City: Raleigh, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: 8801 Glenwood Ave.
City: Raleigh, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: 4620 Lake Wheeler Rd.
3. Lake Johnson
City: Raleigh, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (919) 233-2121
Address: 4601 Avent Ferry Rd.
Description: The 5½ miles of paved and natural paths that circle Lake Johnson are popular with runners who appreciate both the challenge of the lakeside hills and the shade of the woods. Boaters can rent Jon boats, pedal boats, canoes, kayaks, and small sailboats or bring their own non-motorized small crafts to the 150-acre lake. Anglers can fish for largemouth bass, shell cracker, crappie, bream, catfish, and carp. The lake sponsors a free outdoor concert series during the summer. The park is open dawn to dusk, except on Monday October through March. Admission is free.
4. Lake Wheeler
City: Raleigh, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (919) 662-5704
Address: 6404 Lake Wheeler Rd.
Description: South of downtown, and convenient to Cary and Raleigh, 650-acre Lake Wheeler is a water source for the city. Boaters can bring motorized or non-motorized craft to the lake or rent Jon boats, canoes, or pedal boats. Jet skis are not allowed. The 150 acres of park surrounding the lake offer a volleyball court and picnic areas, fishing access points, a conference center for rent, and a concession stand. The park is open daily from sunrise to sunset. Admission is free but fees are charged for boat launches, picnic shelter rentals, and the volleyball court.
City: Raleigh, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: 1 Mimosa St.
6. Walnut Creek Wetland Center And Park
City: Raleigh, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (919) 831-1961
Address: 950 Peterson St.
Description: Walnut Creek Park offers a rare opportunity to experience a wetland ecosystem within an urban area. Its 59 acres are southeast of downtown Raleigh along a once-polluted stretch of Walnut Creek. Opened in 2009, the site is home to a $1.2 million environmental education center, greenway trails, and a deck overlooking the floodplain. Visitors can get a better understanding of the value of wetlands for water quality and wildlife preservation through exploration and programs offered by the park’s naturalists.
7. Marsh Creek Skate Park
City: Raleigh, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: 3016 New Hope Rd.
Description: A waterfall bowl, a half-pipe, a volcano, rails, and hubba ledges are among the features skateboarders can grind on at the outdoor concrete skate park the city of Raleigh opened in 2009. Admission is free, but skaters must sign a waiver or, if they are 18 or younger, have their parents sign one. The park is unsupervised. Pads and helmets are required. No bicycles are allowed. Adjacent to the skate course is an inline hockey rink.
8. Carolina Pines
City: Raleigh, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (919) 872-4156
Address: 2305 Lake Wheeler Rd.
9. Millbrook
City: Raleigh, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (919) 872-4156
Address: 1905 Spring Forest Rd.
10. Oakwood
City: Raleigh, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (919) 872-4156
Address: 910 Brookside Dr.
Description: The city operates three dog parks. Admission is free. Owners must scoop poop. No dogs in heat allowed. No dogs younger than four months old. No digging. No food or toys allowed inside the park. Each park includes a separate area for small dogs and large dogs. Hours are sunrise to sunset, except for Millbrook, which has lights and is open until 10 p.m. Each park is supported by a volunteer citizens’ group that helps maintain the parks and provides an online forum for news and issues important to pet owners who frequent the parks. Some groups organize events at their parks as well.
11. Wake Forest
City: Raleigh, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (919) 554-6180
Address: 1150 N. White St.
Description: Opened in 2007, Wake Forest’s dog park provides separate areas for large and small dogs. Dogs must be at least six months old and current on rabies shots. No dogs in heat. Owners must fill in any holes dug by dogs and scoop poop. No food or treats are allowed inside the park. The park is open from dawn to dusk.
12. Falls Lake
City: Raleigh, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (919) 676-1027
Description: North of Raleigh, Falls Lake’s 12,000 acres spread across the Durham, Wake, and Granville county lines. The state parks system manages the lake and its recreation areas. Most of the lake is dedicated to motor boats and jet-skis, which can launch from the Highway 40 or Rolling View boat ramps. Beaverdam recreation area is a haven for canoeists and kayakers since gasoline-powered boats are prohibited. Non-motorized boats can also launch from Sandling Beach. Anglers can find bass, bluegill, catfish, and crappie in Falls Lake.
13. Harris Lake
City: Raleigh, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Description: Harris Lake is a 4,000-acre cooling pool for Progress Energy’s Shearon-Harris Nuclear Power Plant, 22 miles southwest of Raleigh on the Chatham-Wake county line. Wake County’s Harris Lake Park permits launches of only non-motorized boats from its recreation center. The county leases 680 acres of the lake. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission sponsors two Harris Lake launch points: On Bartley Holleman Road off New Hill Road, south of the county park; and on Cross Point Road, off Christian Chapel Road in Chatham County on the lake’s western shore. Motorboat access is allowed from those launches. For more, go to www.ncwildlife.org or call (919) 707-0010.
City: Raleigh, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
15. Lake Michie
City: Raleigh, NC
Category: Parks & Recreation
Description: One of two reservoirs that supply Durham with water, Lake Michie (pronounced Mickey, like the Mouse) is in northern Durham County on Bahama Road off Roxboro Road, about 12 miles north of downtown. The Durham Parks and Recreation Department operates a boathouse there and sponsors programs such as fishing clinics for kids and stargazing. Fishermen appreciate its plentiful largemouth bass. Kayaks, canoes, and gas-powered motors are allowed on the 480-acre lake. Jon boats and canoes are available to rent. The lake is open mid-March through mid-November on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Call the Lake Michie Boathouse at the number above for more information.