Places to Go: Pettigrew State Park

Unlike my last post about Lake James, Pettigrew State Park is a little hidden.  Not that both aren't a decent drive get to, but Pettigrew is very much a "Oh wow look there's a state park here" kind of place.  However, it is a very nice place to visit.  Here's a few reasons why:

- Plenty of hiking is around Lake Phelps at Pettigrew SP, the second largest natural lake in NC.  The lake is not fed by any creek or river, only by rainfall.  The exact reason as to why the lake originally appeared in the first place is a mystery.  There's a swimming area, a boat dock/ramp, and plenty of fishing.  The swimming area is in about 4-6 feet of water, the lake is fairly flat, with an average depth of 4.5 feet and the deepest part being 9 feet.

- There's also a lot of hiking to be had out at Pettigrew.  Several miles of trails lead you to overlook around the shoreline of Lake Phelps.  Animals that can be seen around Lake Phelps in Pettigrew SP are deer, bear, tundra swan, bobcat, muskrat, and more!  

- Camping and picnic spots are available as well!  Camp at night and go fishing in the morning!

Dock near the boat ramp

Swimming area in Lake Phelps

Be sure to spend some time out at Pettigrew State Park when you're on the Albemarle Peninsula of NC!

Also big thanks for the Pettigrew SP Fact Sheet for providing some of the insight in this post!

Camping

Camping is a fun thing to do right?   You probably know about making shmores and roasting hotdogs.  Well here are some more things to do while camping!

1.Smoked Hotdog On A Stick
This tastes great without any bun or ketchup!  First you just roast you hotdog like normal till is just the way you like it.  Then you pull it up and leave it in the smoke for a few minutes.  Then just eat it of the stick!

2.Instead of hiking all the time, do a little bit of biking sometime!
Bring some bikes, it's a good way to go sightseeing (if the place you are staying allows bikes).  Who doesn't like to ride bikes!?

3.Play Some Card Games
Bring UNO or some similar easy to play card game.  It's great to do something like that when its to hot to bike or hike.

4.Go Fishing
Bring your fishing rods if the place your staying has some fishing areas.  Its fun to fish in a stream or lake or pond or whatever!

5.Go On A Nature Walk
See some of the parks animals while your on your hike.

With all these things above, which means numbers 2 and 4, check to see if you can do these things at the park website or call the park to see what other activities they may do.

Have a fun time camping!