North Umstead Circuit

Hike: Sal's Branch/Pott's Branch Circuit
Location: Umstead State Park
Nearby Town: Raleigh, NC
Elevation (Max): 439'
Elevation Gained: ~270'
Mileage: 3.8
Difficulty: Easy
Trailhead: Enter the park off Glenwood Avenue (US-70) between Ebenezer Church Rd and Lumley Rd. Follow the paved park road to the end for parking. Glenwood Avenue is accessible from I-540.
Web Site: http://www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/wium/main.php

After going 4 months without taking a significant hike, I had some making up to do, so I did 3 hikes in 5 days for 14.3 miles. For this hike, I headed back to my old standby, Umstead, but for the first time, I went to the north portion of the park. This side of the park seems to have more amenities and activities such as a few campgrounds, a visitor center, several picnic shelters, and a lake with boat rentals. I planned to hike to Sal's Branch Trail (2.75 miles) loop, but after taking the short trail from the parking lot down to Big Lake, I decided I would explore Pott's Branch Trail too since it followed Sycamore Creek. So, I turned left onto Pott's Branch which parallels Sycamore Creek for a bit before turning left and rising above a smaller creek. When I went, the trails seemed to be undergoing some upkeep, and so they were rerouted away from their normal locations. Generally, I stayed left at junctions, which eventually returned me to the parking lot. I did not do all of Pott's Branch trail, but rather did the bottom half before taking the trail that cuts across the loop to the parking lot.

I walked across the parking lot again to the short trail down to Big Lake. This time, I turned right and walked along the lake a bit before the trail split to begin the loop. I looked at the map which seemed to indicate that the left branch of the loop followed the lake shore, and since I enjoy saving the highlights for the end of hikes, I went out on the right branch to save the views for the return. The hike out is pretty flat with only small ups and downs mostly in and out of erosion gullies. When I went, the ground was a bit soggy, but that probably would not be as much of a problem in warmer months. I encountered several other groups out enjoying the nice stretch of January weather, including some families, couples with their dogs, and what seemed like an introductory nature photography class.

The only confusing part of the trail I encountered was around the Visitor Center. The trail takes a hard right and then takes another right, but the map does not indicate any switchbacks like this, so I backtracked to make sure I didn't miss a trail. I couldn't find any trails, however, so I returned to the switchback and just decided to head for the Visitor Center since the map clearly shows the trail going curving toward it. This ended up working out as I quickly found the trail and continued onward past the Visitor Center and back into the woods. From the Visitor Center, it is a short jaunt to the end of the out branch where there is a trail junction with a spur to a campground. Keep left to finish the loop.

The return hike is very similar to the out hike, with maybe a few more hills (nothing serious, though). Unlike what the trail map seems to indicate, though, the return hike only provided views of the lake for the very end as I closed the loop--thick vegetation blocks the views for most of the return. After finishing the loop, just turn left on the trail on which you came down to return to your car. Sadly, I did not bring a camera on this hike, and I neglected to take any cell phone pictures so this post is visually lacking. The hike is a nice one, though, for an evening walk, and below is my GPS-generated route.