Mt. Mills West Picnic Area — Attraction in Wilmington

What a gorgeous, secluded spot! Felt like a best-kept secret, especially after venturing down the narrow dirt road to get here! We enjoyed a picnic at the picnic tables while looking at the water and views. Grassy areas, trees, some historical ruins of some sort, wildlife, and not too busy on a weekday! There are porto-potties here, but no trash cans - still surprisingly very clean and well-maintained. A small beach area just big enough for a few people to access the water and some people were enjoying relaxing on their floaties out there. You can't really get a kayak into the water easily from here, so after our lunch, we drove over to the boat launch we could see from across the water. That worked out perfectly! We kayaked the upper part of the reservoir where the river flows into it and explored the rocky/sandy little islands. We even went swimming! It was...

This place is absolutely gorgeous. I like to swim using a mask and flippers and the water here is so clear and the bottom is nice and rocky with gorgeous rocks. Water temp was lovely in July. (Photos from July 2022) The bottom tapers off nicely into some good deep water for diving if you're into that. The beachfront itself is very narrow but there's still enough place to sit if you want to prop up a chair or sit on a log. It's perfect for the nature lover who hates the artificial sand beaches on other lakes.

Please know that the road down to this place is pretty steep and not paved though, so driving down to it and parking can be a little tricky depending on your car. Also the main way down to the water is a rock staircase so be careful if you are not good...

10/10/22 - Beautiful park, beautiful scenery. No real signage to find the park, that needs to be improved. Also road going in is not paved and has some rocks that stick up - not terrific if you have a low riding car. But aside from those things, very enjoyable and...