Hike Location: Singletary Lake State Park
Geographic Location: northeast of Elizabethtown, NC (34.58494, -78.44921)
Length: 1.2 miles
Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: March 2020
Overview: A figure-eight route near the east shore of Singletary
Lake.
Park Information: https://www.ncparks.gov/state-parks/singletary-lake-state-park
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=787427
Photo Highlight:
Hike Video:
Directions to the trailhead: From Elizabethtown, take
US 701 north 5.3 miles to SR 53 and turn right on SR 53. Drive SR 53 east 6.7 miles to the signed
state park entrance on the left. Turn
left to enter the park and park in front of the Education Building, where this
hike begins.
The hike: Known best for its pair of youth camps,
Camp Ipecac and Camp Loblolly Bay, Singletary Lake State Park protects 649
acres on the east shore of its namesake lake.
Like nearby Lake Waccamaw, Singletary Lake is one of the region’s famous naturally-occurring
Carolina bays. The 572-acre lake is only
12 feet deep at its deepest point, but that depth makes it one of the deepest
Carolina bays. The lake is named after
Richard Singletary, who received a grant of land in this area in 1729.
Singletary
Lake has a long history as parkland. In
the 1800’s, the North Carolina General Assembly declared that any lake of 500
acres or more in Bladen, Columbus, or Cumberland counties, which includes
Singletary Lake, would remain the property of the State. By the Great Depression era, the land
surrounding the lake had become unproductive as farm land, and in 1936 the
National Park Service bought some of that land for a recreational demonstration
site. The park opened in 1939 under a
lease agreement, and the land’s title transferred to the State of North
Carolina in 1954.
Other than
the youth camps, the park offers few amenities.
An Education Building contains some exhibits about the area’s unique
natural features, and a large 500-foot pier allows visitors to get out on the
lake without getting wet feet. For
hikers, the park offers only one short trail, but it is an interesting trail
that explores the pier, the lakeshore, and the surrounding forest, thus giving
you a sample of all this area has to offer.
 |
| Trailhead behind Education Building |
Start by
walking the asphalt trail to the left (south) of the Education Building. The information kiosk that serves as the
trailhead for the CCC Loop Trail is located behind the Education Building. The CCC Loop Trail actually follows a
figure-eight route, and the two arms of the south lobe both depart from
here. To save the lake for last, I
decided to start on the dirt trail to the right and return on the asphalt trail
that continues straight.
 |
| Hiking on sandy dirt trail |
Marked by
orange aluminum circles, the wide white sandy dirt trail heads north through a
thin grove of loblolly pines. The park
road and camps seen through the trees to the right give this trail a
frontcountry feel despite the park’s rural location. At 0.3 miles, you reach a four-way
intersection that is the pinch of the figure-eight. If you wanted a very short hike, you could
turn left here and go directly to the lake.
This description continues straight to begin heading clockwise around
the northern lobe.
 |
| Outflow of Singletary Lake |
The trail
uses a wooden bridge built over a small man-made dam to cross the creek that is
the main outflow of Singletary Lake. Next
a dirt road exits at a soft angle left as the trail makes a sweeping right turn
to head back toward the creek. Large
amounts of American holly grow in the understory here, and it gives the forest
a green look even in the middle of winter.
A few muddy
areas need to be negotiated before you re-cross the creek’s dark foreboding
water on another footbridge. At 0.65 miles,
you return to the pinch of the figure-eight to complete the north lobe. Continue straight and keep the creek
immediately to your right to head counterclockwise on the south lobe.
 |
| Hiking along outflow of Singletary Lake |
Water,
first the creek and then Singletary Lake, remains in sight to the right for the
rest of the hike. Some interpretive
signs posit various theories about the lake’s origin, which is still a mystery
to geologists. Just shy of 1 mile, you
reach the wooden pier that extends 500 feet out into the lake. The pier offers fantastic views of the large
shallow open waters, and no other development can be seen on the lake’s
shore. After taking in the lake view,
walk down the asphalt trail, which leads back to the Education Building and
completes the hike.
 |
| Pier at Singletary Lake |
|
| Singletary Lake |
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