Mason Farm Biological Reserve — Attraction in Chapel Hill

What a wonderful place! I obtained the required permit online before my visit from the reserve's website. There are two parking areas, a southern one by Parker Preserve and a northern access point behind the golf course. The northern access point requires a creek fording on a low bridge. The website also has a link to the water gauge levels, if less than 5 ft, it is safe to cross. I chose to enter via Parker Preserve as I was unsure of the water levels.

The full loop through both areas came out to a little over 5 miles. The Parker Preserve trails were wooded, except for a pass through a beautiful meadow. The Mason Farm trails are mostly open through fields.

The back area around the Mason Farm loop by Siler's Bog used to have a boardwalk before it was washed out in fall 2018. This area was extremely difficult to traverse even after the lack of rain that week. I had to wade through mud and water, luckily, with waterproof hiking boots. It looks like there's a lot of damage being done there and I hope that some kind of interim boardwalk can be added again, with logs or such. I did spot my first night...

Would have given 5 stars if it wasn’t such a massive hassle to get there. You have to get a permit to even park there or leave it up to chance. The entrance is through the golf course and is currently blocked off. To get to the parking area you have to drive over running water on a cement slab so hope you don’t get stuck if it rains. Not bad trails that can be accessed from the road not sure exactly where but is possible. Would choose another place to go before this due...

A fantastic place to walk, run, or bird watch. Go behind the golf course and drive across Morgan Creek: at good times, it is about an inch of water flowing over concrete, and completely fine even in a low, small vehicle. However, do be careful: sometimes the water is high (1 foot), which would be enough to...