Clemmons Educational State Forest — Attraction in Clayton

"Ranger on a power trip"...experienced by more than one person it seems.

I've been taking my family here for 10 + years. Had my daughter out there since she was a wee one and we're still coming out here to hike. I just recently added my son into the mix. So I've made some very nice memories out here with my family. I've always used the trails responsibly, never littered, etc.... I've always thought it odd that in the 10 or so years I've been coming out here I've seen a ranger maybe 3 times. Once years ago when I saw a group of school age kids being led. Saw some ZZTop looking character mowing some grass. Then this: Few months ago, we were hiking. Had my daughter and son with us. It was getting near closing time so we headed back to the lot. Wife informs me she's dropped the keys somewhere on the trail..."Holy Crap....". This was the tree trail. So started at one end and she started at the other. Asked everyone we saw if they'd seen em. We eventually found em and got back to the car at about 15 min after closing. Headed on out, passed the office(didn't see sign of life anywhere), got to the gate - locked. So I got out , "well, guess I'm gonna go back and see if I can find a ranger to help"...No need. Here comes one at high speed. Stops ridiculously close to the car and hops out. I'm already out so I start to tell him out situation..cuts me off and starts with the closing time posted clearly and did we not see it? etc. etc. So I then get it out why we were late getting out(15 min)..He mentions something about a couple mentioning something about it. He then goes into this complete nonsense about this automatic chain of events I almost set off by being 15 min past gate close. Search teams being sent out, tax payer dollars being burned, man hours being spent..."uhhhh...sure, won't happen again, can you just go ahead and unlock the gate?" nope, still gonna make you stand here and listen to me because I have the key and theres no other way out. So then he goes into how in this situation my first priority is to get up to the office to inform staff. Well, tear your brain away from that for a moment and use common sense. I had no keys, no way to start my car, we're in the woods looking for our keys(which are in the woods), but I'm going to walk my butt all the way up to the office, a good way away from the trail head...no, probably not. Just going to find my keys and then ask a friendly ranger to let me out while I apologize for wasting time. I didn't say all this, just agreed so he'd let us out....not yet. License check time...in before someone quotes the authority of a ranger. I could care less. There was no reason to check my license or really to hold my family and I there for no reason whatsoever. I thought about saying no you can't check my license, at this point I was tired of the trip. But he seemed like the kinda guy who would probably bring the police in just to prove he can make me do what he wants. So gave him the license, sat there another 10 min, then finally he unlocked the gate. I've been back many times since and will continue to do so. It's a great place for families to come and enjoy the day. A real positive state provided area. Very glad to have it here. The level of unfriendliness wasn't something I expected from a place thats always seemed so...

6-1-24

We come to parks like this for hiking trails, but Clemmons has the obvious per its title. This is an educational park geared toward geology and forestry. You will see placards, exhibits, etc throughout on each trail.

We parked at the lot, gravel, complete with signage detailing location, a map of the park, etc. There is a tower of some sorts in the lot.

As for the hiking part, we did the following trails, in this order, starting from the lot: Talking Rock to Demonstration Trail, to Watershed Extension Loop, continuing back to Demonstration which brings you into the lot. This was done as a loop staying right. It totaled 5.4 miles with a cumulative elevation gain of around 550 feet per Strava. Recommend a map from their site or take a picture of one at the lot.

Breakdown of each trail:

Talking Rock: Begins as paved but turns into gravel quickly. Wide and well formed, with varying canopy heights, albeit completely shaded. Easy for the average hiker. Several exhibits are along the path detailing geology and plants. Of course, there are exhibits that speak with a touch of a button. Connected to...

Demonstration Trail: Red blazes. Has a lot of straw and wood chips at some parts, with others that are sandy with roots. Consider this trail easy to moderate with occasional elevation change and unevenness. Varying canopy heights but completely shaded. There is a cutout side trail, labeled clearly, to get to the pond. We did this. The pond area is open and not shaded. Expect to see a ton of turtles, but they are skittish if you get close. There is seating near the pond as well as a gazebo of sorts. We returned back to this trail and then connected to...

Watershed Extension Loop:

Probably the most difficult trail, not bad, however, at moderate to easy at spots. Orange blazes. Has several creek crossings, a deceiving amount of elevation change, and unevenness at spots, with varying canopies. Wide and well formed. Expect sand mostly with a ton of roots throughout. There are two open spots on the loop (power lines), so no shade, and at these open spots, the trail is narrow with plants that will touch your legs. If this bothers you, dress accordingly. We found this trail the best due to its relative difficulty.

After Watershed, we connected back to Demonstration Trail, again staying right, back to the lot, making the aforementioned loop.

Decent hiking for this area of the state and probably good for those interested in forestry and all...

We absolutely love Clemmons and any other time I would give them a 5 because we love the pond, the view, the trails, the education, etc. However, we had the worst experience ever in our time at Clemmons today. It was my daughter's 4th birthday, she wanted to see the pond and feed the turtles. Due to my work schedule and traffic we got there about 15 minutes BEFORE 5pm when they close. Half way down a ranger stopped us, we told him our intentions and he said okay but be out by 5pm which we agreed. We went straight to the turtle area, passing cars of others that were still there hiking. Immediately another "ranger" came down and told us to leave. I told him I know I'm sorry we just wanted to feed the turtles and see the pond for my daughter's 4th birthday, we will leave before 5pm. Too which he said, "I don't have time for this, let's go". I get it, I work retail I hate when people show up at the last minute. But don't be a jerk. We were promising to leave by closing time. We weren't asking to go hiking. Clemmons please train your folks better or hire better. You are better than this. Also, 5pm is very hard for working families. We can only go to Clemmons on the weekends March-Nov when it is busy and crowded due to the hours of operation. Perhaps consider being more working family friendly as an "educational" state forest or let a better, more inclusive...