This park, southeast of Greensboro is one of our new favorites.
The Company Mill Preserve Trail is almost 6 miles out and back. You can park at the main park itself or at the other end on Company Mill Rd, but the parking lot there is small.
Hagan Stone Park has several trails, a campground, a pond with fishing, and a wonderful aquatic center. If trails aren’t your thing, the park has a nice road with sidewalks for walking as well. All Trails has a nice page for the hikes available.
The Chatfield Trail is relatively flat but can get rather muddy after steady rains.
The School House trail is short and we have included it as an off shoot while on the Chatfield trail. This would be a great hike with little ones.
The Piedmont Environmental Center is one of our favorite places for a local hike. There are eleven miles of foot trails and the Bicentennial Greenway pass through 376 acres of beautiful hardwood and pine forests and lakeside habitats with many hiking option that can be mixed and matched for just about every level of hiking skill.
Dogs are welcome on the trails but must be kept on a leash. Many critters call the PEC home so you’ll really want to give them their space. We’ve seen deer, beaver, black snakes, ground hogs, and just about every local bird you can think of. I have not seen any copper heads personally, but I am quite sure they are around so it’s a good idea to keep the pup on a close leash. The city doesn’t allow pets in High Point City Lake since it the city’s water supply.
We usually take the Lakeshore Trail with Raccoon Run add on and it takes maybe an hour to make the loop. I’d say it’s moderate on the intensity list but there are a couple of ways to shorten your trek if you’re getting tired.
The trails are:
Bill Favor Lakeshore Trail (white marker) – 1.8 miles
Fiddlehead Trail (yellow marker) – .2 miles
Pine Thicket Trail (red marker) – .2 miles
Dogwood Trail (orange marker) – .4 miles
Chickadee Trail (green marker) – .3 miles
Raccoon Run Trail (blue marker) – .6 miles
Wildflower Trail (purple marker) – .4 miles
Along with hiking the PEC has several other offerings to keep folks busy:
6.6 miles of natural trails and access to the Bicentennial Greenway
Classroom
Educational classes for all ages, school groups and individual programs
North Carolina Mapscape – 70 by 30 foot walk-on topographic relief map
Small animal exhibit.
The PEC building and restroom access hours are – Sunday-Saturday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm and the Trail Hours are sunrise to sunset.
Adventures With Sophie 