HIKING THE 7 MILE SYCAMORE TRAIL: UMSTEAD STATE PARK, RALEIGH

If you are planning to visit Raleigh and love nature trails through the forest, don’t miss Umstead State Park, the most popular of the parks in Raleigh for hiking.

Recently we hiked the Sycamore Trail which is the longest of the Umstead Park trails at 7.2 miles.

This is Umstead’s longest trail, it would be more like a walk than a hike, with gentle rises and falls in elevation and nothing too strenuous.

HIKING THE SYCAMORE TRAIL

Keep in mind we have done some serious hikes in Yosemite, Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Zion National Parks so your perspective may differ!

After the first mile or so it gets more into the woods and we love walking through the backwoods among the beautiful trees.

And a decent length of the trail follows Sycamore Creek making for a nice variety of landscape and adding to the pleasant, ambient noise and pretty scenery.

You may spot some wildlife on the Sycamore Trail like deer and a snake or two, but we didn’t come across any – obviously it will differ by season and time of day as wildlife go about their habits.

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