Research Triangle

The Triangle refers to the area in the Piedmont of central North Carolina including Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. These major cities make up the three "points" of the triangle, but the Triangle also includes smaller towns such as Cary, Wake Forest, and Hillsborough. The Triangle is sometimes referred to as Research Triangle due to the density of institutions of higher education, including North Carolina State University, Duke University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and others, and the concentration of high-tech, biotech, and pharmaceutical firms in the region. For the purposes of this page, I consider the Triangle to include Wake, Durham, Orange, Johnston, Granville, Chatham, and Lee counties.

Map:

The greater Triangle region has a number of city, county, state, and private parks that provide great opportunities for hiking and enjoying nature without a long drive for residents. This map shows some of the places that I've hiked at and made a page for.

City of Raleigh Parks

Raleigh, named for Sir Walter Raleigh, is the Capital of North Carolina. Sometimes referred to as a city within a park, there's no shortage of city parks and greenways to go for stroll. Here are a few that I have made websites for.

Annie Louise Wilkerson, MD Nature Preserve: A small nature preserve near Falls Lake with about 2 miles of trails and an environmental education center.

Capital Area Greenway: With more than 100 miles of paved and unpaved trails, the Capital Area Greenway snakes through almost all parts of the city. Neuse River Trail, the longest in the system, is part of the statewide Mountains-to-Sea Trail, and the East Coast Greenway follows several of the system's trails.

Durant Nature Preserve: A former scout camp that is now a city nature preserve with several miles of hiking trails around two lakes.

Lake Johnson: A park near downtown Raleigh and NC State campus with paved and unpaved greenway trails around the lake. Paddleboats and other non-motorized boats are also available for rent during the summer season.

Lake Lynn: Lake Lynn is a park and greenway trail surrounding the man-made lake on Hare Snipe Creek. It's a great place for exercise and to view wildlife from the boardwalk trails.

Shelley Lake: A park in North Raleigh off Millbrook Road with a paved greenway trail surrounding the lake and access to several greenway trails.

City of Durham Parks

American Tobacco Trail: A former rail line converted to a multi-use trail that runs more than twenty miles through Durham, Chatham, and Wake Counties. The City of Durham manages the Durham County section.

West Point on the Eno: A park in north Durham that surrounds a 2-mile stretch of the scenic Eno River. The park also features a restored mill and several other historical structures.

Town of Cary Parks

American Tobacco Trail: A former rail line converted to a multi-use trail that runs more than twenty miles through Durham, Chatham, and Wake Counties. The Town of Cary manages the Chatham County Section.

Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve: The Town of Cary leases part of Hemlock Bluffs State Natural Area as a nature preserve and environmental education center.

Town of Morrisville

Morrisville Greenway: The Town of Morrisville has a small, but growing greenway system with 2 trails totaling about 3.5 miles.

Wake County Parks

American Tobacco Trail: A former rail line converted to a multi-use trail that runs more than twenty miles through Durham, Chatham, and Wake Counties. Wake County Parks manages the Wake County Section.

Blue Jay Point County Park: A park in North Raleigh/Wake Forest consisting of a peninsula on Falls Lake. The park has hiking trails, playgrounds, an educational center, and a zipline course.

Crowder District Park: A small park in Apex with 33 acres of landscaped grounds, hardwood forests and a 3-acre pond.

Harris Lake County Park: A country park on Harris Lake, the cooling water reservoir for Shearon Harris Power Plant.

Lake Crabtree County Park: A country park on Lake Crabtree, near RDU airport, with hiking trails and boat rentals.

North Wake Landfill District Park: A former county landfill that has been covered and re-purposed to serve as a park.

Robertson Millpond Preserve: A Wake County Nature Preserve that protects an old millpond that has turned into a cypress swamp.

Turnipseed Nature Preserve: A small nature preserve in southeastern Wake County near Wendell with several miles of hiking trails.

Orange County Parks:

Hollow Rock Nature Park: Hollow Rock Nature Park protects a small section of New Hope Creek on the Orange/Durham County line.

Lee County Parks

San-Lee Park: A Lee County park with camping and hiking and mountain biking trails.

NC Botanical Gardens Preserves

Penny's Bend Nature Preserve: Penny's Bend protects a unique section of the Eno River, where high pH soils lead to an abundance of uncommon plants.

