Dittmer-Watts Nature Trail Park — Attraction in North Carolina

I found this trail during a recent camping trip at Lake Lure and decided to run the trail rather than pound pavement. The trail head has ample parking and is well marked (directly across from Ingles). Before my jog I was taking in the well labeled and color coded map showing the multitude of trails, their difficulty levels and distances. As I was about to start my jog another jogger came off the trail. I asked about their route and they told me a similar route I was considering but mentioned they made a wrong turn and ended up on the nearby vacant golf course. Fast forward about 10 minutes and I find myself on said golf course.

With that being said, the trails are gorgeous and vary in difficulty (heed caution on the Roller Coaster Trail - properly named). Nothing beats hitting the tree line and enjoying nature, in my opinion. There are about 3.3 total miles of trails and obviously that can be extended based on the trail layout. The Mountain View Trail was my favorite because there is a slight clearing and bench at the end where you can sit and enjoy the view. The Roller Coaster Trail was a beast with strenuous ups and downs.

Trails were decently marked but there are some intersections that are a little confusing. There are a couple of trails that spur off the main trails that are private or not part of the main trail system making it a little confusing. About 1/2 of a mile (est) into the Mountain View Trail is a well groomed trail that forks to the left. That trail takes you to the gold course and is easily confused for the main trail.

Enjoyable trail and area overall and I would definitely...

My wife and I wanted to stretch our legs and go further into Western North Carolina than we live to do so. We decided to drive to the Lake Lure area, which is about an hour west of our home in Mountain View, NC.

My wife located this place on a Google search.

We arrived at a rather unassuming gravel parking lot off of Hwy 9, literally right across from an Ingels Grocery Store. Parking, we saw a sign and trailhead right near the woods. This sign is very detailed a s maps out all the trails with their length and difficulty.

Total hike if you do all the trails is a little over 3 miles. There are picnic tables on several of the trails - including one covered picnic area on one trail. BUT all picnic areas are a little bit of a walk from the parking area. So, but be prepared to carry your food in, plus there are no garbage cans, so any trash must be carried back out to your car.

The trails go from "easy" to "moderate" in difficulty, and their designation is pretty accurate. The Rollercoaster Trail is probably the most difficult, and its name accurately depicts the terrain of the hike.

Scenic wise, these trails don't offer much other than a walk in the woods. Exercise wise, they are a good place to stretch your...

Love it. Super close. Lots of meandering trails that all interconnect. Super easy to hars, which I consider an upper medium. The roller coaster trail has 3 big hills. I love that you are able to loop around cross and follow multiple trails. I think you can go from .18 mile tiny loop to several miles.

There's a stop spot with two picnic tables. It had a smallish rectangle green space. That's where we go when we don't want to take the dogs for a big hike but want to walk and play ball or Frisbee. DOG RULES, can be off leash, voice command. Awesomeness 👌🏼

There are also some benches along the way to take a quick sit. Make sure to have mosquito spray. A couple days they weren't bad yet anither, dang!

Take a walk bring the dogs, it's all cool and never busy. I saw 4 cars parked once and...