Fred Clifton park is right next to Lovers Leap and actually has a superior view. It has a good…read moreparking lot, picnic tables (with grills, I think), paths through the woods and wooden overlooks. There are signs to beware of bear. There are black bear in this area. Hikers should be aware that there is also a trailhead for a hiking path over by the Lovers Leap parking. Look for a big boulder covered with grafitti.

This is a nice place to go relax, take a picnic or if you want to get in a bit of exercise, there…read moreis a nice walking trail.

Large and quite place. Plenty of space for playing with your dog(s) or playing frisbee. Trails are…read morenice. Was a bit a mess when I was there last as piles of sand from the flooded river laid the land.

Didn't see a page for this place yet, so decided to make one so I can recommend it to everybody!…read moreIf you're looking to get outside, get some activity, fresh air, something good for the kids, or even just a place to catch some zen either alone or with a partner, this is the perfect place! It's about 2 miles total in hiking, so not very grueling, but the terrain does vary quite a bit throughout. The trails are chock full of inclines, declines, and roots to navigate. There is also an "easier" trail (which is considered moderate by trail standards around these parts) and a red marked trail. We stayed on the regular trail with the kids and had a fine time enjoying our stroll through nature. Some areas of the trail are rather narrow, and the entire place is well shaded during the summertime, making this a great place to come even on the hottest and most humid of days. No sunscreen needed! While I do have to admit that the "cascade" was a little underwhelming compared to what I had pictured in my mind's eye, the trickling sound of water always makes for the most tranquil of moments. This place is another deserving mention on the list of absolutely beautiful nature places to check out in the Triad!

It was so calm and peaceful! Took my basset hound on the walk and he did wonderful! It is dog…read morefriendly!

Walking next to a river is always a wonderful experience. With that being said, trails should be…read moreclearly marked and fallen trees should not block paths. This trail is poorly kept. It's really unfortunate because this site could bring in out of towners who will in turn spend money in the community. We love the outdoors and visit different hiking spots weekly. Shallow Ford barely ranked 3 stars. In addition, they only have 3 campsites that have a blocked view of the river. Do not recommend.

Great hiking. Can walk around in here for a good 2 hours or so uneven path with roots and rocks be…read morecareful some place slightly incline, but not steep. Check it out if in the area

First and only visit took a bit of a drive from where I lived but did not disappoint. The hiking…read morewas fairly level with a great meditative and uncrowded nature walk. Deserving of good hiking boots to navigate the trail's obstacles.

Nice park with many trails of varying difficulty. A couple trails were closed due to a past storm,…read morebut we still enjoyed our hike along the river

It was my first time doing this trail and we absolutely loved it. We decided to do the 7mile round…read morehike.

Bald Eagle Trail is a fairly easy stroll through the woods, with near zero elevation changes…read morethroughout.  The entire trail spans from Brass Eagle Loop, along Lake Higgins, to Hamburg Mill Rd.  The total trip is about 7.5ish miles round trip, with an optional 3 mile loop (Bald eagle Loop).  Certain sections can be muddy after a heavy rain, but most of the low-ground has a sturdy boardwalk built, which adds flare to an otherwise boring walk.  There are a few stream crossings, but easy to keep dry if you're careful.  There were some downed trees, but we easily navigated around without any difficulty.  Dogs and bikes are welcome.  Plenty of parking at the Brass Eagle entrance; I'm not sure about the Hamburg side.  Bring bug spray, and don't forget to hydrate!

Went here for a guided fishing session and it was amazing! Ranger reynolds was great in showing us…read morehow to fish and introduced me to a great activity. I caught a boue gill and i am awesome! There is so mych more here and i am looking forward to exploring more

Lovely spot for a two mile hike. Gentle path, a little rooted, but no steep hills. Lots of shade.read more

This is a beautiful trail that leads to a 250 ft waterfall, with some easy hiking, some steep…read morefootsteps. Was easy to moderate for little kids and adults alike. The total hike is 30 mins (to and fro) and has nice marked trees for identification, streams, creeks and bridges. There is some beautiful foliage and trees along the way. There are two sites (start of waterfall and midway) each making for a beautiful photo opportunity.

Paved, with packed gravel surface part of the way, then many steps to get to lower viewing area of…read morecascade falls. Some incline and decline (out and back trail).

My husband and I like to hike so on our recent visit to Roanoke we started exploring options. We…read morelearned that McAfees Knob is the most photographed spot on Appalachian trail. We were a bit nervous about an 8 mile hike, but decided we were going to take it on. That hike was no joke, it kicked my butt. However, I did it and I am not someone in amazing shape by any means. There were some very steep/uphill parts and some stretches that were mostly flat. Trail was well marked. I was happy for the variation and we stopped as needed. It is doable, its just long. They say it takes you about 4 hours, which was accurate for us as we arrived around 10am, finished about 2pm. We did the AT trial up and decided to go for the fire road (runs basically parallel but isn't as strenuous) back as we were already tried. I highly recommend this if you not a serious hiker. Most everything I read kept saying you need to get their early as it gets so busy. That wasn't our experience, but it was an unseasonably colder, windy day so that probably deterred people. We also went on a Thursday to help reduce crowd as recommended. Note there are no bathrooms near parking. We found an outhouse near one of the camping sites about 2/3 way up, which we were grateful for. I am not sure it is being maintained regularly, so bring your own TP and hand sanitizer. Now, the view once you get to the top is absolutely beautiful. You can see out so far while you sit/stand on the rocky overlook. I even slowly inched my way out to the very tip of the rock to get the full 360 view. Breathtaking! We brought some snacks to eat up there to replenish (do this) and enjoy the views. We didn't stay up there as long as I would have liked as it was quite cold with the wind when we no longer had the tree cover. Dress appropriately! After we finished the hike, we took a long nap at our Airb&B. I am not sure I would choose to do it again, but I feel very accomplished that we completed this trail and enjoyed the views and our picutres very much.

What an awesome hike. Our new Thanksgiving tradition has been to go on a hike and this was our pick…read morethis year. We got there around 10am since it's a 3 hour drive from Charlotte. I thought it would be empty on Thanksgiving, but it was pretty crowded. We got a parking spot just fine, but the lot was fairly full. The hike is rated as strenuous, but I thought it was moderate. It's about 4 miles to Mcafee Knob from the parking lot making it 8 miles round trip. We took the Appalachian Trail on the way there and the fire road on the way back. The fire road is flatter and wider--an easier hike overall. Parts of the AT were covered in leaves making it a bit hard to hike. Everyone says the last mile is hard. It's uphill but I didn't find it to be too steep. The views at the end are gorgeous. Luckily it wasn't too crowded and we didn't have to wait to get our picture. We didn't stay at the top long because it was incredibly windy which made it pretty cold even though the rest of the hike was comfortable. The whole hike with stops took us just under 4 hours. With views and difficulty combined, we thought it was a great hike!

People are very gracious on this trail... if you ask the right questions and respectful native…read moreNCers will be very open to tell you about their favorite spots...

Lovely place to hike and be in nature. Just you and the woods and perhaps a few people if the…read moreweather is nice.