Eno River State Park
Eno River State Park is our 5th park in our 2025 North Carolina State Park Challenge. It is 10 miles from Durham, NC and had 5 access areas along the Eno River- Fews Ford Access, Cabelands Access, Cole Mill Access, Pleasant Green Access, and the Pump Station Access. You can get your passport stamp at the Visitor Center which is located at the Fews Ford Access. This access also had the most amount of hiking trails (13 miles of trails), a large picnic area, and the famous swinging bridge. This swinging pedestrian bridge is located at the very beginning of the Cox Mountain Trail that is right behind the visitor center. This bridge does live up to its name, so be careful with dogs and children as it swings and there are only some cables along the side.
All of the accesses have trails along the Eno River that allow you to step off the trail and take dip in the water. On a hot summer day this is one of our favorite things to do to cool off. Just stepping off the trail allows you (and your pup) to have some well deserved privacy. Make sure you bring sunscreen and bug spray for those summmer days!
The Eno River State Park has recent acquired land where the Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trail which has 4 miles of trails- some of which are along the Eno River. The Occoneechee Speedway is the only dirt track remaining from the 1949 NASCAR inaugural season. You can walk around the dirt track, explore some of the buildings and grandstands. There are a few picnic tables throughout the space and couple of trash/recycling cans available. Parking is limited so I do suggest either going early or on a weekday.
Park Details:
ADDRESS: 6131 Cole Mill Road, Durham, NC 27705
HOURS: December-February: 7am-7pm
March-April & October-November: 7am-9pm
May-September: 7am-10pm
VISITOR CENTER: Open daily 9am-5pm (Closed Christmas Day)
PASSPORT STAMP: At the Park Office in the Visitor Center
ENTRANCE FEE: No fee
TRAILS: 30 Miles of hiking trails (13 miles at Fews Ford, 6 miles at Cole Mill, and 11 miles at the other accesses.
ACTIVITIES: Hiking, Paddling, and Fishing
DOG RULES: Dogs are allowed on all trail, as long as they are on a leash. Dogs are not allowed in park buildings. Please pick up after your pet.
Check out our videos about this Park on instagram @axel.theadventurepup
