Latham-Woodhurst Park
Located a few miles outside of New Bern, North Carolina, the Latham-Woodhurst Nature park provides a nice foray into the outdoors. Craven county’s first nature park, the facility preserves 133 acres of pristine coastal woodland. The main hiking trail leads from the parking area to a boardwalk and overlook of Broad Creek. There are two primitive restrooms on the property. One is located in the parking area. The other is found near the access to the creek. The hiking trails range in length from .16 to .8 miles in length and can be combined for a longer walk. Find the park entrance at 1095 Broad Creek Road, New Bern, NC 28560.
A Late Fall Visit
I decided to visit the park one morning in early December. Autumn arrives late along Coastal Carolina. As such there was still some fall foliage to be enjoyed during the hike. Featuring a mature deciduous forest, the trees in this preserve are quite tall. That can create some challenges for finding interesting photographs. I did find a few interesting (to me) scenes including a lovely Gray Squirrel that was feeding on the forest floor. The morning made for a nice quiet retreat into nature. For the most part I had the entire park to myself only encountering one other human who was exiting the trail as I was starting in. I always find periods of solitude in nature good for my soul.
The Photography
Below are a few selected images from my visit. I hope you enjoy them. If so, I’d love to read your comments at the end of the article. Have you ever visited Latham-Woodhurst Nature Park? Did you enjoy it?
For the photographers the landscape images were captured using a Canon 6D Mark II DSLR body mated with a Canon 24-105MM f/4.0″L” zoom lens. For the shot of the squirrel I used my Canon 7D Mark II body coupled with a Sigma 150-600MM f/5-6.3 “Contemporary” Super Zoom lens. While I often use a tripod, on this morning I decided to travel light. All images were made while hand-holding the camera. Both lenses feature image stabilization features which helps greatly when photographing without the use of a tripod.
For the art lovers all the images below are available for purchase at https://bob-decker.pixels.com/ In addition to prints note cards, coffee mugs, posters, tee shirts and other products are available with these images printed on them.




4 Comments
These images make me feel good. I sense the quiet, and I like the mix of green and orange – a bit strange to a Minnesotan.
Lovely images, Bob! The little squirrel is a great capture. I’ve often wondered if you could add an artificial sun and flare to a bright forest scene, I’ll have to try that sometime! The first image with the curving road might be a good one.
Great selection to capture autumn – so many places still to visit in the US!
A walk in the forest can be good for the soul. You captured that feeling perfectly in those images and their captions.