Hiking William B. Umstead State Park: Watch Out for Snakes!

The longest hike in William B. Umstead State Park, North Carolina

My husband and I were just dating when we ventured to William B. Umstead State Park. We were down in the Raleigh North Carolina area for a wedding and decided to make a mini-vacation of it. And what is a good vacation without some hiking and exploration!?

From where our hotel was in Raleigh North Carolina, we decided to check out William B. Umstead State Park. This was the #1 choice of our Google search for Hiking near Raleigh NC.

The entire week we were in North Carolina, it was hot! We had left beautiful 70 degree weather in Pennsylvania and went straight to 95 degrees in Raleigh North Carolina. That didn’t stop us, we just decided to start hiking in the morning. Oh, and pack extra water.

So our first full-day in Raleigh, we headed to William B. Umstead State Park.

Important Links

William B. Umstead State Park Website

State Park Map

Camping in William B. Umstead State Park – Book Campsites Here

Campground Map

Hiking Backpack List and Camping Checklist Freebie

Location

Just outside of Raleigh North Carolina, this lush green state park is a great place for locals and tourists alike to get in touch with nature.

Less than 20 minutes from the center of Raleigh, and only a 2.5 hour drive from Charlotte, this state park is easily accessible from nearly every area of North Carolina.

There are over 34 miles of hiking trails so enter “William B. Umstead State Park” into your favorite gps app and go explore!

Hiking Trails

William B. Umstead State Park boasts 15 hiking trails that offer over 34 miles to hikers! This state park is 5,600 acres of pure nature. 6 of these trails are also open to bikers and horseback riders.

All of the trails are rated as either easy or moderate, so anyone can hike in this North Carolina state park. Here are the trails!

• Company Mill Trail – 5.8 miles*
• Company Mill Spur Trail – 0.2 miles*
• Inspiration Trail – 0.4 miles*
• Loblolly Trail – 2.7 miles*
• Campground Spur Trail – 0.4 miles*
• Oak Rock Trail – 0.6 miles*
• Pott’s Branch – 1.3 miles*
• Sal’s Branch Trail – 2.8 miles*
• Sycamore Trail – 7.2 miles*
• Reedy Creek Multiuse Trail – 3.7 miles
• Reedy Creek Lake Multiuse Trail – 0.7 miles
• Graylyn Multiuse Trail – 1.6 miles
• North Turkey Creek Multiuse Trail – 2.6 miles
• South Turkey Creek Multiuse Trail – 2.8 miles
• Cedar Ridge Multiuse Trail – 1.5 miles

*Hiking ONLY

There are plenty of trails to choose from and with so many options you may want visit this park several times over!

Visitor Center

We entered the park via the Crabtree Creek Entrance and quickly came upon the visitor’s center on our left. Getting a map is always important so we did that first.

We went inside, grabbed a map and asked a few questions of the ranger. He pointed out the trailhead of the longest hike in the park, and we drove to the Crabtree Creek Shelter. Right behind this shelter is where the Sycamore trail starts.

The Sycamore Trail

The Sycamore Trail is 7.2 miles long and is considered moderately difficult on the North Carolina State Parks website. It is marked with blue triangles and was incredibly easy to follow. We picked this hike because it is mostly shaded and runs along a creek most of the way. Plus, we wanted a long hike to stretch our legs after our 12-hour drive the day before.

The hike begins with mild sloping trails and largely follows the Sycamore Creek, which provided some beautiful views. Between the flow of the creek beside you and the largely shaded trail, we were comfortable when we started hiking.

There are cute wooden bridges to cross and we were definitely enjoying ourselves as we hiked. It was hotter than we were used to, but we packed plenty of water for this hike. (Yes we made the mistake of not packing enough water before, check out our story from Gifford Pinchot State Park here).

The trail is completely wooded and has picturesque ferns growing all along the trail. When the light streams through the trees, it creates sun beams that enhance the beauty of the woods around you.

Despite the heat, we were having a great time. I was taking pictures, and we were enjoying a long hike together. And then we saw it.

A snake.

Snakes!

Fun fact: my husband hates snakes! Hates them. They are his irrational fear and there was one laying straight across the path.

We calmly waited for it to wriggle out of site. We both have experience in the outdoors and identified the snake as a Black Snake. They aren’t venomous, but they can be aggressive. It slithered off, and we pressed on.

As a photography-loving woman, I was in and out of the creek bed trying to get just the right reflection picture, or right angle of the water flow. Soon I came face to face with another snake. It was lying on the bank and I wasn’t entirely sure what species this one was. And I definitely wasn’t getting close enough to try to identify it.

After the second snake, Brian and I started stepping a lot more carefully. Something we should have done from the beginning but we were not acutely aware of all the snakes in the area.

Suddenly, every rustling leaf and every swish of the wind in the bushes was a snake. Our pace slowed down as we began double checking our footsteps and watching the trails. We were definitely on edge.

From Shaky to Terrified

30 minutes went by without another snake sighting and we hoped that maybe we were past them.

