Excellent natural area with a few miles of trails, lots of river frontage, decent hills, old homesteads...fun!Not a lot of foot traffic - usually just a couple of cars in the parking lot. There are a couple of campsites, but mostly used by paddlers making their way along the river. There are plenty of well marked trails, nice bridges over the small creek, and an old homesite on top of one of the hills.Can be slippery if its rained recently - take care on the silt of the flood plain along the river.

Completed the Shallow Ford trail which obviously brakes you to the river and paddle access. You have to start from the parking lot and go through the wild flower observation area until you see signs for all the blazes past it. The shallow Ford trail requires you to be on the basin Creek trail (red blaze). Not super clear marking on blaze vs the maps, which is confusing. Otherwise very nice trail.

If you want to go for a secluded hike in the woods, then this park is fine. But if you expect to see the Haw River and hike along it for the scenery forget it! Go to Great Bend Park nearby. We hiked 1/2 hr before seeing a small glimpse of the river. Passed only one couple on a sunny late September Sunday late AM.The trails made no sense.It was as if someone gave some Boys Scouts 100s of trail markers and told them to make meandering trails. Why doesn’t a path go right to the river? Why isn’t there a homestead on the Homestead Trail? Why isn’t there a White Trail as shown on the map?I understand the river was low and the stream was just a trickle, so it wasn’t very picturesque, but why isn’t there a trail along the river? We followed the trails, walked of over an hour, and maybe saw only 3 small glimpses of the river. Very Disappointing!!

Beautiful park! Me and my dog loved the hike. You can choose your route and how much you want to walk. We did the blue trail and I found it very interesting to see some of the history still remaining such as the cooler box to keep drinks cold when there was a mill store there years ago. I found the trails to be adequately marked and enjoyed the beautiful nature surrounding the trails.

My husband and I spent a Saturday here to hike and hoped to find river access for some fishing. The trails were not difficult, but we were confused on multiple occasions about where we were and how to navigate back to the parking lot. We both agreed that some additional signage would be helpful. We only found one access point to the river and caught a few fish. I was disappointed that none of the trails walked along the river for long. We didn’t see much of the river after our stop to fish. We left in agreement that this would only be a place for us to hike in the future, knowing to study the map in more detail before we went. Overall, it’s a beautiful area and a great place to get some exercise and fresh air.

Great hiking with 3 different trails to choose from. If you do the large loop you can hike it in about an hour.

Beautiful hiking trails. Not overly developed. More natural.

Easy trail if you do the short one. Not far from the Haw River.

Great park! One of my new favorites!

Great for all ages(even college)

Great place to have a peaceful hike in the woods. Love the scenery and the wildlife.

Nice trail for a short or medium length hike!

Really nice natural area with primitive trails. Great for running or walking, however I would caution those who are less experienced with the outdoors to take caution and go slow.

Gorgeous and moderate hiking not for beginners but awesome and enjoyed it very much

Very nice, well maintained, easy trail excess; moderate hiking, as well as Kayak access.

Nice little spot to soak up some nature for a bit.

Great getaway, felt like we were in the mountains.

I wish they would make a little bit of a wider path around the observation deck in the meadow...

Great walking trails

Great local spot for some hiking. I enjoy th natural trails. Just wish they were longer.

Shallow Ford is a great place to spend an hour or a weekend. Beautiful trails, multiple access points to the river for boating, fishing or just a walk in the water. Nice camp sites. Great section of the Mountains to Sea Trail!

Love the trails here. All trails are easy to moderate. The yellow trail is the most difficult.

Great place for a medium length hike. 2-3 hours if you want.

Great spot for mostly shaded trails.Absolutely love this little gem, tucked away!Pets are allowed, but be advised we have found a lot of ticks upon coming home.

Great system of well marked trails. Really enjoyed the hike.

Park and trails are good; some hills but not too challenging. Creek and streaks are great. Guide map was somewhat confusing.

Great place to hike

Trails are a five, camping around a three and general facilities a four. Heavily mosquito populated so bring good repellent. P.S. Handout map pamphlets at the front of park.

Great place to get outdoors!

There are multiple walking trails perfect for people who are wanting a quick walk in nature or a long walk along a flowing river. There is camping available nearby and all of the walking trails are very secluded.

