Pettigrew State Park in North Carolina is a curious landmark full of mystery, history, and beauty. This park holds the second largest natural lake in North Carolina – Lake Phelps. Lake Phelps is a mystery all on its own with scientist still yet to determine its origin. For history you can find the well preserved Somerset Plantation. As for beauty, here you can find some of the oldest and rarest trees in the Eastern United States. This was the second park we visited in our quest to visit every North Carolina State Park and we were immediately taken by it. Before we began we had no idea it even existed. To me, its one of the most unique parks in the state. So come along with us so you can to discover this treasure of a park here in North Carolina.

About Pettigrew State Park?

Pettigrew State Park is located in Eastern North Carolina in Creswell. Creswell is a really small town about an hour from Nags Head. The park is about 15 minutes off of Highway 64 on your way to the Outer Banks. Upon arriving there is a small but packed visitors center. The staff and rangers were so friendly and loved helping us plan our time here!

The park is named after General James Johnston Pettigrew who fought in Gettysburg and was one of the influential members of Pickett’s Charge. It was so cool seeing the history of this battle unfold on our trip to Gettysburg this fall and connecting both Pettigrew State Park to Gettysburg National Park. The history we are connecting and learning on this journey has been so fun for us! So how does Pettigrew connect to all of this State Park stuff? His families farm was located right next to Somerset Plantation and General Pettigrew is buried right by the park. They were a huge influence on Creswell and the surrounding areas. So if you are a history buff (specifically Civil War) make sure you stop over to check that out!

Lake Phelps

A major highlight of this park is Lake Phelps. It is a beautiful crystal clear body of water naturally filled by rain water. It is shallow but holds lots of unique fish – which makes it a fun day for a fisherman. Because of the sandy bottom and calm waters it makes for a great place to take a dip and cool off in the summer. Lots of people use canoes, kayaks and smaller boats here too! We loved dipping our feet in and cooling off after exploring and hiking around the park. And Bonus – no swimming fee here!

The Cypress trees are well preserved and some of the oldest and biggest on the East Coast. It truly was breathtaking walking up to the edge of the waters. There is so much interesting history and ecology here – so make sure to ask the Park Ranger upon arriving about it! They loved telling us about the lake on our visit.

Hiking Trails

This is an Eastern North Carolina park so hiking is a bit different here. But – the trails are stunning and worth it on your visit. This park boasts one of the last remaining old growth forests and contains some very old and rare tree species. We loved walking through this forest and imagining what life would have been like here hundreds of years ago. There are so many ancient artifacts that have been discovered here, even dating back to 8,ooo BC – its truly remarkable.

You can wander through the old growth forest down to the lake boardwalk, take a detour towards the Somerset Plantation or choose a path down the river for even more scenery. You have two main trails to choose here – the Bee Tree Trail or the Moccasin Trail. The Lake Shore Trail is a great smaller trail that connects several parts of the park and one you should explore first! Hiking here really is a unique nature adventure!

Somerset Plantation

Not too far from the main Visitors Center sits Somerset Plantation. This is part of Pettigrew State Park and a must see on your visit here. Its so well preserved and is a beautiful walk through on a summer day. We loved just meandering through the old buildings and discovering different things. We were the only ones here that day so it was a nice relaxing walk!

In and Around Pettigrew

In typical Go the Adventure Way fashion we didn’t just do a day trip to the State Park but squeezed in every ounce of exploring that we could in this part of our state! We decided we weren’t too far to do a little drive over to visit one of our favorite spots – The Outer Banks. Here are a couple of ideas to include in your day trip to Pettigrew!

Outer Banks Road Trip

After exploring Pettigrew we found ourselves on one of our favorites beaches – Pea Ridge National Wildlife Refuge. We have written about this beach before when we visited the National Parks in NC. This beach is one of our favorites because its just a beach. No hotels, houses or buildings. Just ocean and sand and nature. Anytime we can get a chance to get here we do! It is truly a hidden gem along the NC coast.

Roanoke River Lighthouse

Another quick stop along the way home was the Roanoke River Lighthouse in Plymouth. River lighthouses are something we kind of recently discovered here in NC. There are 4 remaining river lighthouses on the Albemarle Lighthouse Trail in NC – so far we have visited 3! Check out our visits to the Edenton River Lighthouse and the one in Manteo!

Plymouth is a quaint and quiet town along the Roanoke River. Its beautiful to stop here and would be a great place for a bite to eat or picnic. We loved stretching our feet here and checking out a little slice of history.

Takeaways

• Getting out and exploring your state is so fun! You find places you didn’t know existed – we stumbled upon the Roanoke River Lighthouse, learn some history and might even discover and old growth forrest.

• Make sure to stop by the Visitors Center and talk to the great people who work here! Each park also has a free junior ranger program where your child can earn a park specific badge. The workbooks are fun and great for the whole family to do together – you learn a lot about the park doing this!

• Pack a lunch for a picnic! There isn’t a lot around for food and its a great place for being outside anyway.

• Make sure you take some time to dip your feet into the water here even if you aren’t planning on swimming all day! The lake is so clear and beautiful!

• Bring a bathing suite and fishing pole to really experience everything this park has to offer.

• The old growth forest is too unique to pass up – its as great walk through on a warm summer day since its so shady.

• There is also great camping here! Make sure to check out the NC State Parks website to find out all the details before going!

We loved our trip to Pettigrew and are planning on getting back again some day soon. Have you ever spent time at this unique park? What was your favorite part? Any other tips we missed? Share with us in the comments!

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