pettigrew state park

Stopped by to take a little hike and the new boardwalk was finished. It is great! It runs through the low land, out to the overlook at Lake Phelps and then over to Somerset Historic site. Took the Moccasin trail back to the parking area. Very nice. No fee to take the hike. The park has camping sites and picnic areas. There are bathrooms at the visitor center and at the camping site. Not as large as some of the other parks but it is quiet and away from it all.

My wife and I did a 10 km walk throughout the park, and it was wonderful. They recently added a boardwalk through some of the swamps by the lake (near ranger station and boat ramp) Probably was at least a half mile of new construction. Enjoyed the history of the plantation and Lake Phelps. It's out in the farm country, but easy to find as the roads are clearly marked for the park and Somerset Place.

Pettigrew State Park is a hidden gem in the NC State Park System, although it's located just a few miles off US-64 on the way to the Outer Banks. It's remoteness, however, is one reason it's so nice. No crowds, no traffic, just an opportunity to be out in nature away from the hectic pace of everyday life. The main feature of the park is Lake Phelps, North Carolina's second largest natural lake at 16,600 acres. Boating opportunities are plentiful on the lake, the nearby Scuppernong River, and canals within the park. There is a small campground for camping on the lake and Somerset Place, a historical plantation, is located within the park. Several hiking trails run along northern lake shore. My wife and I recently visited and had a lovely picnic lunch by the lake and then hiked the Moccasin Trail. This trail is just under six miles round trip from the park office to Moccasin Overlook and back. Although the trail runs along the lake shore, dense forest prevented views of the lake for most of the trail. Vegetation was so dense in a couple places that it formed a "tunnel" along the trail. At the end of the trail, a 350-foot boardwalk leads to the overlook. The overlook provided nice views of the lake, but the highlight was the swamp through which the boardwalk led. It was full of beautiful cypress trees draped in Spanish moss and really made the hike memorable. And we didn't see another person the entire time. As a warning, this swampy area can be very buggy in the warmer months. I would recommend visiting in the winter when the bugs are dead or bathing in bug spray before visiting.

Isolated...peaceful...this is the type of place you seek out purposefully. The ranger said it best, "you have to really work to get here". You come here for quiet exploration. We set out for a weekend of adventure and were openminded enough to find pleasure in the simplicity of the place...we canoed along the north shoreline of Lake Phelps (the sunset here is truly NOT to be missed!) hiked every trail park had to offer. We marveled at Somerset plantation... We drove along Shore Drive to Cypress Point, Pocosin Natural Area and were surprised and delighted to have that entire area to ourselves! The wildlife abounds here, especially for those willing to go 'the extra mile'. Watch for FROGS all around, even at the campsites and the path to the bathhouse! Spider webs can be annoying all along the trails...every few feet we had to swat away webs strewn across at eye level. All the spiders we saw were not harmful, though appeared quite scary. We saw a female canopy jumping spider on the fencepost around the goats at Somerset. Since we were there during autumn, the bugs seemed minimal. But we did not escape several mosquito bites, despite heavy coating of bugspray....so come prepared and stay alert...There are 3 types of venomous snakes here but we never encountered any, nor did we see a black bear which we were told are in abundance here. Nonetheless, what most people would dislike about this place, we absolutely love. We selfishly would prefer to keep quiet about it, it's the type of place we hope never changes.

My husband and I were exploring the Sound Country for the first time and with our handy travel books we found this State Park. We were especially interested in the canoes retrieved from the lake bottom. However after finding the Park we were told the canoes were not there and had not been there for several years. The Ranger was very accommodating and gave us a personal guided tour down to the lake edge. It is a beautiful camping area and the lake was choppy which made for some great pictures. Fascinating ecology and history of the lake. Would definitely recommend to people who wish to camp in quiet, out of the way places.

