Overview: Eno River State Park offers several easy-to-moderate trails (plus a few more challenging options) for weekend hikers. If you want a short, easy loop through a variety of habitats, try the Birding Trail at the Few’s Ford access. Starting from the Few’s Ford parking loop, the route can be completed in about 40 minutes.
To begin, find the gravel maintenance road at the start of the parking loop. Follow the road until you reach an opening in the woods, then continue along the footpath through the forest. You’ll eventually come to a clearing beneath the power lines. Here, look for ephemeral wetland pools—often lively with frogs when conditions are right. Continue on to the river, then follow the riverbank until you meet a more heavily traveled trail that climbs back up to the parking area.
Directions: The park is divided into five access points. The Birding Trail is located at the Few’s Ford access, at the northern end of Cole Mill Road.
Observations & Ponderings: On October 4, 2009, we took a leisurely, unhurried walk along the Birding Trail. Early on, as we followed the gravel road past full eastern red cedars, we were greeted by the calls of northern mockingbirds, American crows, blue jays, and northern cardinals. Just before we entered the denser woods, a yellow-shafted northern flicker flashed past.
Along the forest path we found another sign of wildlife: fox scat peppered with persimmon seeds and hair. A wood nymph butterfly fluttered by. We passed tall pines where we’d watched yellow-bellied sapsuckers working busily in years past, and soon noticed a large mushroom beside a patch of striped wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata).
When we emerged from the woods into the wet, open power-line cut, several fall flowers were still blooming—thistle, gerardia, an aster, and Eupatorium species. After crossing the clearing, we reached the slow, shallow Eno River. Yellow-bellied sliders sunned on logs, carp (including young fish) held small territories along the river bottom, and a largemouth bass cruised by.
Our lazy hike not only provided us with a glimpse of the autumnal deceleration of the natural world, but also allowed us to experience it ourselves.
Sense of Place 