Great Trails in Washington County
Hit the trails with us. With miles and miles of trails, we've got you covered for the best day hiking, biking, kayaking or just immersing into nature in Bearolina.
All of our hikes can be found by toggling the map to “trails”. Be sure to download the maps for adventure off the grid when you get here.
Featured Hikes
At Pettigrew State Park walk under a canopy of Spanish moss and bald cypress trees, turning cinnamon and fiery red in the cooler autumn temperature. There are nine miles of hiking and biking, as well as the nearby Somerset Place, a State Historic Site that preserves a vast plantation worked by hundreds of enslaved Black Americans.
A walk along Water Street in downtown Plymouth takes you by four museums within a mile radius. Starting at the Roanoke River Light Station, passing by Bear O’ology, God’s Creation Wildlife Museum, and ending at Port O’Plymouth Museum. You’ll pass shops and restaurants, too.
For the more adventurous, continue past the historic church and graveyard, at the corner of Water and Madison streets. The church is one of the few remaining buildings from the battle of Plymouth. Continue on the river trail and meet up with the Railswitch Nature Trail for history infused in nature.
Round trip there and back is under 2 miles, on flat, mostly even terrain and pavement. Pick up a brochure about the Railswitch Nature Trail at the Bearolina Welcome Center on Water Street. It’s an official NC birding trail.
Roanoke River in early-October inspires us to slow down and take in the beauty of the changing season. Photo: Tom Harrison
Kayak the delta to the Cypress of the Shallows for a living art museum without walls. It shines in fall as deciduous cypress trees turn rust and red before dropping thier needle-like leaves. If flora isn’t your thing, test out your fishing-rod to see if the fish really do bite better in the fall. It’s a great time to target Striped Bass, Crappie, and White Perch.
Take a dip in Phelps Lake at Pettigrew State Park. Its shallow waters are protected from drastic changes in water temperature, thus Phelps Lake is likely still warm and enjoyable for a late fall dip after a long hike. Enjoy seeing swans and other species of waterfowl that can often be seen resting in Lake Phelps and munching on the grain fields. You can try your luck casting a line here as well. This 16,600-acre lake is an amazing fishing spot, known for its bass, crappie, and sunfish, or as we call it regionally, bream.
Cypress of the Shallows is a living art museum without walls.
