Cox Mountain Trail

Cox Mountain Trail is the premier long route in Eno River State Park, climbing the ridge above the Eno River and returning via the river corridor itself. The loop offers a satisfying combination of ridge hiking with views through the canopy and intimate river travel through rocky gorges. The Eno River is a blackwater piedmont river, amber-colored from tannins leached from oak and other deciduous trees. Several ford crossings of the river are required, making this trail inadvisable during flood conditions. The ridge sections pass through mature upland forest dominated by white oak, red oak, and hickory, while the river bottom supports sycamore, box elder, and river birch. Cox Mountain rises to modest elevation but the views across the river corridor from its spine are distinctive. Wildlife along this trail includes river otters, great blue herons, and belted kingfishers in the river corridor, and red-shouldered hawks and pileated woodpeckers in the upland forest. The trail is particularly popular with Durham-area residents for whom Eno River State Park provides a vital natural escape within the urban-suburban landscape. No entrance fee is charged. The Fews Ford access area trailhead on Cole Mill Road is the primary starting point for this loop.