We wandered over to William B. Umstead State Park today to do some hiking and check out the chainsaw log carving. The weather was nice (mostly cloudy, warmer) and in the low 50s, so we packed everyone up and decided to get our butts out of the house. It’s about a half-mile walk from the parking lot to the carved log and the route is a multi-use path that is easy for little ones.

“A fallen red oak tree—approximately 25 feet long and several feet high—has been transformed by artists Jerry Redi and Randy Boni of Smoky Mountain Art. In mid-Nov., the pair spent a week using chainsaws to cut and carve away a series of animals, tree branches and leaves into the downed tree that lays just off the Graylyn multi-use trail—one of six multi-use trails inside the park that make up a total of 13 miles of paths available to hikers, cyclists and horseback riders.” (Source: VisitRaleigh.com)

This isn’t the first time I’ve been to Umstead Park — I ran some trails there back in March 2019, but I had no idea the park is as large as it is. It’s nearly 5600 acres, and part of the East Coast Greenway, a 3,000 mile-long system of trails connecting Maine to Florida, runs through the park.

I’m not sure what Umstead is like in the warmer months, but everything we read about finding the log art suggested not going on weekends, and sure enough, the parking lot was full when we returned to our car, so I’m guessing it’s hard to get in and out of there on warmer days.

There are campsites where we could camp and plenty of trails for hiking and running. We’ll definitely go back there again soon.