As staff at Harris Lake County Park in southwestern Wake County looked for ways to keep visitors engaged during the pandemic last year, they dusted off an orienteering trail that an Eagle Scout created a few years ago, updated it and opened it up to the public. Today, it's become a popular spot for families to visit to gain some orienteering skills and spend some time outside.

"It's done really well with the public," Christina Hester, park manager, tells me.

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As the county park's website says, orienteering is sometimes called the "art of map and compass reading." Its origins as a recreational activity date back more than 100 years and offers a fun way to exercise, learn about maps and compasses and build on wilderness survival skills. But, in this case, at Harris Lake, you're never too far from civilization.

"You're learning about different map skills, reading the land, looking at the terrain," Hester said. "At the same time, you're out in nature, enjoying what you see."

Harris Lake has two orienteering courses. There's a short course with five waypoints, which are the individual points along the course that you're tasked with finding. It takes about 30 minutes to complete. A longer course with 16 waypoints takes about 60 to 90 minutes to complete.

If you go, you'll need to bring a few things of your own:

  • A printed version of the course card of the course that you plan on tackling. Be sure to print it out at home before you arrive at the park.
    • A compass. The app on your phone will work.
      • A pencil
        • A calculator
          • Water and bug spray

            Harris Lake's orienteering brochure lays out the basics of the activity. You can find the brochure and those course cards on the public programs section of Harris Lake's website. (You also can find more information about the park's geocaching course there, which Hester described as a tech level up to orienteering.) The courses are found in the day use area of the park near the playground, restrooms, picnic shelters and parking.

            At the beginning, you'll need to measure your pacing — the distance you travel with each step. There's a special pace station at the park where you can do this.

            From there, you can get started, using the course chart that you printed at home, which lists the "bearing" and distance to each waypoint, as your guide.  (For more about taking a bearing, check out this post on REI's website about how to use a compass.)

            When Hester has done the courses with her own kids, she's had them take turns doing different tasks. To find a waypoint, one might hold the course sheet and the other might use the compass and then they switch to find the next. "Its a great family activity," she said.

            For now, once you've done the course, you've done the course. Harris Lake isn't switching them up regularly. But Hester said she's looking at making changes every couple of years so that there are new experiences for everybody.

            Harris Lake County Park is at 2112 County Park Dr., New Hill. The orienteering course is open during park hours, which are 8 a.m. to sunset, seven days a week. It's free.