Lake James State Park: Paddy's Creek and Holly Discovery Trails (Blog Hike #739)

Trails: Paddy’s Creek and Holly Discovery Trails

Hike Location: Lake James State Park

Geographic Location: northeast of Marion, NC (35.75140, -81.87834)

Length: 3.6 miles

Difficulty: 3/10 (Easy/Moderate)

Date Hiked: April 2019

Overview: A lollipop loop along the banks of Lake James and Paddy’s Creek.

Park Information: https://www.ncparks.gov/state-parks/lake-james-state-park

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=742993
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: From downtown Marion, take US 70 east 5 miles to SR 126.  Turn left on SR 126.  (Note: this intersection can be reached from I-40 between Asheville and Winston-Salem by taking exit 85, exit 90, or exit 94.)  Drive SR 126 north 5.4 miles to the signed park entrance on the right, passing the entrance to a different part of the park on the left en route.  Turn right to enter the park, and drive the main park road 2 miles to its end at the park office.  Park in the large parking lot in front of the park office.

The hike: Located near the mouth of North Carolina’s famous Linville Gorge, Lake James State Park protects more than 6800 acres around its namesake lake.  The lake was formed in the early 1920’s when Duke Energy built hydroelectric dams on the Catawba River and two of its tributaries.  The lake is named after James B. Duke, who is the founder of Duke Energy.  The park was established only in 1987, and the area that contains this hike opened for public use only in 2010.

Although you can peer into the rugged gorge from an overlook you drive past on your way to this trailhead, the terrain contained in the park itself is mostly flat or rolling.  The park is organized into three sections: the Long Arm Peninsula Area, the Catawba River Area, and the Paddy’s Creek Area featured here.  The Long Arm Peninsula Area features only some boat-in campgrounds for amenities, but the other two areas feature developed campgrounds, picnic areas, and an excellent selection of hiking and/or mountain biking trails.  This hike takes you along the north bank of Paddy’s Creek and Lake James, thus offering a nice combination of lakeside and forest hiking on fairly flat and easy trails.

East trailhead of Paddy's Creek Trail

The hike starts at the park office building, which also contains a concession stand and changing facilities for the adjacent swimming area.  Follow the asphalt path to the right (west) that provides handicapped access to a picnic area, and look for the beginning of the Paddy’s Creek Trail on the right.  The wide dirt Paddy’s Creek Trail heads into the woods at a sign that simply says “trail.”

Marked by orange plastic triangles, the Paddy’s Creek Trail follows the north side of Lake James’ Paddy’s Creek inlet with the lake visible to the left.  The forest in this area is a nice mix of maple, sweet gum, and loblolly pines, but some nice shady hemlocks will be passed later on.  Some wide well-constructed wooden bridges carry you over two of Paddy’s Creek’s tributaries, and overall the hiking is easy and pleasant.

Old stone wall

At 0.3 and 0.7 miles respectively, the Mills Creek and Homestead Trails exit right at signed intersections.  Stay close to the lake by remaining on the Paddy’s Creek Trail.  Broad lake views appear at a couple of points, and some piles of rocks probably indicate farm field boundaries that predate the park and maybe even the lake.

Lake James

Soon the western end of Paddy’s Creek inlet comes into view, and the trail climbs gradually to an elevation about 40 feet above the lake.  A blazed but unsigned spur trail exits left to descend to a wetland at the inlet’s western end, but it exits at such a sharp angle that you will have a better chance of finding the spur trail on your return route.  Continuing west, the trail exits the woods and enters a narrow grassy area as you approach the main park road.  I passed a couple of deer in this area on my visit.

At 1.15 miles, you reach the west end of the Paddy’s Creek Trail at a parking lot on the main park road.  You could turn around here, but the short and easy 0.75 mile Holly Discovery Trail also starts at this parking lot, so you may as well extend your hike by adding on the Holly Discovery Trail.  The Holly Discovery Trail features some excellent hands-on exhibits designed to educate younger kids about the forest.  In fact, if I was hiking with kids younger than 10, I would skip the Paddy’s Creek Trail by parking at this parking lot and just hike the Holly Discovery Trail.

Start of Holly Discovery Trail

Marked with red plastic triangles, the Holly Discovery Trail starts by passing through a wooden portal before quickly splitting to form its loop.  For no reason, I turned right and used the left trail as my return route, thus hiking the loop counterclockwise.  True to its name, the forest along this trail features a lot of American holly.  Some wet areas need to be negotiated, but the gravel trail surface keeps your feet mostly dry.

1.8 miles into the hike, a signed spur trail exits right to Paddy’s Creek.  This short spur is worth taking, as it leads to a nice spot along the clear-water creek, which is a rapidly flowing mountain laurel-choked waterway at this point.  The contrast between this view and the Lake James view you passed only 1 mile earlier is striking.

