Trails

Cool Springs offers miles of trails suited to every grade and skill level. During all hikes, students will learn about:

• The history of the tract and its varied uses by mankind
• Various species of plants and animals
• Why plants and animals live where they do and their interactions with each other
• How foresters work to protect the environment
• The importance and function of wetlands through an activity called "wetland metaphors"

Available hikes at Cool Springs include:

Creekside

A short 0.5-mile hike explores a mixed pine and hardwood forest along Swift Creek. This trail is best suited for very young children (K–1) or groups with limited time (under one hour).

Plantation Ridge

This 1.2-mile trail winds along Swift Creek, along the edge of a field, through a pine plantation, past a grave site, over a swamp on an elevated boardwalk, and on to a beaver lodge. This trail takes approximately two hours to complete and is appropriate for second-grade students and above.

Beaver Gulley

This two-mile trail begins around the edge of the pine plantation, continues by the swamp on a road, winds by a beaver lodge, through a mature pine and hardwood forest along the banks of the Neuse River and then back through the swamp forest and several islands to a dry ridge with a pine, oak and hickory forest. This trail also incorporates a visit to the "bear tree”, an Atlantic white cedar that has been marked by an American black bear. This hike takes approximately two and one half hours and is appropriate for third-grade students and above.

Bear Stomp

This three-mile trail combines aspects of the Creekside, Plantation Ridge and Beaver Gulley hikes. The hike takes between two and one half to three hours to complete and is appropriate for fourth-grade students and above.