Part 4 of 41 NC State Parks
Whenever someone asks what park is our favorite so far, Goose Creek is the answer.
We took this trip a couple years ago, and I think it’s because it’s so dear to my heart that it’s taken me forever to actually put it on the blog. In true Kevin and Lindsey fashion, we did zero research about this place other than learning it’s 2 and a half hours from Cary. We just knew we wanted to go camping.
One of the first things that struck me about the area was all the Spanish moss hanging from the pine trees. I’d never seen pines with Spanish moss before.
After we unpacked our stuff, we walked down to the little dock by our camp. I was looking around taking pictures, and learned that according to Kevin, the water tasted like 20% ocean. I decided I’d just take his word for it. This flavor makes sense because the salty water from the Pamlico Sound flows into the Pamlico River, making this brackish water home to a mix of fish you’d normally find in freshwater AND fish you’d find in the ocean.
These photos show what it looks like right next to the camping area. You can see the water and sunlight glinting through the trees on either side of you.
There are several shorter trails, but the longest hike is an 8 mile loop that will take you through several distinct biomes, or ecological zones. There are forest areas with lots of pine trees and ground cover, and out of nowhere you’re in the middle of a marshy swamp! Then later it’s like you’re at the beach all of a sudden, but there are oak trees everywhere! I’ve literally never seen anything like this place.
During this trip, Kevin caught a fish from every species he had hoped for. I even accidentally hooked up on a stingray! It’s funny, I was tired and ready to just chill in the kayak while Kevin fished. I hooked and tossed a minnow in just to ignore it, my plan was to float and watch the sunset. Then I had to deal with something crazy on my line! Fighting and reeling him in was challenging enough, but then to unhook and set him free? All I could think about was Steve Irwin, it was so stressful. Kevin talked me through it though, and it was fine.
I do want to emphasize that we went on this trip in September. We had such perfect memories of Goose Creek that we wanted to introduce a friend to this place, but we made the mistake of taking our next trip in the middle of the summer. It was 90 degrees, bugs all in the air, and the water was too warm to be refreshing, and also full of jellyfish. The three of us still had fun, but we highly recommend a fall (or maybe spring) camping trip. North Carolina summers be crazy like that.
Anyway, here are some more pictures from our trip!
