Morrow Mountain State Park is located in Stanly County about 50 miles northeast of Charlotte. This park offers over a dozen hiking and horse riding trails. You will also find camping sites and cabins as well as areas for swimming, fishing, boating and paddling.

I took 3 teenagers on this adventure. We mapped out a 5.2 mile (out and back) hike. We each carried packs for our lunches, waters and snacks. I carried the first aid kit, extra water and the cameras. I also decided to strap the Go-Pro onto my pack. Much to my disappointment, I had grabbed the wrong SD card and only managed to get about 7 minutes of video. Side note, I am learning so much with each hike.

The first mile of the hike was straight down the mountain. During this stretch, I realized we would have to travel up this part at the end of our hike and wasn’t exactly looking forward to it.

At the first fork we took some time to study the map. AJ noticed that a horse trail would lead us to the lake. He asked if we could change our plans and head that way instead. I took another look at the map and noticed this would add about 2 miles to our already hefty hike. The kids discussed it and decided it was worth it. I figured we should be able to get to the lake around lunch time. The weather was ideal for a February hike. It was sunny and the majority of our hike was under the cover of trees. The horse trail provided us with lots of opportunities to dodge piles of horse poo but we also got to see about 8 beautiful horses and met some very nice people.

We made it to the end of the lake trail by lunch time and found 2 large fallen trees to rest on while we ate our lunch. Unfortunately the last 100 yards or so to the lake was blocked by thick brush and I didn’t see any reason to try to maneuver it. We savored our lunch overlooking an area near the lake and enjoyed nice conversation. The short relaxation time was welcoming.

After cleaning up our lunch trash, we headed back to finish the loop on the horse trail. The bottom of the loop was an easy trek. We crossed a small creek. We ended up shedding our outer layers after walking in full sun for about 30 minutes.

As we came up to the last fork we had a decision to make. We could take a longer, less steep trail or we could take a short very steep trail. I think the kids were ready to be done because they all voted the short trail.

The last bit back up the mountain was torture for me. I could not catch my breath and I kept telling the kids to go ahead and not worry about me. They didn’t want to leave me behind but I also think they were having just as much trouble putting one foot in front of the other as I was. When we finally crested the top of the mountain and saw the parking lot we all sighed a heaving sigh of relief. We were exhausted. We finished the day with 8.4 miles hiked. It was quite an accomplishment considering this was their first hike of the year. I was so proud of them and happy to be at a rest area with a bathroom.

We finished the day with ice cream from a local general store. Half the car fell asleep on the return drive home. I would say it was a successful day.