We’ve been to this park several times. In fact, we’ve written two other blog posts about it, which you can read here and here. We’re going to keep this post short and only talk about the new things.
Where We Stayed
This time we stayed in site 14, which we like for several reasons. It’s positioned well with the curve of the road, so it’s easy to back the RV in. It also has a set of trash cans right out front. That probably isn’t a draw for some people, but with two dogs, we generate a number of poop bags that we don’t want to put in the RV trash can. Plus, the trash cans are contained, so we’ve never had an issue with smell. The site is also fairly level. We didn’t need to use our red side-to-side levelers this trip.
Raven Rock State Park Campground
Lillington, NC
March 1 – 3, 2024
Site 14
What We Did
Campground Trail
It’s only a 3-minute drive from the campground to the park (less to go from entrance to entrance). For those who don’t mind a little extra walking, there’s also a trail that runs from the edge of the campground to a spot within the park. We’ve always opted to drive since we typically have plans for a long hike, but today we wanted to check out the campground trail. It lets you out by the large picnic shelter and the entrance to the American Beech Trail. (My favorite trail! You can read about it in this post.) There are several interesting trees along the trail as well as a bridge that crosses over a tiny creek. The dogs enjoyed the opportunity to take a drink and get their paws wet.
Pollinator Garden
There’s a garden outside the visitor’s center. We see it every time we visit but have never gone in. At the moment there isn’t much to look at, but things have been planted and in a couple of months, I expect it will be beautiful. For the moment, there’s a gazebo, a little free library, and a few insect hotels.
Accessibility
I’ve begun to notice some of the things campgrounds/parks do to make their amenities accessible. Some are pretty standard, while others make me think, “What a good idea!” I’m going to start mentioning them, in case it helps anyone who reads these posts.
While most of the trails at Raven Rock State Park are dirt, a paved sidewalk with paved ramps leads to their large picnic shelter. There are also four picnic tables with access for wheelchairs.
Wildlife
The best wildlife sighting was of two deer that walked along the edge of the campground, about 100 yards from our site.
There was an impressive ant colony by our fire pit. Ever the wildlife nerd, ants fascinate me, so I took a video of them as well, but I will not subject you to it. I know not everyone would appreciate them.
We saw several bats at dusk, but my phone just couldn’t get a decent picture. This was the best I could get. That blurry thing I circled? It’s a bat.
The last noteworthy sighting was a pair of snails trekking across the road on Sunday morning. I probably saw a dozen slugs on that walk, but only these two snails.
While not technically a wildlife sighting, I thought it was worth mentioning to take note of the pine needles we found this weekend. They were longer than my shoe!
Happy travels!
