Hike at Owl's Roost trail/Bur-Mil Park

• Date Hiked: April 5, 2020
• Posted length: Owl's Roost:  4.3 miles.  (access to trail via the Atlantic-Yadkin Greenway)
• Total miles Tracked: 6.5 miles
• Type of Trail:Multi-use Mountain biking/hiking trail
• Conveniences: In non-plague times, bathrooms, water, and a nature center. Picnic shelters and parking still available! 
• Best Features: Varied terrain, easy to get to, easy to follow. 
• Worst Features: Shared with mountain bikers. Most are courteous but be prepared to jump into potential poison ivy thickets on very short notice. 
• Wildlife spotted: Turtles
• Vegetation: Pine and hardwood forests
• Associated Website:https://www.greensboro-nc.gov/departments/parks-recreation/trails-greenways/hiking-trails/owl-s-roost and https://www.guilfordcountync.gov/our-county/county-parks/bur-mil-park
• Primary Author: Cheryl

On a warm Sunday, we met James' sisters Joy and Gina, brother-in-law Joe, and their friend Tracey for a hike on the Owl's Roost Trail.  The trail itself borders a peninsula along Lake Brandt in Greensboro and is off the Atlantic-Yadkin Greenway.  We all met up at Bur-Mil Park and solidified our hiking plan.  If it weren't for all the closures due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, Bur-Mil Park would have provided bathrooms along with a pretty awesome Wildlife center.  Maps were also not available, so we made-do with a snap shot of the map on the door to the wildlife center.   

We headed out from next to the wildlife center to the Atlantic-Yadkin Greenway, a paved, multi-use trail.  Tons of people were out walking, running and riding on this sunny Sunday in early April.  We walked about a mile and a half down the A-Y Greenway, before dropping down into the woods to The Owl's Roost Trail.

This trail is a multi-use Mountain biking (ranked difficult) and hiking trail.  We had six in our group, so we were able to call out to each other when bikers approached so we could step off the trail.  Almost all the bikers we encountered were courteous and also called out to us - but there's always a few that feel like they own the trail.

The ferns were starting to unfurl with their fiddleheads, the dogwoods and redbud were flowering, and other wildflowers were also beginning to bloom.  

Midway along the trail they had a mail box where you could leave a note, much like the Kindred Spirit mailbox at Sunset Beach. 

The trail winds around the peninsula overlooking Lake Brandt.  We all talked about when we'd come back to the park to explore by kayak.  

Gina took this pic of Joy and Cheryl keeping 6 feet apart! 

This is a very popular trail, so if you're looking to get away from other people, you might have better options. But, if you're looking for an easily accessible trail in the Triad that provides varied terrain, a good loop length, and a nice workout you'd have a difficult time picking a better destination.