In May of 2012, the Oak Ridge Planning and Zoning Board voted unanimously to approve a site plan for the creation of a 15 space parking lot at the request of the Guilford County Parks and Recreation on the newly acquired northern tract. Soon after this was done, Guilford County disbanded its “Open Space Committee” so now we have a great parking lot, complete with a paved handicapped space, which was beginning to be a perfect place to dump old sofas and trash. After I placed this cache, the City of Oak Ridge cleaned up the parking lot, installed signs and mowed the entrance area to the preserve. There are even a couple of “Trail Crossing” signs now. Please use caution when crossing the road here. I am going to offer the parking lot to Geocachers while they hike the beautiful trails of the almost “unknown” Cascades Preserve while gathering up (or placing) new caches along the trails. I recommend paying close attention to the trail markers since the trail is unmaintained and can be hard to follow at times. I have straightened and added trail flags and in places added survey ribbons.
The caches you are seeking vary in difficulty, terrain and size and they have been placed so you can experience this hidden jewel of Guilford County. This cache gets you in the Cascades Preserve parking lot. If you have trouble here, you may not want to continue this adventure.