Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve

    4.5 (43 reviews)

    Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve Photos

    You might also consider

    More like Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve

    Recommended Reviews - Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Ferns on trail!
    Tobias C.

    I love this nature preserve! It has some great trails!!! Beautiful trees and a creek! Great place to connect with nature!!! God bless!

    Falan E.

    I enjoyed this park as a free gym and a great way to boost my physical activity. I'm in love with all of the natural features of this park and the overall design. A great park to safely enjoy nature. Plenty of up-and-downhill spaces here. The fall foliage was beautiful on the day I visited. There are plenty places to sit, read a book, or have lunch.

    Mike O.

    If you have ever wanted to take a long walk in the woods and see nature up close without getting lost then this is the place to go. Parking is free and they have a nice visitor center that we saw only from the outside. We came on a day that had a little misty rain so there weren't many people. The wooden walkways, stairs and bridges along with the pathways that are just the areas through the trees are excellent ways to feel like you are walking in a forest....which you pretty much are doing. We saw some birds and squirrels and even a few deer. This is definitely worth a visit when you come to the area. It is free and you get to see some really beautiful nature sights.

    Children's nature trail with scavenger hunt!
    Tania M.

    This is one of my favorite parks in Cary. It is always clean and welcoming. The trails, though short, are wonderfully marked and shaded. There are messages throughout the park to learn about nature and how to be environmentally aware and active. There is a great children's nature trail and garden. There is a posted scavenger hunt that the children can do. The hydration station has a water fountain, water bottle refill, and water for dogs. This park is a great escape from busy life and a jump into nature.

    Kara M.

    We came to this cute little spot in the late fall. It was moderately busy on a Sunday afternoon, but parking was easy and plentiful. The nature center was closed on our visit, but they had bathrooms available which is always a plus. We did a couple of the trails, they had some incline, but nothing too crazy. I believe we did about two of them in under one hour. This would be a great place to take kids for their first "hike." I'd recommend a good pair of sneakers for your trip so you don't fall. This is probably not the best place to take someone who has mobility issues as it can be a bit steep plus other natural debris. Is this my favorite spot to wander through the trees? No, but it's nice to see a preserve like this over another new development. I personally prefer the Lake Johnson trail in Raleigh, it's a similar experience to this, but the path is paved.

    Daddy long legs sculpture
    Lauren M.

    Visited on an unseasonably warm Saturday in January. It had rained quite a bit the night before, but the trails are covered in mulch so there were only a few spots with puddles. The wooden boardwalk areas were a little slippery though. We hiked around for about an hour on a few different trails. All of the trails loop back around close to the main entrance so you can't really get lost. There are also quite a few overlook spots along the trails which are nice! I didn't realize that hemlocks aren't common in this area, and that they are mainly in western NC. There are a bunch of fun facts along the trails, and inside the Nature Center. The Nature Center is free to go into and has a few interactive displays. They host a bunch of programs at the Nature Center, and I'd love to bring my son to one in the future!

    Stephanie J.

    It's neat to have this nature preserve in Cary. There are three trails to choose from: chestnut oak loop, swift creek loop and beech tree cove loop. We did the swift creek trail and it was about 0.8 miles. It has overlooks as you travel down the long stairway, they were just okay but I saw a deer so that was cool. I also highly recommend bug spray because the mosquitos are savage.

    Lesley L.

    This a lovely park, well laid out and so beautiful! My first visit was during COVID-19, so I wasn't allowed inside the visitor center, but look forward to going back and exploring!

    Welcome center
    Cindy G.

    Great place for a nice shady hike, children's nature center and book share, children's garden, clean restrooms and a covered shelter area. Several overlooks with seating. Very relaxing area and a good place to walk your dog.

    See all

    2 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 5
    Thanks 1
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    7 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 1

    2 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 13
    Thanks 2
    Love this 13
    Oh no 1
    Photo of Amy L.
    2
    75
    0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 3
    Oh no 1
    Photo of Kara M.
    481
    1203
    14925

    6 years ago

    Helpful 6
    Thanks 1
    Love this 4
    Oh no 1

    5 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 1
    Love this 4
    Oh no 1

    6 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Jean K.
    749
    563
    6053

    4 years ago

    Helpful 5
    Thanks 1
    Love this 4
    Oh no 1

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 7
    Thanks 1
    Love this 6
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Wonderful experience! Plenty of parking, and the trails were very well maintained. Will definitely be back.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Bhavin P.
    338
    67
    174

    11 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of R S.
    0
    17
    4

    4 years ago

    Well kept trails! Beautiful nature preserve right in Cary.Trails are easy to moderate, with boardwalks, stairs and mulched trails.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    13 years ago

    Helpful 8
    Thanks 0
    Love this 6
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Shaun T.
    97
    44
    26

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 5
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Todd Y.
    72
    318
    21

    11 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    13 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Leanna C.
    102
    40
    22

    9 years ago

    Great place to take both kids & dogs! I noticed they also offer summer & track out camps which I think is great!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Rob L.
    0
    20
    14

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    13 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Erin R.
    80
    68
    284

    12 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve

    Review Highlights - Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve

    They have a cute children's garden that I would be interested in getting my son active with when he's a little older.

