It stopped raining! The sun is out and you want to be out there feeling the warmth, making vitamin D. But it’s mid-afternoon and you don’t have much time. Where can you go to take advantage of this beautiful day? The brainstorm hits! You grab the kids and drive across town to Tryon Creek State Park. Pulling into the small parking lot, you breathe a sigh of contentment. The kids’ excited chatter melts into the background as you see several people disembarking from their vehicles with dogs, kids, and backpacks.
The first thing you notice when you get out of the car is the quiet of the forest. You smell the damp earth and feel the shady cool of the trees. You can see the sunshine and blue sky through the branches.
Right in front of the car park you find the visitors’ center. Friendly volunteers or rangers are there to hand out maps and answer questions.
A map is always a good idea since there are over 8 miles of hiking trails, another 3+ of equestrian trails and several miles of biking trails. You can also peruse the books and other related items in the gift shop and look at the event board. Tryon Creek has many events, festivals, and kids’ programs available; and you can sign up to be a friend of Tryon Creek if you would like to volunteer with its upkeep.
After visiting the visitor’s center, using the facilities, and possibly getting your canine friend a drink from the complimentary water bowl, you start off on one of the nicely maintained trails. You find a forest full of large trees, ferns and moss; cross wooden bridges, climb up steps cut into the hills, and hopefully have a map so you don’t get lost in nature!
It’s not usually crowded at Tryon Creek but when you come across a young lady out with her dog or a middle-aged man jogging or a young couple with children, they will inevitably smile and say hello. You are all out enjoying nature on a fine day and all is well with the world.
