Hiking in William B. Umstead State Park

If you know our family, then you know hiking is our thing. We hiked all over Southern California and truly miss all the trails out West. Some of our favorite trails were along the ocean and in the mountains. Heck, we were happy anywhere we could find a trail to overlook any part of the city.

We love to get out in nature and just cleanse all the crap that we collect in our heads from life. One thing we've missed terribly at this duty station is hiking. Coastal North Carolina is flatter than a pancake. Hiking is non-existent. Not being able to get out in nature makes me feel restless and sometimes grumpy. So, when we go inland, I'm always looking for trails. Raleigh has this cool outdoor retreat in the middle of the city called William B Umstead State Park that has lots of trails. It's beautiful and a perfect fix for a girl desperately needing to hike in a place where the terrain changes elevation.

When we drive to Raleigh for airport pickups (mainly), this is one of our go-to places. We have never truly hiked Amsted Park before now. We are always exploring little foot trails or driving along tree canopied roads.  This trip we allowed a few hours to hike a trail at William B. Umstead State Park.

We automatically scoped out the trail with water. Those trails are our favorite. The boys like to get a little daring and test their balance.

You can see from the trail map there were a few choices. Of course, this is only a small section on the west side of Umstead park. There are lots more options around the entire park.

Even the Marine husband got comfy and relaxed.

We came across lots of bugs and flying creatures because HELLO it's North Carolina. How cool is this lunar moth? Cool story...this moth was hatching from caterpillar to moth right before our eyes. I love that we got to observe nature in action!

Hoping the last few months here bring a few more hikes!