Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area offers a quick escape into nature with its three miles of trail exploring riverside forests, bluffs reaching to the highest point in the area and mountain laurel and rhododendron thickets. Visitors can fish in a pair of quiet ponds for bass and panfish or in the Eno River, either from the bank or by wading its shallows. Picnic grounds supply a grassy lawn and large, shading oaks. Rangers lead regular interpretive programs about the state natural area and its piedmont monodnock that supports species that are rare and significant in the region.