I found this park by looking at a light pollution map and this place has among the darkest skies in North Carolina, for most of the east coast actually. Perfect for astrophotography and the ranger is friendly and willing to turn off the boat ramp light upon request

We have camped here in Mid to late April several times. This is my favorite place to camp in NC and we've been to just about all of them. If you are looking for tourist type places then head to the coast,but if you're looking a place to get back to basics, enjoy wildlife & to get away from the rat race, then this State Park is the place to be. There is great paddling on the Scuppernong River that is real close, plus you can always put your boat in on Phelps Lake, but if the wind kicks up forget it, unless you are looking for a good workout. There are several places to go close by for "vacation" type things, but we prefer to hang out on park property. And the Rangers and staff are amazing!!

My husband and I stayed here Labor Day weekend. We arrived after the office closed which was not an issue. We had reserved our campsite online to avoid any issues with securing a site. The drive into the park is beautiful, nothing but wide open spaces. The park itself is very well kept and clean. The plantation was gorgeous, like you stepped back in time almost. So peaceful and quiet. You'd think since it was Labor Day there would be lots of people but I suppose the remote location of the park had to do with the lack of visitors. Most campsites were occupied but there are only 12 or so. Everyone was respectful of quiet hours and what not. We even had a ranger stop briefly to welcome us and let us know if we needed her she's be there all weekend. The only cons to this park are the bugs, which are sneaky! I had 60 bites at the end of the weekend and didnt feel a single one bite me! In addition the the bugs, there are VERY FEW stores in the area, so come prepared to the fullest! Oh! We also had an adorable, friendly orange cat hang around out campsite on and off all weekend. It was nice as we had left our dogs at home and are huge animal lovers!

We went camping here in late June. It was not as hot as we had thought, due to the nice breeze from the lake, but the biting flies were terrible. No bug spray seemed to work. The ranger was very helpful in telling us what to do and which trails he'd recommend. The campsites were shady and private and the bathroom facilities were clean and adequate. We were however disappointed that the Somerset Place home was closed for construction. This was not noted on the park's website.

I am giving the park a three because I mostly blame myself for the experience. Being familiar with Hyde County (a different county located nearby) I should have known better than to go on a warm day. My wife and I arrived anxious to do some hiking. Knowing that we were about to enter the woods we liberally applied insect repellant. The problem was that the mosquitoes at Pettigrew laugh at insect repellant. While the number of bites we received was minimal, we were constantly swarmed by mosquitoes (I'm talking horror movie proportions) for about a half hour up the trail before we decided to head back to the car. I know some will say, "Surprise! The woods have mosquitoes!" but I have never actually experienced anything this bad before.That being said, I fully intend to try Pettigrew State Park again, because I am sure it has a lot to offer. I just will not go on a day when the temperature is above 50 degrees.

In 2003, a major hurricane hit this park and devastated the trails. The previous superintendant got them back open with 4 months. In August, a minor hurricane brushed by the park, knocking some limbs down and a few small trees. The trails are still closed a week before Christmas. Apparently, they are waiting for a grant to clean up the trails, and "they might be open by next summer." What? There are several rangers and others on staff at this park that could have opened the trails by now just working 1-2 days per week on them. Very disappointed in their attitude. It is almost as if they really don't want them open so they don't have to man the station on weekends or deal with too many people visiting the park. I was going to bring a pack of Cub Scouts here in March, but we will likely go elsewhere. Again, very disappointed with this park's management.

My husband and I ended up here while motorcycle camping up Eastern NC from Morehead City and I'm glad we did. We pulled in to the campground right as the sun was going down behind the lake and the scenery was stunning. There are a couple nature trails and overlooks, boat ramp and dock for fishing on the lake, and an old plantation house that was opened for tours during the day. The campground was small but well kept and the bathrooms were clean with hot showers (better than average for state park bathrooms). The park ranger was extremely helpful and obviously excited about the area. I fear this park suffers for traffic because its small and out of the way, but it really is beautiful and I'm glad we had the chance to see it.