Being the middle of winter most of the trees were bare of course, but just getting outside in nature, breathing in that crisp fresh air, and stretching our legs on the well maintained mulched trails as we wandered through the forest was a lovely way to spend an hour!
This 140-acre preserve along Swift Creek is home to a unique community of eastern hemlock trees and other plant species, and is a joint project between the North Carolina state park system and the Town of Cary.
There’s several nature trails, scenic overlooks of Swift Creek, wildlife watching opportunities, a children’s nature trail, and the Stevens Nature Center (currently closed due to Covid).
Beginning from the Stevens Nature Center, we took a left and started with the Beech Tree Cove Trail which takes you to an overlook of Swift Creek and connects with the Chestnut Oak Loop Trail.
Beech Tree Cove is an easy 0.9 mile mulched trail and is generally flat with a few small inclines and is stroller accessible if you have young kiddies – there is an optional 41 set of stairs at the end down to a second overlook.
We then continued on with the longest trail in the preserve, the 1.2 mile Chestnut Oak Loop Trail which winds through the upland forest with ridges, ravines and creeks.