Eno River State Park, Cole Mill Access – Cole Mill Trail (Durham, North Carolina)

Overview: Eno River State Park, a much-beloved destination for Durham families, hosts a number of easy to moderate trails for the weekend hiker. If you’re looking for an easy hike with spectacular views, try the Cole Mill Trail. This 1.2-mile trail follows the Eno River and then loops back to the parking lot through upland forest.

Directions: The park is divided into five access points. The Cole Mill Trail (and the connecting Bobbitt’s Hole Trail) is found at the Cole Mill access, located just north of Sparger Road off of Cole Mill Road (see maps & directions).

Observations & Ponderings: Eno River State Park, well-known among the Triangle’s many outdoor enthusiasts, never ceases to offer new insight into Piedmont ecology and history. As you walk along the Cole Mill Trail, look across the river to take in the laurel-covered bluffs. In February 2009, I stopped more than once to photograph the view from the trail—especially where the river bends and the bluffs feel close enough to touch.

The Cole Mill Trail is also home to a number of different tree and shrub species, including the American bladdernut (Staphylea trifolia), with its distinctive three-sectioned seed pod. A native shrub or small tree reaching up to about 12 feet in height, bladdernut is most often found in bottomlands and along river banks. In mid to late spring, it sports tiny, white, bell-shaped flowers. This plant is found across eastern North America, but is endangered in Florida and threatened in New Hampshire. I photographed a bladdernut along the Cole Mill Trail in February 2009, its papery pods making it easy to recognize even in winter.

If you plan on exploring the Cole Mill Trail with young kids, check out the sycamore stump—an excellent prompt for imagining what might be tucked inside. (In February 2009, I photographed the hollowed American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) stump that always makes me pause.) You can also turn this hike into a fuller outing by continuing onto the Bobbitt’s Hole Trail, which leads to a popular swimming hole on the Eno.

On the upland return, keep an eye out for pockets of American holly (Ilex opaca). In February 2009, I photographed one hillside where holly clustered thickly enough to feel like a little evergreen room carved into the winter woods.