Jordan Lake State Recreation Area

Arriving & Park Office

Let me start by saying- come here to spend the day boating, swimming or fishing. The hiking is not the key point of the park. Being a “State Recreation Area” this location has nine different access points. There is a $6 fee to get into those access points (pay once, use at all). On this trip with limited time, I visited the park office and the Ebenezer Church Recreation Area. The park areas are mostly located near Hwy. 64 southwest of Raleigh.

The park office is a access point of it’s own with no fee to enter. There is some cool information and interactive displays to look at.

The Lake/Beach Access

The drive to this access is no longer than ten minutes from the park office. The beach, picnic shelters, playground and hiking trails are all short distances from the parking lot. Make sure you park in the parking lot for the trail you plan to do- I ended up doing the Ebenezer Church Trail because we parked in the wrong spot.

Ebenezer Church Trail

This is perhaps the worst easy trail I have been on. The trail was not clearly marked, it was overgrown, and there were bugs and potentially ticks. We got to see some old chimney, but never found any other remains of the church. There was a small pond that we walked around, the best part of the trail- if you count the path around the lake as a trail.

Conclusion

So, by all means, stop by and bring your boat or swimsuit or both. The lake is calm and has a nice, clean swimming area. However, if you’re gonna hike, maybe try one of the other trails.