Cliffs of the Neuse State Park — Attraction in Mount Olive

About fifteen miles southeast of Goldsboro and roughly an hour west northwest of New Bern is the Cliffs Of Neuse State Park. Cliffs Of Neuse is east of the fall-line of where the hilly piedmont meets the coast plane, however you would hardly guess that when your up 90 feet in the air on a cliff and overlooking the Neuse River. The 1,020 acre-preservation of unique trees and plants, flood plain, and uplands is recognized for it's picturesque landscapes, fishing, camping, swimming, and other recreational activities. This is a park where both nature from all over the state mix and meet with outdoorsy guests looking for a more eclectic area to explore.

350 Yard Trail This is the trail you head to if you want to get the best overlook in the park. The best thing about it is that it is accessible to all. There is a parking lot nearby, a paved ramp for wheels, and while the trail is gravel, it is short and well packed so just about anyone can enjoy the beauty of the area. During my time here, it was just Mira, me, and a lone biker who stood overlooking the muddy Neuse River. It has been raining that week up stream and while the water did not reflect the sky, it was a good example of nature taking its course on its way down to the ocean.

Galax Trail One sees the Galax Trail that leads right up a hill and into the trees and it's like getting lost in the wilderness in two seconds. Except for this wilderness is pretty well marked, quiet, and not very treacherous to advance into. The trail is named after the Galax urceolata plant found on the ground.

Bird Trail This is a short trail that is less than a mile, but offers a pretty good work out. Hikers start from low-lying Mill Creek and work their way up one of the cliffs. I enjoyed this short little excursion of a trail, however, it would be unfair not to note the amount of mosquitos I picked up along the way even with my bugs spray on. I mentioned by work out because I was jogging this trail. Mosquitos cannot keep up with a good steady jog.

Paddle Trail While I was not able to go on this "trail" (I didn't have Mira's lifejacket with me and have no experience with her staying inside a small water craft) this is a unique feature this park has to offer guests. If you are a person who loves being on the water, you can rent a canoe and paddle your way up the river for roughly eight miles. There is a rental spot and a drop off spot and from the way it's described it sounds very feasible and easy to figure out. You just need to have the arm strength to get yourself up river!

Cliffs Of Neuse offers camping options to all kinds of campers. From tent campers like me, to those with recreational vehicles who need electricity, and even those who have neither and would prefer to rent a little cabin. This park offers 35 campsites of various amenities. All of them share a centrally located bathhouse. The bathhouse was very clean and the shower areas were big enough. There are primitive camping options for group campers of up to 30 people in another spot of the park as well. When I was there it was myself, two RVs, and some folks in the cabin next door. Very quiet. The mosquitos had a vendetta against me so I was sure to put up my net as quickly as...

Planned a day at this park w/ my Grandson, my Sister, BIL & Nephews. We were to have a day of Fishing, Picnicking and Swimming. So excited and we go there super early so we could get some fishing in before enjoying some swimming. HUGE MISTAKE! There is ONE Fishing spot at this park and if you don't mind being eaten alive by Carpenter Ants then have at it. This Park is INFESTED w/ Carpenter Ants. Before you Nature Enthusiasts jump down my throat about how we are out in the middle of the woods - I do understand that. However, I have never been to another park in NC (and this is just me personally) where the ground literally "moves" because there are so many ants. So, obviously we gave up on the fishing, drove into what is called "downtown" and fished from a boat ramp and the boys enjoyed that. We did go back to the park to check out the lake and again, unless you are in the water, you are going to have the ant problem. While it was not as bad as it was at the one and only fishing spot in the park, in the grass it was still pretty bad. I even put my chair in the sand and they were still running up my legs or showing up on my arm. The Lake is gorgeous, the boat rental is cheap, but don't try to rent between 1 and 4 because there is some type of "staff break" that seems to be an extended lunch break and the day I was there, they were supposed to be back by 3 and didn't show up until after 330. Staff appear to be teenagers out of school for the summer. Did we enjoy this park? Only for the swimming. My opinion based on my experience only. My suggestion would be, drive an hour and go to Jordan Lake or Falls Lake and you will not have a Carpenter Ant issue. At Jordan Lake Parker's Creek for example, every picnic table has a grill and they are all right in front of the beach/swimming area with fishing off to each side and a playground for the kids in the middle. Worth the extra gas for sure! And that is...

I went camping with a great friend and his son this past weekend. We chose the Cliffs of the Neuse on the advice of a mutual friend of ours. I was a perfect choice. We arrived at the park office and the employee that helped us was very helpful and friend. Once we arrived at the campsite the first thing that we noticed was how clean Every campsite was. There is a heated restroom with showers in the center of each campsite. You are within just a few hundred feet of the river overlook and several hiking paths that vary from very easy to moderately difficult. The firepits are in excellent condition as you can see in my picture. The only thing that I would suggest to bring so that you don't spend too much money buying and too much time searching in the wilderness for is firewood. Each bundle(which is small just like what you would get at Walmart) is $4 and the there is limited supply of large pieces of dry seasoned firewood in the wilderness. Depending on how cold it is(like this past weekend getting down to a steady 25 degrees) when you go, you could easily go through $40 worth of those bundles. It would be best to search Craigslist on find a farmer selling firewood by the truckload. You can get twice the amount of wood for the same price. Overall we had a wonderful weekend despite how cold it was. We even noticed that it is pet friendly for those who like to bring their dogs out with them. Just follow the rules about keeping them on a leash. FYI - It is only about an hour from Jacksonville NC for those Marines that think that there is nothing to do. lol Have fun and be sage...