Paddy's Creek

Back on the main loop, you pass a couple more interpretive stations before closing the loop.  Retrace your steps across the park road and back down the Paddy’s Creek Trail to return to the park office and complete the hike.  Be sure to take the short spur down to the wetland area on one of your trips along the Paddy’s Creek Trail, and stop at the Linville Gorge overlook on your way out if you did not do so on your way in.

Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge: Dr. Ray Watson Memorial Trail (Blog Hike #738)

Trail: Dr. Ray Watson Memorial Trail

Hike Location: Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge

Geographic Location: northeast of Louisville, MS (33.27081, -88.78351)

Length: 1 mile

Difficulty: 0/10 (Easy)

Date Hiked: March 2019

Overview: A short double loop through bottomland forest.

Refuge Information: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/sam-d-hamilton-noxubee

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=742263
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: From the intersection of SR 15 and SR 25 in Louisville, take SR 25 north 8.1 miles to Bluff Lake Road and turn right on Bluff Lake Rd.  Drive Bluff Lake Rd. east 13.7 miles to the refuge Visitor Center on the left.  Park in the parking lot in front of the Visitor Center.

The hike: Spanning parts of Winston, Oktibbeha, and Noxubee Counties in east-central Mississippi, Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge consists of more than 48,000 acres of lakes, bottomland forest, and upland pine forest.  The refuge was established in 1940 out of land bought up by the depression-era Resettlement Administration.   Therefore, all of the refuge’s land was extensively farmed before the refuge existed.  The refuge’s unusual name comes from a Choctaw word that translates “to stink.”

            Like most national wildlife refuges, Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge offers great wildlife viewing but only limited hiking opportunities.  On point, the refuge offers two boardwalks and five trails, but most of the trails are less than 1 mile long.  When I came here on a warm and muggy Thursday morning in mid-March, a strong line of thunderstorms closing in from the west forced me to keep my hike short and close to the Visitor Center.  Thus, I chose to hike the Dr. Ray Watson Memorial Trail, which is named for a former professor of botany at nearby Mississippi State University who spent a lot of time in the refuge’s forests.  Despite the trail’s short length, I recommend waterproof boots for this hike due to a large number of wet areas, and I would not hike this trail in the summer due to heat and bugs.

Information kiosk at trailhead

            From the front of the Visitor Center, walk south across the parking lot to reach the small information kiosk that marks the start of the Dr. Ray Watson Memorial Trail.  The trail is laid out in a figure-eight configuration with the trailhead at the very top of the north loop.  To get to the lake overlook quickly, this hike turns right to follow a red brick path through a planted native garden area.

            Soon the brick path curves left to cross the main refuge road and enter the Webster Memorial Oak Grove.  The oak grove is a pleasant grassy area with sparsely planted oak trees.  At 0.15 miles, you reach the observation platform overlooking Loakfoma Lake.  The lake consists mostly of open water, which should make for good waterfowl viewing.  Unfortunately, there seemed to be nothing moving when I was here, and the incoming storm did not allow me to be patient.  Maybe your waterfowl viewing luck will be better.

Lake Loakfoma overlook

            Past the overlook, the trail heads into the bottomland forest that will surround it for the rest of the hike.  Just past 0.2 miles, you reach a trail intersection at the south end of the north loop.  Turn right to head down the connector trail toward the south loop.  34 blue numbered markers correspond to an excellent trail guide available at the Visitor Center.  The trail guide identifies common trees and shrubs, so this trail makes a great introduction to Mississippi’s bottomland forest.

            Just past interpretive marker #9, the trail splits to form its south loop.  To follow the markers in increasing order, this description turns right and uses the left option as its return route, thus hiking the south loop counterclockwise.  Some wet areas will need to be negotiated as you continue through the bottomland forest, which features large numbers of loblolly pine, shortleaf pine, sweetgum, oak, and maple.

A drier section of trail

            At 0.55 miles, a closed trail continues straight and leads to an old farm site.  As directed by orange metal markers, turn left to continue the loop.  The trail alternates between dry and wet areas as it curves left to begin heading first north and then west.  Wooden boardwalks get you over the worst of the wet areas.

A wetter section of trail

0.85 miles into the hike, you close the south loop.  Turn right twice for the shortest route back to the Visitor Center, or take a short detour back to the lake overlook if you want another chance at waterfowl viewing.  On your way out, the short Cypress Cove Boardwalk located just west of the Visitor Center offers a nice walk through inundated bald cypress forest on the west end of Bluff Lake.  I had better luck with wildlife viewing on the Cypress Cove Boardwalk, and I saw several coots, mallards, and Canada geese among more common woodland birds while walking the boardwalk.