This is my personal blog about our hiking in Raven Rock State Park. It took us around one hour to drive to the park from Morrisville, NC. Because of the limited parking space and COVID-19 guidelines, there was a long line of vehicle to enter the park and we got in after waiting for around one hour. Of course, we were cautious and followed social distancing guidelines. We hiked along Cambell Creek Loop Trail which is moderate and 4.5 miles long and took us around three hours to hike. General information about the park Raven Rock State Park is located in Harnett County, NC 40 miles southwest of Raleigh expanding in an area of 4,800 acres. Named after the 'ravens' that roosted over a 150-foot crystalline rock structure, Raven Rock is famous for frequent hiking destinations such as the Cape Fear River, Lanier Falls, and the Fish Traps rapids that are accessible through miles of hiking trails with a total of 12 trails that are easy to moderate in difficulty and 0.2 to 6.6 miles long. Along the way to the rock are steep terrain, native mountain laurels, rhododendron thickets, and tumbling creeks. With 26 miles of hiking, 6.6 miles of biking and 8 miles of horseback riding trails, visitors also have access to paddling, fishing, pickniking, and backpacking and paddle-in sites in Raven Rock State Park. This park also features amenities such as amphitheater, auditorium, classroom, picnic shelter, visitor center, exhibit, kids track trail, and horse trailer parking out of which longleaf loop trail, two tables inside the picnic shelter, one of the grills at the picnic shelter, the visitor center, parking, and restrooms are wheelchair accessible. Natural resources Topography and vegetation The topography are floodplains, river bluffs, and flat and dry uplands. Big tres such as river birch, beech and sycamore are found along floodplains. Mountain laurel, rhododendron, elm, and red maple trees are along river bluffs. And, pine, oak/hickory, sourwood, dogwood, and blueberry are found along flat and dry uplands. Aquatic invertebrates and reptiles Aquatic invertebrates such as salamanders are found along the river bluffs. Spotted turtles and larger turtles such as the yellowbelly slider and the snapping turtle live in streams and rivers. Lizards such as the Carolina anole, fence lizard, and skink inhabit the forest. And, harmless snakes such as northern water snake, rat snake, and the eastern hognose snake are found in the park along with rarely occuring the venomous copperhead. Birds and mammals At the peak of the season, visitors get sightings of as many as 20 species of warblers, wood ducks, hawks, owls and woodpeckers. Mammals include white-tailed deer, eastern cottontails, weasels, raccoons, mice, shrews, beavers, muskrats, and bats. Insects Links for Insect Orders known for Raven Rock State Park. COLEOPTERA - Beetles DIPTERA - Flies EPHEMEROPTERA - Mayflies HEMIPTERA - Bugs HYMENOPTERA - Sawflies / Wasps / Ants / Bees LEPIDOPTERA - Butterflies LEPIDOPTERA - Moths MANTODEA - Mantids MEGALOPTERA - Dobsonflies / Alderflies / Fishflies NEUROPTERA - Lacewings / Antlions / Dobsonflies / Alderflies / Snakeflies ODONATA - Dragonflies / Damselfies ORTHOPTERA - Grasshoppers / Crickets / Katydids PHASMATODEA - Walking sticks / Leaf insects PLECOPTERA - Stoneflies, Salmonflies TRICHOPTERA - Caddisflies Photo GalleryLinks
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