We invite you to share this special place in the heart of Rockingham County, North Carolina.

On property belonging to the NC Upper Piedmont Research Station, the 1.7-mile loop winds through old-growth forest, skirts two ponds, and follows the fence lines of pastures where a prized Black Angus herd grazes. Crops are tested in fields alongside farm roads once used as carriage trails by the wealthy owners of Chinqua-Penn Plantation. Remnants of their lavish parties linger in structures built of locally quarried stone. Many birds, insects, amphibians, and small mammals call this home.

Chinqua-Penn’s builder and owner, the late Jefferson Penn, sends this invitation: “Come, and you may find some meditation for the mind, some solace for the soul, some harmony for the heart. Anyhow, come!!”

So, step back to the 1920s, count the newborn calves, watch and listen for feathered friends, and enjoy the welcoming faces you’ll meet.