Morrow Mountain

Hike:  Morrow Mountain
Nearby Town: Albemarle, NC
Elevation (Max): 906'
 Elevation Gained: ~1000'
Mileage: 5.46
Difficulty: Moderate
Trailhead: From the Triangle, take US-64 W until Asheboro.  Then head south on I-73 S/I-74 E until reaching NC 24/27, on which you want to head west.  Just a little while after crossing the Pee Dee River, turn right on Valley Dr.  Then turn right on Morrow Mountain Rd.  Park in the horse trailer parking on the right after the Ranger Residence (and before the intersection).
Web Site: http://ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/momo/main.php

On a warm, late-winter day, E and I decided to explore a new area for hiking.  We set our sights west on the Uwharrie National Forest/Morrow Mountain State Park area in central North Carolina.  I had read about this hike in Hiking North Carolina, and it sounded intriguing with steep hills set in the gentle rolling Piedmont with a river cutting through them.

Unfortunately, there were a few things that diminished our enjoyment of this hike.  The first was the drive.  The second half of our drive to the park was a very frustrating slog trailing behind other cars on a two lane road.  This wouldn't have been bad if there was some nice countryside to enjoy, but since it was late winter everything was still brown, and much of the land along the road was clear cut.  On the drive back, we took the longer way as the crow flies, but it turned out to be much quicker to return to the Triangle via I-73N to Route 64E (this is the route described in the trailhead directions).

The second let down was the hike itself.  The topography of the area is really interesting--there are almost conical hills scattered around the park next to the river.  Unfortunately, we never got a clear vista of the park during this hike, which was a big let down.  To make matters worse, on a smaller scale, there just weren't many interesting things to look at.  No neat rock formations, cool trees, caves, or streams to speak of.  It was all rather dull.

 

Onto the directions.  We designed our hike to be a loop that would take us to the two tallest hills in the park, Sugarloaf Mountain and Morrow Mountain.  We headed east out of the parking lot on a hiking trail (there is also a bridle trail that accesses the parking lot, which we used on the return).  This hiking trail splits almost immediately, stay left to be able to make the loop.  Cross the street and continue up the ridge of Sugarloaf Mountain.  You can catch some views of the water and nearby Tater Top Mountain from here (at least we could at that time of year, the view might disappear when the trees are in leaf).  Follow the trail around the east side of Sugarloaf, which includes some pretty steep descents at times.  The trail will flatten out and reach a T with another trail.  Turn right to stay on the Sugarloaf Mountain Trail.  Just follow this trail until you turn left onto Morrow Mountain Trail.  If you look at the GPS map for this hike, you'll notice that we took a little detour before reaching Morrow Mountain Trail.  I just wanted to scout out the campsites down a side trail, so this is a section of the hike that can be cut out.

 

Rounding Sugarloaf Mountain

Below Sugarloaf Mountain on the way to Morrow Mountain Trail

The Morrow Mountain Trail begins ascending again.  First, gradually, then very steeply up a slope of loose stones.  This section was very strenuous, but it was brief.  After that ascent, the trail just parallels the auto road that goes to the summit until the trail accesses the parking lot at the top of the hill.  From here, you can see Charlotte in the distance to the southwest.  There is also a nice little exhibit on the summit about the Indian artifacts that have been found in this area.  By this time, the sun was starting to get low, so we didn't loiter for long before beginning our descent.

  

 Near the summit

Looking northeast from the summit

We went down the Morrow Mountain Trail the way we came until it intersected a bridle trail.  We turned left on the bridle trail as a short cut.  You could keep going and just turn left on the Sugarloaf Mountain Trail to return to your car as well.  Follow the bridle trail across the road that leads to the summit.  Soon you will notice another bridle trail that goes to the right, and you want to take this trail to get back to your car.

Unfortunately, we didn't see Morrow Mountain in its best light, it was late winter so everything was brown, there was simply no variety in the scenery for almost the whole hike--just brown leaves underfoot and naked trees above.  I imagine that this hike would be more enjoyable during the summer or fall, but even then, if you're going to pick a hike that's 2 hours away from the Triangle, Hanging Rock State Park is probably a better choice.   Below is a GPS-generated map of our hike.