Brinegar Cabin

• A one‑and‑a‑half‑story log home (built in the 1880s) with clapboards, twin dry‑stacked stone chimneys, and a cedar‑shake roof.
• Outbuildings that tell the self‑sufficiency story: a granary/root cellar, a springhouse for food storage, and a Mission 66 outhouse. The landscape still hints at the orchard and a family cemetery.
• Inside (when staffed), simple furnishings plus displays of mountain crafts and weaving—Caroline Brinegar’s specialty—bring daily life into focus.
• Outside, an interpretive garden shows what subsistence farming looked like here.

Two classic Doughton Park routes—Cedar Ridge Trail and Bluff Mountain Trail—begin right by the cabin, and the Mountains‑to‑Sea Trail also passes here. If the cabin interior is closed, pair a quick walk of the grounds with a longer hike.

Expect typical Doughton Park neighbors in the fields and forest edges: white‑tailed deer, wild turkeys, and plenty of songbirds; black bears are occasional.

This is a simple, historic stop: a small parking area, about three picnic tables, and interpretive signs. There are no concessions, and services are limited, so bring water and snacks.

Martin and Caroline Brinegar settled here in the late 1800s, raising crops and livestock on roughly 125 acres. Martin made shoes; Caroline wove cloth—skills that helped the family get by until the land was acquired for the Parkway in the 1930s.