Again I was busy taking pictures. I was taking pictures of the bridge above when I heard Brian make a noise. I assumed it was a cough or something of the like and continued on the path, looking at my camera to see if I got the shot I was after.

Next thing I know, that sound coming from Brian came out like a strangled word, and just as I turned to look at him, he was grabbing my arm. He pulled me back towards him hard. As I was trying to comprehend what was happening, I looked further down the path.

Only a few yards ahead of us was a rather large black snake.

And that strangled noise coming from my then-boyfriend was him attempting to tell me there was a snake on the trail.

We stood there for nearly 15 minutes as we waited for the snake to slither off the path and out of sight. Finally we couldn’t see it anymore and we slowly continued our hike.

We were both a little freaked out at this point. Every stick on the ground became a snake just waiting to move until we got closer.

But we were exactly halfway on the loop of this trail so turning around would have been the same distance as it was to continue, so we walked gingerly for the rest of the hike.

The creek is quite beautiful but after spotting snake #4 on the creek bank, I stopped scrambling down into the creek bed for pictures.

Snake Free

As we continued on, the day became hotter and hotter. In hindsight, we probably only saw so many snakes because it was the coolest part of the day when we started. However, this didn’t stop us from walking cautiously for the rest of the hike.

We had about a mile left when you pass through a wide open field filled with luscious tall yellow grass. It was beautiful and I wish I had stopped to take a picture, but we were both so nervous about being bitten by a snake, we walked through the field as quickly as we dared.

We felt lucky to have reached the other side.

The last stretch of the hike is a mild uphill climb back to the parking lot. And besides the scare of being snake-bitten, we had a great time. The AC in the car felt amazing and we drank our weight in water until we cooled down.

The Hike

Hiking on the sycamore trail proved to be quite an enjoyable hike. There are a few mildly steep parts, but overall, this trail is perfect. It’s well shaded, offers views of the Sycamore Creek, and it will allow you to enjoy your time in nature.

While this hike does not offer any mountainous views or go near the lake, we had a great time and would recommend this hike to anyone. This hike is also dog friendly, so that’s a plus to all my dog lovers!

When we finished the hike we were that satisfying type of tired. The type of tired where initially it feels so good to finally sit down, but after a little bit you feel strong. You know you’ll sleep well, but you also can’t wait to get back out there and hike again.

The Point of Interest

Once we cooled down, we looked back at the map for another hike to do. There was a lot of state park left and we wanted to do as much as we could before we headed back to the hotel.

After a minute, we noticed the map read that there was a Point of Interest on the other side of the park. Brian and I decided to go for it, what was another 2 or-so miles hiked?

We drove out of the park and back in via the Reedy Creek Entrance. The first pull off on the left is the parking lot that we need to go to and from there we walked to the pavilion. The trailhead we needed was right behind it.

The Company Mill Trail

This trail was called the Company Mill Trail and it’s entire loop is just shy of 6 miles. However, the Point of Interest Mill Stone is only about a mile or so in. It is highlighted on the map below. I knew we could handle 2 more miles round trip.

So we parked and started on the trail. The beginning is quite easy, it’s all down hill. The switchbacks are necessary because of how steep the hill is. You drop approximately 250 feet in elevation and hike with ease.

That is, until you realize you have to hike back up those 250 feet when you are ready to leave.

You come to an old iron bridge and this leads you across the Crabtree Creek. The creek is beautiful and serene. It also just so happens to be where we saw snake #5 of the day.

Once again I was taking pictures when Brian saw it curled up on a rock and enjoying the sun.

Brian snapped a picture of it with his phone and upon asking a friend, determined that it was most-likely venomous. So watch your step!

The Mill Stone

After we crossed the river, we began to look for this point of interest. After all, the map wouldn’t have mentioned it if there wasn’t something cool to see.

I’m going to be honest, I was expecting a mill. Like an old building where a mill used to be or the foundation of where there had been a mill at one time.

Unfortunately, all we saw was a mill stone.

The map had greatly exaggerated this “Point of Interest”.

Don’t get me wrong, this mill stone was old and had a lot of history to it. Unfortunately, we were hot and now had to climb back up the steep hill we had come down.

Final Thoughts

The hike back to the car seemed even steeper than when we went down, but we managed. Brian was cursing his desk-job as we climbed back up the hill.

Once in the car, properly watered and with a little food in our bellies, we reflected on how much fun we had just had.

Sure the snakes were a little creepy (all 5 of them!), and the Point of Interest was greatly over exaggerated, but we had a fun time none-the-less.

There were plenty of other trails in the park that we could have tried, but the 95 degree weather had pretty much tapped us out. So we headed back to the hotel and got some dinner.

Brian and I won’t quickly forget our experience in William B. Umstead state park. In fact every time we see a mill stone on one of our adventures, we find ourselves laughing.

And that’s what hiking and visiting these places of beauty is all about. Time to enjoy nature and create wonderful memories that last a life time.

Planning on going camping near William B. Umstead State Park?

Check out my camping checklist freebie! It can also be found here, on my Freebies Page!

Fore more information on hiking in William B. Umstead State Park, check out All-Trails!