Haw River State Park is split into two sections – we visited the quiet beauty of the Summit Access in Browns Summit, North Carolina. On the northern edge of the park, this area acts as the gateway to the headwaters of the Haw River. We started on the elevated Wetlands Boardwalk and then took a stroll around the Lake Loop Trail. Moving from the sunny pond shoreline to the shaded swamp canopy, Summit Access offers an intimate look at the region’s wetlands.
Wetlands Boardwalk Trail
This easy, 0.4-mile trail transitions from the shaded forest onto an elevated boardwalk. Following orange circle blazes, there was a slight incline on the return hike. It shares part of its path from the park office with the Piedmont Loop Trail.
Here we found blue corporal dragonflies and butterflies such as Carolina satyrs, eastern tiger swallowtails, silver-spotted skippers, and spicebush swallowtails.
Along the boardwalk, the swamp is a slow-moving floodplain filled with buttonbush, duckweed, and green-arrow arum. The trail ends at a wooden observation deck with benches to enjoy the solitude.
Spring greenery and wildflowers carpeted the forest floor including fiddleheads, rue anemone, Virginia spring beauty, wild comfrey, and wild strawberry.
Lake Loop Trail
Next, we took a spur trail to the 0.7-mile Loop Trail around Robins Nest Lake. It is a mostly flat gravel path with a small boardwalk over a creek.
Our first sighting here was eastern tiger swallowtails (yellow and dark morphs) fluttering among vibrant pink azaleas.
As we followed the red square blazes, we found dozens of turtles basking in the afternoon sun.
More wildflowers added pops of color with Philadelphia fleabane and northern green-and-gold.
We kept glancing into the trees, drawn by calls from Carolina chickadees, wrens, chipping and white-throated sparrows, eastern bluebirds, cardinals, and tufted titmice.
Around the far side of the lake, gnawed stumps and gathered limbs had us on the lookout for beavers. We never found one but I’m sure we had eyes on us from a hidden spot.
As we rounded out the loop, we stepped onto the fishing dock to look around and read the information panels detailing the local flora and fauna.
By pairing Lake Loop’s open waters with the hidden world along the Wetlands Boardwalk, we had a front-row seat to the quiet rhythm of the Piedmont region. Haw River State Park proves that you don’t have to travel to the mountains or the coast to find incredible North Carolina scenery.