Hagan Stone Park - Guilford County

  HAGAN STONE PARK

                Pleasant Garden North Carolina

If the path be beautiful, let us not ask where it leads   Anatole France

On a crisp November day we decided to venture to the Hagan Stone Park in southern Guilford County and hike the Chatfield 3.5 mile loop trail that encircles the park's perimeter.

The path is well maintained and wide, perfect for trail runners as it snakes around the park occasionally intersecting with numerous connecting paths.  The trail head is adjacent to the parking lot at the park entrance.  Easy access and a pleasant walk.

While the views are far from the spectacular that we have grown accustomed to seeing in the Blue Ridge Mountains, there are occasional glimpses of nature's glory. This meandering creek is one example.  The rocks remind me that the park used to be the site of a a quartz mine.....maybe thar is gold in them dar hills too!

This is the Tom O'Brien Tree....it is at this point about 1.5 miles into the hike that I learned via text alert of the firing of NC State football coach Tom O'Brien....kinda fitting don't you?

Don't know what it is about trail blazers who construct trails but there seems to always be an unusual tree along every trail we hike.

The paths are well maintained and marked every quarter mile.  On the back side of the park the path leads through what looks like an old pasture.

The sunlight piercing the through the leaves formed a unique shadow...I think I can see a cross...it was a Sunday after all!

There are many intersecting trails and two cross country running trails, one is 5K and the other is 8K...but isn't just like Americans...we think in miles when the rest of the world thinks in kilometers

We did not need this bench at the 2.5 mile marker but on a hot day this would be a good place to take a break.

Let's see a 5k trail is about 3.2 miles and an 8k trail is about 5 miles.....not so sure the ridge is much of a ridge but if we come back we will find out

Not many people were using the trail on Sunday afternoon. One lone trail runner and a few dog walkers were the only folks we saw.

The park features a nice small white church with stained glass windows on a shore of a small lake. This would be a great place for a small wedding.

Mother and Daughter Moment

The Chatfield Loop is a really nice Sunday afternoon hike....access is a 9.....trails are an 8 and the scenery is a 6....the overall hike is a 7.... Another close by treat for hikers like me who do not have time to get back into the mountains. Hagan Stone Park is south of Greensboro off NC 421.  Take a walk there soon!