Alamance County parks offer trails, paddling and summer hours

Cedarock Park and Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area give weekend planners two very different choices on the same Alamance County map. Cedarock Park offers the broad, built-out day trip with trails, disc golf, camping, and family amenities, while Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area leans into steeper scenery, a lookout tower, and a more backcountry feel. Both are part of a larger county network that reaches the Haw River Trail and its paddle accesses.

A county system built around the outdoors

Alamance Parks manages 1,200 acres of land and has spent more than 50 years working to improve quality of life for county residents through parks and programs. Its outdoor access points include Cedarock Park, Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area, Great Bend Park, Shallow Ford Natural Area, Saxapahaw Island Park, Swepsonville River Park, and other sections of the Haw River Trail. The department also maintains and operates 7 of the 14 paddle accesses on the Haw River Trail.

The Haw River Trail became part of the North Carolina State Parks system in 2023 as a state trail built through local partnerships, and Alamance Parks is one of 12 state and local governments in the Haw River Trail Partnership. In January 2026, Alamance Parks announced the acquisition of about 800 acres in southern Alamance County, a move that extends both the Haw River State Trail and the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

Why Cedarock works for a full, flexible outing

Cedarock Park is the county’s most all-purpose option. The 500-acre park in southern Alamance County draws more than 180,000 visitors a year and was established in 1975 on the historic farm of John and Polly Garrett. Polly Albright Garrett, who lived from 1815 to 1884, and John F. Garrett, who lived from 1811 to 1882, settled on what is now the park. A small log house built in 1830 still survives as one of the earliest structures in the historic district, and the two-story house was built in 1835.

The park includes about four miles of hiking trails, six miles of equestrian trails, two disc golf courses totaling 36 holes, a footgolf course, a restored late-1800s historical farm, a fishing pond, a waterfall over an old mill dam, picnic shelters, gazebos, a basketball court, a volleyball court, a playground, canoe and kayak rentals, camping, and open field space.

The Regulator Disc Golf Course opened in August 2023 and winds through the historic farm and along Rock Creek, making it the park’s newest and most technical course. The park office and Cedarock Shop & Visitors Center give first-time visitors a clear starting point instead of guessing where to park or walk first.

Cedarock is also the better choice if accessibility is part of the decision. Alamance County received a $450,000 Parks and Recreation Trust Fund Accessibility for Parks Grant in 2023 for a new accessible playground at Cedarock Park. County board minutes from February 2025 included public input from a parent whose youngest child has spina bifida during discussion of the accessibility plan.

For overnight stays, the Cedarock Equestrian Center has four campsites. Each site includes a 12-by-12-foot tent pad, fire pit, separate parking with trailer space, water, and a picnic table, and campsite #3 is a double or group site. Reservations must be made in advance.

Why Cane Creek fits a quieter, more rugged hike

Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area is the county’s more scenic, less built-up choice. It is a new nature park and the county’s largest state-significant natural heritage area, located in the Cane Creek Mountains Range in the southwest quadrant of the county. The mountains are about 8 miles south of Graham, and the property contains the largest area of undisturbed woodland in Alamance County, along with four miles of streams and Piedmont monadnock forest communities.

The park’s standout feature is the Monadnock Lookout Tower, which rises 80 feet and offers 360-degree views. The tower was officially completed and opened to the public in May 2025, according to a county annual report.

Cane Creek is still being developed in phases. Trailheads at Pine Hill, Oak Hill, and Peach Orchard anchor the site, and the first two phases include miles of hiking trails, primitive campsites, and a wildlife observation area. County board minutes from 2023 show that the tower faced permitting delays and that staff planned to open the Lookout Trail before the tower itself. The latest summer hours list Cane Creek open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., the same window as Cedarock and the Haw River Trail access points.

How to choose this weekend

Pick Cedarock if you want the broader menu. It is the better fit for a casual afternoon, a family picnic, a round of disc golf, a campout, or a day when some people want to hike while others want a playground, fishing pond, or historic farm setting.

Pick Cane Creek if you want a quieter hike, bigger views, and a more natural setting with less of the park infrastructure in the way. The park includes the Monadnock Lookout Tower, woodland, streams, and trailheads at Pine Hill, Oak Hill, and Peach Orchard.