back, so you return by the same trail. I do offer one suggestion: park at the Dan River and hike to the Visitor’s Center and back. By doing so, you are not climbing the stairs back up the falls at the end of 6 miles on the trail. For someone younger, this might not be an issue, but for me, after knee surgery, the stairs are killer and a hard way to end a trail. It was a beautiful day in North Carolina.