Duck Cove Trail, Falls Lake

13304 Creedmoor Rd, Wake Forest, NC 27587

Overview

From hiking, boating, fishing, and biking, there are a significant number of things to do at Falls Lake. Today, however, we will be blogging our hike on Duck Cove Trail. In this blog post, you'll find a list of the things we recommend you bring, what to look out for, and our overall experience.

What to bring

Being prepared is a must when hiking. We packed a few items that we believe would be useful for the hike.

• A water bottle: Bringing water is always a must when hiking. Make sure to bring at least a full bottle of water, as it can become hot quickly.

• Bug spray: We recommend bringing bug spray, as it was fairly buggy. To avoid bug bites, we recommend bringing bug spray.

• Sunscreen: Unless you are hiking when the sun is under a cloud, we highly recommend sunscreen. It can get hot fairly fast, which can lead to sunburns.

• A quick snack: Bringing a quick snack doesn't hurt. Something as small as a beef stick or some trail mix can make for a tasty mid-hike treat.

• Binouculars: Optional, but we found them very useful for spotting birds. If you like birdwatching, you might just want to bring a pair.

What to look out for:

Now that you've got our packing list, here are a few things to look out for during your hike.

• Snakes: While we didn't see any, that doesn't mean they aren't there. Always be careful when hiking, and watch your steps.

• Bugs: Make sure to bring bug spray, as insects can be an issue. Getting bitten is never fun.

• Spider webs: Watch where you're going. We weren't very careful, and a surprising amount of small spiderwebs got stuck to us.

• Poison Ivy and other poisonous plants: When hiking, it is always important to be careful around plants. Poison ivy is a toxic plant that can cause itching and swelling. It's best to avoid any plant with three, pointy leaves. If you don't know how to spot poison ivy, we recommend just avoiding contact with all plants.

Duck Cove Trail Hike: Now that you know what to bring and what to watch out for, you can read about our hike. Before hiking, visit the info center to learn about a hike or activity you'd like to do. We picked out Duck Cove Trail. After you've selected the trail you'd like to do (in this case Duck Cove Trail), you must drive to the trailhead. Unfortunately, not all trails are near the visitor center. For the Duck Cove trail, the trailhead is located about two minutes down the road. Once you've arrived, though, you can start the hike.

Why we enjoyed the Duck Cove Trail hike: Unlike many other hikes, this one stood out from the rest. Being fairly quiet and having few people there, it led to a very peaceful hike. While some parts of the hike were difficult (read our difficulty evaluation), the lake view and nature sounds were well worth it. The hike is a total of 1.2 miles long and is an out-and-back. During the hike, make sure to watch your footing, as it can get somewhat difficult with the extensive amount of tree roots that cover the trail. During the hike, we came across multiple birds, butterflies, bees, and even small lizards. Once you've made it to the end of the hike, you will be rewarded with a very relaxing lake view with many birds surrounding the area (Check our channel for videos!). Overall the hike is very worth it and even quite relaxing. If you enjoy a quiet and peaceful hike, you might want to look into Duck Cove Trail.

NCpathfinder's Difficulty Evaluation: Moderate

This was our first hike we've blogged about that wasn't on a paved surface. From now on, all hikes that are on an unpaved trail and considered a hiking trail will be evaluated for difficulty. After putting our 5 categories to the test, our group decided to put this hike at a level of 2/5. The trail is fairly easy, with the hardest part being the extensive amount of thick tree roots, which sometimes made walking a challenge. Other than the roots causing problems, the hike is very easy with little to no other obstacle along the way. If you'd like to read more about how we make our ratings, please visit our blog section and read our post about it.

Relaxing lake view at the end

A section of the hike