Welcome back to Alamance Awaits! This very fun partnership with Alamance Parks has given me, Ali Evans, the opportunity to explore some of the beautiful outdoor spaces throughout Alamance County. It’s been a great fit for my family and me becaused in addition to being a member of the 97.9 The Hill & Chapelboro.com team, I’m also a resident of Alamance County. I’ve had the best time exploring all these beautiful places and sharing with all of you.

This is the penultimate edition of Alamance Awaits, a fact I haven’t yet shared with my dogs because they’re really enjoying their new-found Chapelboro celebrity status. This month, my husband and I visited the Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area. This is a newer outdoor destination in Alamance and there are plans to continue developing the space over time. I forgot to take a photo of the trail map itself, but you can find one here.

We were starting to lose daylight, so we opted to walk the full length of the shorter trail, the Longleaf Loop. If you wanted to cut that walk in half, there is a clearly marked point to do so. Alamance Parks and Recreation not only takes great care of their beautiful parks and trails, but they provide so much information about each place! With so much history in Alamance county, I have really appreciated learning more about these great North Carolina parks.

I want to be sure to note that the Longleaf Loop at Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area is the most accessible trail we’ve visited so far. It’s really flat and the trail is clearly defined at all times. Moms, Dads, and caregivers take note – I think you could take a stroller out there! (Please don’t send me your stroller repair bill, this is just an educated opinion!)

The Longleaf loop is named after the Longleaf Pine trees that are grown at the Cane Creek Mountain Natural area. Early on in our walk, I learned that Longleaf Pine Trees are not only resistant to wildfire, they are actually dependent on it. They don’t just survive the fire, they thrive after burning. Listen, I don’t want to get too deep in Alamance Awaits, but if you think about it for a moment you might find there’s something very beautiful about that sentiment. Thanks to the longleaf pine, I spent a lot of time on this walk thinking about what my personal fires are. What are some things in my life that I thought would burn me down, that it turns out I actually needed to help me grow?

It was a lovely a perk that we visited during ‘golden hour,’ a sweet name for that last bit of sunlight where the sun has a warm and friendly glow before it says goodbye for the day; like an appetizer for a delicious sunset. The time of day combined with this time of year made for a colorful, relaxing visit.

I highly recommend the Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area, especially if you’re not looking for a challenging hike, but rather a pleasant walk. With it’s manageable length and terrain, it’s great for human kids or furry kids to stretch their legs, or even someone wanting to create an exercise routine and looking for something ‘outdoorsy’ but approachable.

Keep an eye on this park because it’s a work in progress. According to the Alamance Parks website, “The development of the park will continue over the next several years. Upon completion, the Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area will total over 1,000 acres and include an observation tower, camping facilities, wildlife observation areas, and more.”

Again, we left feeling so grateful to Alamance Parks for keeping these places clean, accessible and beautiful. We will see you very soon for the final installment of Alamance Awaits – our visit to Cedarock Park!

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