Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Map showing the location of Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve
Map showing the location of Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve
Location of Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve in North Carolina
Map showing the location of Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve
Map showing the location of Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve
Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve (the United States)
LocationWake County, North Carolina, United States
Coordinates35°43′31″N 78°47′11″W / 35.72528°N 78.78639°W / 35.72528; -78.78639[1]
Area140 acres (57 ha)
Elevation413 ft (126 m)[1]
Established1976[2]
Named forEastern Hemlock
OperatorCary Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources
WebsiteFriends of Hemlock Bluffs

Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve is a joint project between the North Carolina state park system and Cary, Wake County, North Carolina in the United States. Located in Cary, it covers approximately 140-acre (0.57 km2) in the Research Triangle region of the state. The state owns 97-acre (0.39 km2) of the preserve, known as Hemlock Bluffs State Natural Area.[3] The Town of Cary owns approximately 42-acre (0.17 km2) of the preserve, and the town leases the state's land for management. The preserve protects a population of Eastern Hemlock trees and other vegetation more typically found further west, in the Appalachian Mountains. The tall, north-facing bluffs of Swift Creek provide conditions similar enough to the mountains to have allowed the plant communities to have survived there since the last ice age.[4][5]

The Stevens Nature Center is a nature center located on Cary's portion of the preserve, which provides the preserve's core visitor facilities. It provides information about the natural history of the area and the plants and animals that live in the Nature Preserve.[6]

Hiking Trails

The preserve has approximately 3 miles of mulched hiking trails featuring boardwalks, benches, stairs, and overlooks.[7]

Hiking Trails
Name Distance(Roundtrip) Description
Swift Creek Loop Trail 0.8 Miles This trail features about 100 stairs, and travels through floodplain to two overlooks.
Chestnut Oak Loop Trail 1.2 Miles This trail winds through steep bluffs, featuring benches and one overlook.
Beech Tree Cove Trail 0.9 Miles A spur trail from Chestnut Oak Loop Trail, featuring two overlooks and 41 stairs.
West Hemlock Overlook 0.7 Miles A spur trail from Chestnut Oak Loop trail to an overlook of the West Bluffs, featuring 19 stairs.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 "Hemlock Bluffs State Natural Area". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ↑ "Directory of State Parks and Recreation Areas" (PDF). North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings. May 1, 2010. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 22, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Size of the North Carolina State Parks System". North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation. January 1, 2015. Archived from the original (XLS) on October 4, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  4. ↑ Biggs, Walter C. Jr.; Parnell, James F. (1993) [1989]. "State Natural Areas/Nature Preserve". State Parks of North Carolina (2nd ed.). Winston-Salem, North Carolina: John F. Blair. p. 285. ISBN 0-89587-071-1.
  5. ↑ Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve Trail Guide (brochure), Cary, North Carolina: Cary Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources
  6. ↑ "Nature Center". Cary, North Carolina: Cary Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources. Archived from the original on May 5, 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Stevens Nature Center At Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve". Cary, North Carolina: Town of Cary. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Trails At Hemlock Bluffs | Town of Cary". www.townofcary.org. Retrieved April 15, 2021.


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