Thousands of people eager to get an active start on the new year took to trails across the state for First Day hikes on January 1.
About 60 people walked a 1.5-mile hike led by Ranger Scott Hyatt at Lake Waccamaw State Park in Columbus County.
Hyatt occasionally stopped to explain some of the park’s unique features. Lake Waccamaw’s waters, which are part of the state park, are home to several species of fish and mollusks not found anywhere else. The sandy soils of the southern Coastal Plain near Lake Waccamaw are among the few places where Venus flytrap plants can be found in the wild.
North Carolina funds 35 state parks. The Border Belt region of Bladen, Columbus, Robeson, and Scotland counties has three: Lake Waccamaw State Park, Jones Lake State Park in Bladen County, and Lumber River State Park in Scotland, Robeson and Columbus counties.
Lake Waccamaw State Park ranger Scott Hyatt talks to First Day hikers on January 1 about longleaf pine stands, which have been diminished by more than 90% across the South. Park officials are working to restore longleaf pines in the park with controlled burns and plantings. (Photos by Les High)
Hikers watch as Hyatt discovers an abandoned ground hornet nest.
Elia and Cora Snyder and Emma Huggins enjoy the the waters of Lake Waccamaw after hiking.
A family takes its Labrador retriever out to fetch a dummy on the Lake Waccamaw State Park pier.
Noah Fry and Chase Patillo watch Jason Sharpe as he emerges from the chilly waters of Lake Waccamaw. The three friends took a polar plunge after participating in the First Day Hike at Lake Waccamaw State Park.
First Day hikers peer over the edge of the Lake Waccamaw State Park pier.
A family emerges in the sunlight on Lake Waccamaw State Park’s Sand Ridge Trail.
Hyatt leads hikers through the forest on a New Year’s Day.