Medoc Mountain State Park
Medoc Mountain State Park is the seventeenth park we’ve visited in our 2025 North Carolina State Park Challenge. It is located in Hollister, North Carolina, 30 miles Northwest of Rocky Mount. I feel like this is a lesser known park but it has a little bit of something for everyone. There are 29 miles of hiking trails, 9 miles of biking trails, and 10 miles of horseback riding trails! If the trails are not for you there is Little Fishing Creek that runs through the park allowing paddling and fishing. Right down the road from the Visitor Center is the campground, covered picnic area, and a huge playground. To top it off in October there is a 5-miler and 10-miler Trail Race (that is already sold out for this year!).
We started our day but stopping by the Visitor Center to grab our passport stamp and patch, and the Park Ranger was nice enough to offer hiking suggestions as well! We took off on the Bear Swamp Trail which connected to the Summit Loop Trail which took you up to the highest point on the mountain and down to the Little Fishing Creek. There is no viewpoint at the top of the mountain but you can tell as the tree line thins out and you can feel the cool breeze. We went first thing in the morning right as the park was opening, meaning we were the first ones out on the trails. Which also meant we walked through every spiderweb possible on the trail! Other than that it was a very pleasant hike as the “mountain” is only 325 ft tall and is what remains of a mountain range from 350 million years ago! At the end of our hike we stopped off to cool off in the creek before heading back to the car- all in our hike was 5 miles. The park ranger saw us again after our hike and asked how our hike was and seems very pleased that we enjoyed it. Everyone was great and this was a nice quiet park if you’re looking for something off the beaten path!
Park Details:
ADDRESS: 1541 Medoc State Park Road, Hollister NC 27844
HOURS: November-February: 8am-6pm
March-May & September-October: 8am-8pm
June-August: 8am-9pm
VISITOR CENTER: Open Monday through Friday 8am-5pm. Closed on Christmas Day
PASSPORT STAMP: Can be found at the Visitor Center
ENTRANCE FEE: No entrance fee
TRAILS: 29 miles of hiking trails
ACTIVITIES: Hiking, Biking, Horseback Riding, Paddling, & Fishing
DOG RULES: Dogs must be on a leash no longer than 6 ft and are not allowed in park buildings. Please pick up after your pet!
Check out our videos about this Park on instagram @axel.theadventurepup
