Jones Lake State Park

Swim, paddle and hike around a tea-colored Carolina bay lake in a free state park that opened as North Carolina's first for Black visitors.

4117 N.C. 242 N., Elizabethtown, NC 28337 · Elizabethtown, NC

About Jones Lake State Park

Jones Lake State Park sits in Bladen County, 40 miles southeast of Fayetteville, and opened as the first North Carolina state park to welcome Black Americans. Jones Lake and Salters Lake are Carolina bays, oval depressions whose origin is still debated; Jones Lake is fed only by rain and its tea-colored water is just 8 feet deep. You can swim from the lake beach, rent a boat in season, fish, camp and walk 6 miles of trails. Day use is free; boat rentals and camping cost extra.

#state park
#carolina bay
#swimming
#paddling
#camping

What's around here?

The closest stops to Jones Lake State Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

Sports & Outdoors
Local Gem
Singletary Lake State Park
No admission fee
Walk a short trail through bay forest to a rain-fed Carolina bay lake, then fish or paddle on it during day-use hours.
10 mi awayMore like this
Sports & Outdoors
Outdoor Adventure
Lumber River State Park
No admission fee
Paddle a dark, slow blackwater river between cypress swamps, with riverside and paddle-in campsites along the way.
31 mi awayMore like this
Museums
History Buff
Airborne & Special Operations Museum
No admission fee
Walk through U.S. Army airborne and special operations history, from the paratroopers of 1940 to today, in downtown Fayetteville.
Transit: reachable by public transit
31 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
Shopping
Cross Creek Mall
Check prices
Regional shopping mall in Fayetteville with fashion retailers, dining, a spa, and interactive games.
34 mi awaySwitch it up: Shopping
Attractions
Quirky Fun
South of the Border
No admission fee
Pull off I-95 for a sombrero-shaped observation tower, a giant Pedro statue, shops and a reptile exhibit.
43 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions
Sports & Outdoors
Little Pee Dee State Park
No admission fee
A quiet 835-acre state park in the Sandhills near Dillon, known for its lake, wildlife viewing, camping, and trails.
46 mi awayMore like this