Horton Grove Nature Preserve

708 acres in Durham County
GPS Coordinates: 36.142293, -78.843658

Hike Through History at Horton Grove Nature Preserve
Just 15 minutes north of downtown Durham, Horton Grove is a haven for outdoor enthusiasts eager to escape the daily grind. Triangle Land Conservancy’s largest public preserve, the 708-acre area offers eight miles of hiking trails, making it possible to spend the day here, hiking, birding, or photographing the scenery. The trails offer a lot of variety as they wind through upland oak-hickory forests, by gentle creeks, and along native plant meadows.

Visitors can see savanna-like grasslands that were once common in the Piedmont and which are now actively maintained by TLC staff and volunteers, who have seeded 20 acres of warm-season grassland around the main parking area. The grassland attracts birds such as northern harrier and loggerhead shrike, as well as pollinators like monarch butterflies that are drawn to flowering milkweed. An observation platform in the meadow is a great picnic spot.

Families with young children will enjoy the generally flat terrain at Horton Grove, as well as the .8-mile That Makes Sense Interpretative Trail, which features kiosks exploring how animals and people use their senses to navigate and survive in the world.