Jordan Lake Educational State Forest

I first heard about the seven NC State Forests by visiting Clemmons Educational State Forest in Clayton. When I saw that the Jordan Lake State Educational Forest wasn’t too far away, I knew we had to make a visit! Luckily, it’s right on your way to the NC State Zoo and Millstone Creek Orchards, so you can make a full day visiting all three!

There weren’t many signs on the roads, so we weren’t sure where to park to easily get to the trails. There are two parking lots, one near the bathrooms and one near the training center. Your best bet is to park at the training center since the trails begin at the far right of that lot.

Explore the Helicopter

The first thing I noticed when entering the Jordan Lake Educational State Forest was the giant helicopter and tractor near the entrance. My boy is obsessed with all things that move so this was right up his alley. You are unable to sit inside the vehicles, but you can walk up and explore the outside. It was neat to get up close and personal with a helicopter because you don’t get to do that every day!

Educational Trails

There are four trails to choose from:

“Talking Tree” Trail
Forest Demonstration Trail
Wetlands Trail
Wildlife Trail

We took the talking tree trail, since we loved the talking rock trail at Clemmons so much. Unfortunately they were performing maintenance on the trees and they were all “napping”. None of the push buttons were working, but we could still read about each of the trees as we passed by.

push the button to hear all about the tree

The trails are all gravel, so may be hard with a stroller. However, it made for an easy walk on a wide path. We pretty much had the place to ourselves, so I was glad I didn’t have to worry about trail etiquette with the kids.

I’ll that it was nice to walk near Jordan Lake, but with the extra standing water my husband and kids were all eaten up by mosquitoes. I even had bug spray but it didn’t seem to help. So heads up if you are sensitive to that, or bring your own bug spray that works better than mine did!

Picnic Shelter

Other than the walking trails, there is also a great picnic shelter with a large fireplace. We saw a stack of firewood placed nearby so I assume it is free to use. You can get information on how to reserve the shelter on the forest website.

Restrooms

There’s also a nice restroom facility onsite, however it was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Learn more about the Jordan Lake Educational State Forest by visiting their website! Once everything opens back up, Ranger conducted classes are available to groups of ten or more visiting the forest. These classes have been designed to meet various science and social studies curriculum guidelines. This could be great for home-school groups or just a family looking to add some education to their day!