St. John’s Hiking group meets on the 3rd Saturday of every month at a selected time and hiking destination. For more information, contact Helen Holt 919-522-7917 or hwholt09@gmail.com.

Fall is slowly arriving, which means hiking season has returned! St. John’s first hike for 2025-26 will be Saturday, Sept. 20 at 2 p.m. NOT 8:30 a.m.  A morning conflict that day interferes with the usual morning schedule; still, an afternoon September hike is better than no hike at all!   During the deep winter, we will again have two afternoon hikes either to mix things up a bit or to avoid uncomfortably cold temps.

So, let’s start with the Forest Ridge Park, 3.2-mile Shoreline Trail, 2100 Old NC 98 Highway, Wake Forest. The park is nearby, convenient, and shady in case summer’s “dog days” temporarily return.  Car-poolers should meet at the church by 1:45; self-drivers meet by 2 p.m. in the park’s parking lot nearest the visitor center. In addition to water and good walking shoes, I suggest bringing insect spray if needed, a hat, and hiking poles. Please let me know if you plan to hike so we will be on the lookout for you.

For the remaining hikes, see the schedule below which we will follow barring any unforeseen circumstances.  While I’ve included specific trails, I am absolutely open to any suggestions for alternate trails of which I am unaware.  They simply need to be soft (i.e., not paved) trails within a 10-mile or so range of St. John’s.

• Oct. 18, 8:30 a.m.: MST, Falls Lake State Recreation Area, 13304 Creedmoor Road
• Nov. 15, 8:30 a.m.: Wake Forest Reservoir Trail, 1215 Wait Ave., WF (near bypass)
• Dec. 20, 2 p.m.: Horseshoe Farm, 2900 Horseshoe Farm Rd., Wake Forest,
• Jan. 17, 2 p.m.: ALW Nature Preserve, 5229 Awls Haven Dr., Raleigh (off Raven Ridge)
• Feb. 21: 8:30 am. , MST, Shinleaf Recreation Area, 13708 New Light Road, Wake Forest
• March 21: 8:30 a.m., Blue Jay Point Park, 3200 Pleasant Union Rd, Raleigh
• April 18; 8;30 a.m.  Durant Nature Preserve, 8305 Camp Durant Rd., Raleigh
• May 16: MST, 8:30 a.m. , Make a suggestion! 🙂