The Dec. 6 First Saturday Outing of the Dan River Basin Association will be a three-mile hike at Knight-Brown Nature Preserve near Belews Lake in Rockingham County, N.C.
Gathering at 10 a.m. at the trailhead, 221 Waterfield Lane, Stokesdale, NC (GPS 36.311468, -80.004158), hikers will be met by outing coordinator Ken Bridle, stewardship director of the Piedmont Land Conservancy.
Bridle, a long-time board member during Dan River Basin Association’s early years, is an expert in flora and fauna in the region and intimately familiar with the site.
“When we were doing the Stokes and Rockingham natural heritage inventories we kept finding reference to rare plants and animals from a location in the Belews Creek Quadrangle,” Bridle said.
“After searching around we realized that those locations were most likely flooded by Belews Lake in the early 1970s. The Knight-Brown Nature Preserve is the next valley to the east and contains soils and topography that relate to what was flooded and have great potential for habitat for uncommon species.”
According to the Piedmont Land Conservancy, the preserve “showcases a wooded valley, two gently rippling streams, many different types of ferns, spring wildflowers and the rare eastern leatherwood shrub.”
On this late autumn walk, trees will be nearly bare, exposing the terrain, and much of the forest floor will be covered with newly fallen leaves.
In addition to its walking trails, the preserve has an informational kiosk at the trailhead, picnic tables, and several benches along the trails.
Two large streams that traverse the property flow into Belews Lake, which provides cooling for Duke Energy’s largest coal-fired power plant and is used for recreational boating and fishing.
Several association members and guests paddled the lake on the September First Saturday Outing. Below the lake, Belews Creek joins the Dan River.
Land for the Knight-Brown Nature Preserve was donated by Cecilia Brown, who inherited the property from her partner, Paul Knight.
Brown, who lives in Santa Barbara, Calif., fulfilled the wishes of Knight, who did not want development to take place on the beautiful acreage near his former home in Stokesdale.
Support for creating the preserve has been provided by the Reidsville Area Foundation, McMichael Foundation, the family of William Hatcher Conner, and the Conservation Trust for North Carolina.
Numerous volunteers have donated their time and energy building the trails, which are part of the Rockingham County Pathways Plan.
Participants in the outing should dress in layers of synthetic fabric, wear hiking boots, and bring walking stick, lunch and water. All participants will be asked to sign a waiver.
To reach the Knight-Brown Nature Preserve, travel on U.S. 220 between Oak Ridge and Madison, N.C. Turn west onto Simpson Road, which is five miles south of the NC 704/US 311 bridge and one mile north of the merger of NC 68 with US 220.
Follow signs for Simpson Road for three miles, going straight at the first stop sign. Turn left at the second stop sign onto Ellisboro Road. Drive 0.4 miles. Turn right onto Shelton Road. Take the second right onto Campsite Road, and turn right onto Waterfield Road. The trailhead is at the end of Waterfield Road at the cul-de-sac.
Outings and meetings of the Dan River Basin Association are open to the public without charge.
For more information about the trip, contact trip coordinator Ken Bridle at 336-591-5882 or kbridle@piedmontland.org.
For membership and other information about the Dan River Basin Association, visit www.danriver.org.
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