Located in the heart of North Carolina State University’s Centennial Campus and surrounded by 96 acres of protected forest, Lake Raleigh is an oasis for NC State students and the general public.
Created as a reservoir for the city of Raleigh in the early 1900s, Lake Raleigh is less than a 10-minute drive from downtown and offers opportunities for walks, picnics, disc golf, fishing, and kayaking/paddle boarding. Its trails are open from dawn until dusk.
The Walnut Creek Trail is part of the greater Capital Area Greenway System (over 100 miles of paved and unpaved trails) and this trail around Lake Raleigh connects to the Neuse River Trail (0 mile marker), Little Rock Trail, Rocky Branch Trail, and Lake Johnson East and West Loops for a total length of 15.6 miles – I’d love to bike the full length one day!
NOTE: the small parking lot does require an NC State parking permit (Mon-Fri) we went on a weekend. The small carpark down near the jetty was full, so we unloaded our paddleboards and then parked up the hill on Campus Shore Dr.
Main Campus Drive — From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday-Friday, paid parking is available at the nearby Poulton lot on Partners Way. At any other time, free parking on campus is open to the public.
Park Alumni Center — Free parking is available all day. The Park Alumni Center is open to the public for lunch and dinner on weekdays.