Hawn State Park & Pickle Springs Natural Area
Hawn State Park has been on our list of places to visit for quite some time. However, it has always proved to be about impossible to get camping reservations there. So, when the State Parks opened up their reservation system in 2020 to allow reservations for a year out, we jumped on the opportunity to finally get reservations at Hawn.
We chose a date in the spring, as we knew that the flowing water is part of the attraction, and we have a bad habit of going places with dried up waterfalls later in the year. What we later learned was that the water flows through Hawn year round. However, there was a benefit of being there during this time of the year that we weren’t aware of. We were there in the middle of May, and the wild Azaleas were in full bloom around the park. We were told that makes that time of the year particularly busy, as people come just to see those.
We were in campsite #11, which backed up to Pickle Creek, and had a vault toilet nearby. It also provided an easy walk to the shower house. I think this was a really good choice, and if we return, there is probably a good chance that we would try for the same site.
Hiking is one of the primary activities at Hawn, so we carefully considered which trails we would take. We had a two day plan, that would cover the Pickle Creek Trail, and the north loop of the Whispering Pines Trail. The Pickle Creek Trail was amazing, and ran alongside the creek the entire time. The section of the Whispering Pines Trail that we hiked was okay, with the highlights being the section that was by the creek. We opted out of hiking the other half of Whispering Pines north loop the second day, as we had received a recommendation for another trail nearby that was very popular.
The area that was recommended to us was the Pickle Springs Natural Area, which was about 10 miles from Hawn. The trail there was only two miles, so we weren’t expecting a lot, but we knew it would be a relatively quick hike. However, shortly after we arrived there, we quickly realized why this trail was recommended. There was a little bit of everything in this two mile hike. We saw interesting rock formations, huge bluffs, waterfalls, wildflowers, natural arches, and scenic overlooks. It took us all morning to hike those two miles, as we kept having to stop for photo opportunities. We highly recommend this trail to anyone, and this shows that it is beneficial to talk to your camp host.
I’ve talked in the past about expectations, and how that can have an effect on your experiences. I was worried about that prior to this weekend, because we had been waiting for so long to take this trip. However, I can say that this trip exceeded our expectations. Even with the occasional rain throughout the weekend, we still had a wonderful time. We highly recommend spending some time around Hawn State Park and Pickle Creek Natural Area. You won’t be disappointed.