One of my absolute favorite places on earth. Moderate trails that are well maintained and not too crowd as. Terrain is pretty easy with some very nice hills on the Hidden Hill leg of the trail. The Homestead leg has an old well and root cellar that you can visit. Bathrooms are HORRIBLE, though.

Quiet and peaceful after for a long walk no more stress in my head

Great hiking trails that are marked very well. Beautiful country!

Great area to camp out in a tent. It was peaceful and enjoyable to be out in the woods. Not too far to the car but not too close either. We walked about 1.5 miles from the car to the campsite. There is a fire pit at each site and plenty of dead wood to start a fire. If you stay at campsite #2, there seemed to be no sign for it, so you just take the first trail to the left after passing campsite #1. There may have been a sign, but I did not see one on the trail we hiked.

This place is great!.... Small paths. Winding through the landscape like an adventure.

We love to take our dog to hike here and love it. I am knocking off a star as there are a few sections that are overgrown. I am susceptible to ticks and chiggers so I dont favor these sections. Never the less great place to go and 90% of the perimeter is shaded with access points to the haw river which is great for the dog to cool off. Highly recommended.

Shallow Ford Natural Area is not a well marked trail. There are arrows letting you know that you are on the trail, but no trail labels, No signs leading to the parking lot. The maps that are provided did not correspond with the trail markings. I would only hike this area with a hiking group or an experienced hiker. I hiked for three hours, and as dusk approached with no visible sign leading back to the parking lot, I found myself lost. I called out, but quickly realized I was alone.....I sat down on a bridge prepared to spend the night in the woods, and just sobbed. My trusted lab sensed my anxiety and literally pulled her leash. I looked up at her, and decided to stand up and try once again, this time letting my Annabelle take the lead, and sure enough, 45 minutes later we made it back to the parking lot. Shallow Ford is a beautiful area, but not a trail for the novice.

Ive been trying to make it over there for a while now, even though the trail is only about 10 minutes from where I grew up. I really liked the cleanliness and the varying landscape of the trails at Shallow Ford (i hiked the orange and blue trails). I ran a little too and was happy that there werent a lot of large roots or rocks to worry about. Great little trail and would be a good beginner trail or one to take the kiddos on.

Beautiful hiking trails, just thin dirt paths, no facilities, graveled parking area. Be careful theres a lot of poison ivy!

I would definitely hike it again! Its a lovely natural area in Elon, NC. Its not big with flashy landmarks. It is full of trees and well maintained trails, though the recent storms have taken there toll. That said, if you are going to be in Elon it is worth a visit. If you have to drive two hours, you might want to go when you are already doing something else. It also has river access for boating and a camping area.

A great natural area maintained by the local sierra club

Easy trail for beginner, Great place to walk your dog. Downside there isnt a lot parking spaces, and the bathroom is basically a man hole. Depend on what season youre visiting, your experienced may vary.

Great local place to spend time outside, trails or paddling the river

Nice trails for a short hike, good variety of terrain.

Love this place

A great place to walk and enjoy the nature.

Easy trails were to walk. They were not marked as well as others have been with the trail markers. Went in late fall and it was not crowded. Would go again in spring when flowers are blooming.

I have hiked this many times. It’s often private and the paths are well maintained.

Great place to hike and enjoy nature.

Love this place.

Great little park for running.

Nice single track trails for hiking or running.

Nice clean area. Good trails & kayak drop in

Good hiking experience

Great hiking trails.

Quiet. Secluded. Many cars but few run ins with other people.

Great spot to go for a little hike. Its got trail heads to the mountain to sea trail too.

Nice shaded trails, easy hills. And River Walls.

This is my favorite area to exercise near Burlington. Nice combination of terrain as it goes next to the the river, but also has large area of wild flowers and a decent hill off yellow trail.

Had a good time walking our dog, but rained very hard!

This venue currently provides the closest thing to mountain backing without traveling out of Alamance County.

Good place to go walking .

This is a really neat park with several trails.

I love this peaceful river area

Great place to launch your kayak

A great place for a short hike

Beautiful park

Great place to hike!

Beautiful

Great park in the middle of Burlington!

Beautiful

Kid friendly activity.

Great trail near Burlington!

Nice area, but bathroom is horrible

Good area to put in on the river

Beautiful wooded walk

Awesome place for short hikes

Great outdoor activities

Nice walking trails, not crowded