    Mentioned in 5 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Hiking 953 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    Mountains To Sea Trail - Blazes

    Mountains To Sea Trail

    5.0(2 reviews)
    11.1 mi

    I think it's the coolest thing that NC has a cross-state trail that allows you to experience the…read morevast range of natural landscapes the state has to offer. This trail, as the name claims, goes from mountains to sea (the trail is best known as the MST). It's cool enough that the state has all of this, even better that a trail connects them. You could hike this 1,175 mile trail from the highest point east of the Mississippi (Mt. Mitchell) down to sea-level at Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The trail passes through several state parks, national forests and national parks, not to mention some of the most significant urban centers in the state. There are paddle sections, dirt trails and paved roads - all manner of surfaces. The trail isn't even truly considered complete yet, but you can piece it together as you go. The idea has existed since the 70s and was officially added to the state park system - and the passport program - in 2000. The trail is about half the length of the AT - which it intersects at the beginning, by the way - but fits entirely in the state. It gives you a good idea of just how long it is. I actually only found out about this trail recently despite its age. This is no surprise, as it passes through the north part of the state and I've spent my entire life in the two largest cities it doesn't pass through in the southern part of the state. Somehow this just makes the idea even more novel to me. If you don't know about this trail, read up! Get out there and hike it in one of the 10 state parks it touches. Or, chances are it even goes through your city or town already and, like me, you just didn't know. It will be cool to connect with a piece of Earth that connects the entire length of the state.

    An 18 segment trail from Clingmans dome to Jockey's ridge State Park. Segment 1-5 is in the…read moremountains, segment 6-10 is Piedmont, and segment 11-18 is the costal plains and OuterBanks. There is an alternate route from 11A to 16A that is 170 mile paddle route down the Neuse River. Each segments distance varies. Levels of difficulty vary from strenuous to easy. What a fantastic way to see NC. I have not Thru hiked the trail. I have only done portions of segments. I am planning on doing whole segments to complete the entire 1200 mile distance. As well as the paddle portion. Clingmans dome is the second highest point on the east coast at 6,643 feet and what an amazing view. You will cross over Mt Mitchell which is the highest point on the east coast at 6,684 feet. To Jockey's Ridge Dune the largest and tallest active dune in the eastern United States. There are section that take you down paved roads to reconnect with the trail and a couple ferry rides in the outer banks. Places to camp if you do multi day trip, but plan your stops accordingly and research the trail angels for each segment. Explore what NC has to offer, even small sections with-in a segment. And just maybe we will see you on the trail or river. Happy Hiking :-)

    Photos
    Mountains To Sea Trail
    Mountains To Sea Trail - Trail Map with Segment Indicators

    See all

    Trail Map with Segment Indicators

    Crabtree Creek Greenway - Greenway rules, Sept 2024.

    Crabtree Creek Greenway

    4.5(2 reviews)
    8.5 mi

    Bottom line: Crabtree Creek Greenway is another nice resource provided by the town of Morrisville…read moreto use. Well maintained walkway and bonus that the railroad underpass extension is completed to connect it to Hatcher Creek Greenway, as well as a way to go across a busy road without crossing traffic. I am a fan! The Deets: I have enjoyed walking along Crabtree Creek Greenway recently, with using the greenway/parks resources that the Town of Morrisville provide more so during the pandemic time. It's a nice almost mile and a half greenway path maintained by the town and mainly going beside Cedar Fork District Park with all of its fields and going under the North Carolina Railroad train trestle/bridge so that it links up with Hatcher Creek Greenway in the west. If continuing on in the east, it eventually links up with Cary's greenway that goes on to Lake Crabtree and even Umstead State Park. The path appears to be well maintained by the Town of Morrisville, and well marked with signage as well as provided with benches along the way. There are dog waste stations provided also. Heads up that it is beside part of the park that has the disc golf course, be on the lookout for those flying discs. I like that they completed the railroad underpass section in 2020 with the completion of the new railroad bridge, makes it very nice to use coming in from Hatcher Creek Greenway for an extended walking path. It also links up a way to get to things on the other side of Hwy 54/Chapel Hill Rd without having to actually cross that busy roadway. I enjoy this resource provided by the town and realize it is a great way for the town to give back to the community with a good usable resource.

    Beautiful stroller/bike friendly trail. No street traffic sounds. Quite sounds of nature.read more

    Photos
    Crabtree Creek Greenway - Nov 2025.

    Nov 2025.

    Crabtree Creek Greenway
    Crabtree Creek Greenway - Nov 2025.

    See all

    Nov 2025.

    Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve - hiking - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...