Dunnfield Creek Natural Area

We walked down this trail after walking up the Appalachian Trail from the Res Dot parking lot and branching off towards Holly Springs on the Holly Springs trail. This is a very pretty trail and reasonably rugged. The markings are not very clear so multiple times we walked off along paths and had to retrace when we hit dead ends. The trail crosses the Dunnfield Creek multiple times so be prepared to get your feet wet.

Beautiful area, got lucky. 50 degrees on a February day. Nice sunshine too. Saw this on my way to Newark Liberty and just had to stop after I saw the sign to Turtle beach.
Never found the Beach, but did find part of the Appalachian Trail, again.
Creek side trail, really lovely. Kinda steep in places, but not really. Wide path, not too many rocks on it. Lot of downed trees, one was on the way. Got about a mile in and turned around, loved it.

Edit, turtle beach is other way on River Rd about 6 or so miles.

Great trail following the creek well marked and easily traversed. Can be runoff water on the trail and steep edges with a good drop to the creek at points.

Trail is muddy/flooded in some areas(pics). This will become more flooded as the rains come. Do not delay, come now! Embrace the water & mud to enjoy this special area. Beautiful variations of green abound! Spring is here. Creek trail is difficult with multiple creek crossings without bridges. Loved my time here. 🌿🪵☘️🌲

We took to the trail as a large group, it was easy to get to off the highway. There was plenty of parking, there were facilities to go to the bathroom and very easy to read trail markers. The trails were still slightly covered in snow and ice but it was still easy to navigate and there was enough space for people to pass freely going both up and down the trails. Great beginner type trails to get the kids into hiking. We had a blast. The bridges were great and the scenery even in the winter was top notch. Def a fun spot, we will be coming back more.