NC State Parks - Jones Lake

Jones Lake State Park

https://www.ncparks.gov/state-parks/jones-lake-state-park

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jones-Lake-State-Park/132573786781975

I am on the road again to see 9 State Parks in the SE corner of NC.  It was a beautiful day with the temperature in the high 70's.  The ride started after rush hour and it took about 2 hours to get to the lake.  As has been the case with half the parks, the listed address didn't match up with the main entrance and in fact the road/path/trail the GPS had for me to turn on was a dead end.

Off the pavement into deep sand, I almost lost it. It took every muscle I had to hold the bike upright. So I decided to travel on to see if this was a service road and come in the back way but no luck. 200 yards down this sandy lane was a little yellow sign...Dead End, No Access! Well this was not good but I managed to turn around and get back out of this. You can see the little yellow sign in the picture. Why wasn't this posted near the main road?

Jones Lake State Park surrounds the lake that is called a Carolina Bay. Most of these lakes are shallow and have heavy vegetation. The other lakes I will visit today are all the same except for their size. Plenty of wildlife including poisonous snakes and some alligators. The campgrounds were spotless and the picnic area and parking were generous. The beach only had one person swimming.

It was very inviting on a hot day. For a day trip and picnic this is a great stop.