We’ve been to Raven Rock State Park and Moccasin Branch Campground many times. In this post, we’ll tell you about a change to our favorite kid-friendly trail, an unexpected dog-friendly opportunity, and a store that surprised us.
Where We Stayed
We love staying at Moccasin Branch Campground, just outside Raven Rock State Park. The sites are spacious, the campground is quiet, and it’s walking distance to hiking and biking trails.
| Campground Name | Moccasin Branch Campground |
| Location | Lillington, NC |
| Dates | February 28 – March 2, 2025 |
| Site Number | Site 14 |
| Site Surface | Gravel |
| Hook-ups | Full hook-ups |
| Cost | $36 per night (including taxes and fees) |
Keep in mind that this campground has gates that are locked every night. We arrived Friday, February 28. Saturday, March 1 is the day they switch to new hours. So on Friday, the gate was locked at 6:00 p.m. but on Saturday, the gate wasn’t locked until 8:00 p.m.
Moccasin Branch Campground has a cool kid-friendly activity they call the Discovery Trail. In an effort to keep this post short, I’m not going to get into it here, but we explain it in this blog post from November 2024 (with pictures).
What We Did
We took the Campground Trail into the park. The park does fill up on weekends when it’s really nice out (usually in the spring), so it’s nice being able to get to the trails without loading everyone into the truck and driving over.
Once you’re in the park, the hiking options are everywhere. If you’re hiking with kids, there are many good choices, depending on the age group you’re hiking with.
American Beech Trail
I think the American Beech Trail is ideal for kids about nine years old, but as long as they can read, they’ll have something to do. At the beginning of the trail, there’s a box that holds some printed pamphlets. Each pamphlet contains numbered paragraphs about something you’ll find along the trail. There are numbered posts along the trail that correspond to each of the paragraphs.
We did a more thorough review of this trail in this blog post from 2023.
American Beech Trail Tip
Pamphlets are usually available in English and Spanish. If they’re out, stop by the Visitor Center. They may have extras already printed.
Our seven-year-old niece enjoyed reading each paragraph. The five-year-old was bored. She can’t read the words yet, and the paragraphs were a little too complex to keep her interest.
Sadly, my favorite stop isn’t there anymore. In this post [add link!] we mention the tree finder on the American Beech Trail. I was really looking forward to showing it to our nieces, but it wasn’t there. The post was there, but the disc on top that makes it work was gone. I hope it’s just temporary and they bring it back.
Longleaf Loop Trail
The Longleaf Loop Trail is great for much younger kids. At 0.2 mi, it’s super short. It’s also wide and flat. Even better, it’s basically free of rocks, roots, and other hazards, so it’s a great trail for younger, wobbly walkers.
There are several large signs along the trail that are good for young readers to practice their reading skills.
Visitor Center
Fun fact about the park…dogs are allowed in the Visitor Center. They can’t go in the exhibit hall, but they can hang out in the main room with the tiny gift shop.
The Exhibit Hall is small, but it gives some good information.
After about 6 miles of hiking, Corona was worn out. At first, she resisted falling asleep. Her eyes closed and her head slowly got lower and lower.
Eventually, she gave in and put her head down for a proper nap.
Aiken would have kept going, but he came around to the idea of a relaxing afternoon.
J.E. Womble Sons
While setting up on Friday, we realized we hadn’t packed the lines we attach to the dogs’ harnesses when we sit outside. We stopped at a hardware store after lunch on Saturday for some paracord and clips.
I was expecting a small, basic hardware store. J.E. Womble Sons was way more than that. If you find yourself missing an essential tool or gadget while you’re at Raven Rock, it’s worth a visit.
Photos
Corona likes to dig. If there’s sand or gravel, she will go to town. Oddly enough, she doesn’t do this with grass. (We fill in her holes before we leave.)
Happy travels!
