Horton Grove Nature Preserve

Horton Grove Nature Preserve is a private nature preserve in northern Durham County that is owned and managed by the Triangle Land Conservancy (TLC). At over 700 acres, Horton Grove is the largest TLC property open to the public and has about 8 miles of hiking trails for visitors to explore the area. The Horton Grove area was once part of the 30,000-acre Stagville Plantation and trails are in the works to connect the nature preserve with Stagville State Historic Site.

Contact Information:

7360 Jock Road

Bahama, NC

GPS: 36.14229, -78.84366

Website: https://www.triangleland.org/explore/nature-preserves/horton-grove-nature-preserve

Directions:

The preserve is located in Bahama, northeast of Durham. From Durham, head north on Roxboro Road, which is US-501 Business north of I-85. About 1.5 miles north of I-85, bear right on Old Oxford Highway. Follow this road for about 7.5 miles and turn left on Jock Road, which becomes gravel. The parking area is on the left in 1.3 miles.

Map:

Trails:

There are over 8 miles of trails throughout the preserve. Each of the trails is named for one of the enslaved families that lived at Stagville Plantation.

Hart Trail:

Length: 0.5 miles

Blaze: Red

Hart connects Holman Loop and Justice Loop along the west side of the preserve.

Holman Loop:

Length: 0.8 miles

Blaze: Blue

Holman Loop starts from the main parking area and loops through the grassland trail.

Jordan Trail:

Length: 0.7 miles

Blaze: Green

Jordan Trail leads from the Great Barn at the south end of the preserve to Walker Trail.

Justice Loop:

Length: 1.6 miles

Blaze: Orange

Justice Loop connects to Hart Trail and makes a loop leading down to Jock Road across from the trailhead for Walker Trail.

Peaks Loop:

Length: 0.9 miles

Blaze: Yellow

Peaks Loop starts across the street from the main parking area and makes a loop through the northern part of the preserve.

Sowell Trail:

Length: 0.9 miles

Blaze: Red

Sowell Trail starts across the street from the Great Barn and makes a short loop around an old farm pond.

Walker Trail:

Length: 1.8 miles

Blaze: Dark Blue

Walker Trail starts along Jock Road and connects to Jordan Trail and Peaks Loop.

Wildlife:

Wildflowers:

Horton Grove is a great place to see wildflowers in the spring. The open meadow and forests provide habitat for a number of wildflower species. One of my favorites is the dwarf crested iris (Iris cristata).

Green-and-Gold (Chrysogonum virginianum) is another common species with bright yellow flowers with five petals.

Heartleaf foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) have tall inflorescences with lots of little white flowers, giving them a "foamy" appearance.

Virginia pennywort (Obolaria virginica) is an unusual flower that gets nutrients through a symbiotic relationship with soil fungi.

Painted buckeye (Aesculus sylvatica) is a shrub that produces interesting yellow flowers.

Wild geranium (Geranium maculatum) are less common, but I did find a couple of these in the preserve.

Star chickweed (Stellaria pubera) has small, white, star-shaped flowers with five petals.

Reptiles:

I spotted this common box turtle (Terrapene carolina) while out hiking on a rainy day. Box turtles or so named because the lower shell is hinged and turtle can completely enclose itself.

Blog Entries:

04-Apr-2020: Horton Grove Wildflowers

16-Sep-2018: Hiking in Hurricane Florence

08-Apr-2017: Horton Grove & Penny's Bend

External Links:

Triangle Land Conservancy website: https://www.triangleland.org/explore/nature-preserves/horton-grove-nature-preserve