University Forests

The large universities in the area have protected forests, some of which are open to the public.

Carl Alwin Schenck Memorial Forest: Schenck Forests is a North Carolina State University research and educational forest with a couple of miles of trails open to the public.

Duke Forest: A 7,000-acre forest owned by Duke University spread around 6 tracts in Durham, Orange, and Alamance Counties.

Private Nature Preserves

Several non-profit conservancy organizations have helped protect land in the Triangle region. Triangle Land Conservancy is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting unique landscapes throughout the Research Triangle Region.

Brumley Nature Preserve: A 600-acre nature preserve in western Orange County.

Flower Hill Nature Preserve: A small nature preserve in eastern Johnston County containing an unusual population of rhododendrons.

Horton Grove Nature Preserve: A nature preserve in northern Durham County that protects the former agricultural land around Stagville Plantation.

Johnston Mill Nature Preserve: A nature preserve in Orange County that protects a section of New Hope Creek.

Swift Creek Bluffs Nature Preserve: A small private nature preserve that protects the steep bluffs along Swift Creek in Cary.

White Pines Nature Preserve: A nature preserve at the confluence of the Deep and Rocky Rivers where an unusual population of White Pine grows.

Tar River Land Conservancy primarily protects land east of the Triangle, but one property is in Granville County in the Neuse River watershed.

Ledge Creek Forest Conservation Area: A private nature preserve protecting a rocky stretch of Ledge Creek near Creedmoor.

Eno River Association has been involved in protecting many parcels of land along the Eno River and its tributaries. Most of the land is now part of the state park or other parks, but the association has one preserve open to the public.

Confluence Natural Area: A 200-acre preserve at the confluence of East and West Forks of Eno River.

Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association protects lands in the watershed of Ellerbe Creek, a major tributary of Falls Lake.

Glennstone Nature Preserve: An 83-acre preserve in the Glennstone Subdivision along lower Ellerbe Creek.

State Parks

There are several state parks in the Research Triangle region.

Falls Lake State Recreation Area: Falls Lake is a large reservoir that supplies Raleigh and much of Wake County with water. The land surrounding the lake is protected as game land and state park land. A section of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail runs along the southern shore and the state recreation area has numerous opportunities for camping and water activities.

Jordan Lake State Recreation Area: Jordan Lake is a 14,000 acre reservoir in Chatham County and like Falls Lake, the land surrounding the lake is protected as game land and state park lands. There are numerous camping, boating, and swimming opportunities on the lake.

Lower Haw River State Natural Area: A state natural area managed as a satellite of Jordan Lake State Recreation Area that protects Haw River from Bynum to Jordan Lake.

Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area: A state natural area managed as a satellite of Eno River State Park with a few miles of hiking trails around Occoneechee Mountain, the highest point in the Triangle.

William B. Umstead State Park: Nestled between Raleigh, Cary, and RDU airport, Umstead State Park is an natural oasis in a growing urban area. The park features camping, picnic shelters, and more than 20 miles of trails.

State Forests:

The North Carolina Forest Service has a couple state forests in the Triangle region.

Clemmons Educational State Forest: An educational state forest in Johnston and Wake Counties with several miles of hiking trails and educational exhibits.

State Game Lands:

State Game Lands are managed by NC Wildlife Resources Commission. As these areas are open to hunting, wear blaze orange when hiking during hunting season.

Butner-Falls of Neuse Game Land: Butner-Falls of Neuse Game Land surrounds Falls Lake. The 60-mile Falls Lake Trail, part of the statewide Mountains-to-Sea Trail runs along the south shore of the lake.

Army Corps of Engineers:

The US Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District manages flood control reservoirs in the Research Triangle region.

Falls Lake: Falls Lake is a 12,000-acre lake used for flood control and water supply for Raleigh and surrounding communities. The Army Corps of Engineers manages several miles of trails around the dam, including part of the 60-mile Falls Lake Trail along the lake's southern shore.

Other:

Carolina Tiger Rescue: Carolina Tiger Rescue is dedicated to rescuing and providing a home to wild cats formerly kept as pets. The preserve offers tours to see the resident cats and carnivores.

External Links:

NC State Parks website: https://www.ncparks.gov/