Waterfall Hero Hikes: Falls Lake State Recreation Area

Falls Lake State Recreation Area is a 5,035-acre North Carolina State Park consisting of seven access areas on the lake. Falls Lake is a 12,000 acre lake, with 26,000 acres of surrounding woodlands, in northern Wake and Durham Counties that acts as a reservoir for Raleigh and other communities in the Research Triangle region. The lake was constructed by the Army Corp of Engineers in the 1970s for flood control and as a reservoir with much of the surrounding land leased to state and local agencies for public recreation. The State Park recreation areas provides boating and hiking activities for residents of the Triangle and surrounding communities.

Contact Information:

Falls Lake State Recreation Area
13304 Creedmoor Road
Wake Forest, NC 27587

Phone: (919) 676-1027
Email: falls.lake@ncparks.gov
GPS: 36.0117, -78.68882

Directions:

To reach the visitor center, from I-540 in North Raleigh, take exit 9 for NC-50/Creedmoor Road and go north. Drive about 7 miles and turn right into state recreation area. The visitor center is less than a mile down this road. Directions to the individual recreation sites are in the respective pages.

Map:

Access Areas:

Beaverdam Lake Day Use Area:

Beaverdam Lake Day Use Area has a swim beach, boat ramp to Beaverdam Lake, the only section of Falls Lake where gas motors are prohibited, numerous picnic areas, hiking trails and mountain biking trails.

Rolling View Recreation Area:

Rolling View Recreation Area has a swim beach, boat ramp, group and individual campsites and access to the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

Sandling Beach Day Use Area:

Sandling Beach Day Use Area has a swim beach, numerous picnic shelters and picnic areas, and a couple short hiking trails.

Shinleaf Recreation Area:

Shinleaf Recreation Area has hike-in campsites and group campsites. A section of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail runs through Shinleaf.

Trails:

The longest trail along the lake, at almost 60 miles, is the Falls Lake Trail, part of Segment 10 of the statewide Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Most of this trail is through Butner-Falls of Neuse Game Land managed by the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission, but about 4.5 miles of the trail runs through state park lands in various areas. In addition to Falls Lake Trail, there are several shorter trails at the various recreation sites.

Duck Cove Trail:

Location: Beaverdam Lake Day Use Area
Length: 0.6 miles (one way)
Blaze: Orange Circle

Duck Cove Trail is the Beaverdam Area's TRACK Trail and leads through the forest to a wildlife blind at Duck Cove on Beaverdam Lake.

Falls Lake Trail:

Location: Various

Length: 4.7 miles (in the state park)

Blaze: White Circle

Four sections of the Falls Lake Trail are within the state park - one near Yorkshire Center, one through Shinleaf Recreation Area, one past the Visitor Center, and one through Rolling View Recreation Area.

Fox Trot Trail:

Location: Beaverdam Lake Day Use Area
Length: 1.5 miles (loop)
Blaze: Orange Circle

Fox Trot Trail is a 1.5-mile loop through a mixed forest in the Beaverdam Lake area.

Mountain Bike Drop Zone:

Location: Beaverdam Lake Day Use Area
Length: 0.9 miles (loop)
Blaze: Orange Circle
Difficulty: Strenuous

Drop Zone is an optional loop that splits off from South Loop. This strenuous section has some steep drops to challenge the more advanced riders.

Mountain Bike Inner Loop:

Location: Beaverdam Lake Day Use Area
Length: 1.1 miles
Blaze: Yellow Circle
Difficulty: Moderate

Mountain Bike Inner Loop is a 1 mile loop, the easiest mountain bike trail, accessed from the mountain bike trailhead at Beaverdam Lake Day Use Area.

Mountain Bike Outer Loop:

Location: Beaverdam Lake Day Use Area
Length: 2.2 miles
Blaze: Green Circle
Difficulty: Moderate

Mountain Bike Outer Loop is an easy to moderate 2 mile loop accessed from the mountain bike trailhead at Beaverdam Lake Day Use Area.

Mountain Bike South Loop:

Location: Beaverdam Lake Day Use Area
Length: 7.3 miles (loop)
Blaze: Blue Circle
Difficulty: Strenuous

South Loop is the longest of the mountain biking trails and can be accessed from West Loop across the street at the entrance station. Drop Zone is an optional loop that can be added.

Mountain Bike West Loop:

Location: Beaverdam Lake Day Use Area
Length: 2.3 miles (loop)
Blaze: Red Circle
Difficulty: Moderate

West Loop runs from the trailhead west out towards NC-50 and loops back around past the entrance station. South Loop can be accessed from West Loop.

Rolling View Trail:

Location: Rolling View Recreation Area
Length: 2.0 miles
Blaze: Red, Orange, or Blue Diamonds
Difficulty: Easy

Rolling View Trail is a 2-mile trail leading through Rolling View Recreation Area. Starting from the campgrounds, the trail crosses Baptist Road and leads to the swim beach. At the northeast corner of the parking area, the trail continues following Rolling View Track Trail then to the group campground and ends at the boat ramp.

Rolling View Track Trail:

Location: Rolling View Recreation Area
Length: 0.75 miles
Blaze: Blue Circles
Difficulty: Easy

Rolling View Track Trail is a three-quarter mile loop through a pine forest near the Rolling View swim beach.

Sandling Beach Lake Trail:

Location: Sandling Beach Day Use Area

Length: 1.5 miles

Blaze: Blue Diamond

Difficulty: Easy

Sandling Beach Trail follows along the shoreline, connecting the picnic shelters with the swim beach.

Shinleaf Point Trail:

Location: Shinleaf Recreation Area
Length: 1.0 miles
Blaze: None
Difficulty: Moderate

Shinleaf Point Trail is a 1 mile trail at Shinleaf Recreation Area; the hike-in campsites are all located off this trail. The trail starts behind the restrooms and follows an old road out onto the peninsula on the lake. The last campsite is about a half-mile down the trail. The peninsula is very narrow and you can see the lake on both sides of the trail. It ends at the end of the peninsula at a sandy beach.

Woodland Nature Trail:

Location: Sandling Beach Day Use Area

Length: 0.75 miles

Blaze: Orange Circle

Difficulty: Moderate

Woodland Nature Trail starts across the street from Picnic Shelter 1 and makes a loop through the forest. About half-way through the loop, a short spur leads to the "jail cell" trees.

Hikes:

Here are a list of hikes with detailed descriptions in Falls Lake State Recreation Area:

Falls Lake Trail Section 4 Hike - A 2.5-mile (one way) hike along Falls Lake Trail that ends on state park property near the Yorkshire Center.
Falls Lake Trail Section 5 Hike - A 1.2-mile (one way) hike along Falls Lake Trail starting from the Yorkshire Center on Bayleaf Church Road.
Falls Lake Trail Section 8 Hike - A 3.5-mile (one way) hike along Falls Lake Trail from NC-98 to New Light Road, passing through Shinleaf Recreation Area.
Falls Lake Trail Sections 9 & 10 Hike - A 3-mile (one way) hike along Falls Lake Trail from New Light Road to Creedmoor Road/NC-50 at the Falls Lake Visitor Center.
Falls Lake Trail Section 13 Hike - A 3 mile hike (one way) along Falls Lake Trail from NC-98 to Baptist Road in Rolling View Recreation Area.
Falls Lake Trail Section 14 Hike - A 4 mile hike from Rolling View Recreation Area to the bridge over Little Lick Creek.

Points of Interest:

Norwood Cemetery:

Norwood Cemetery is a small cemetery dating from the 19th century in Shinleaf Recreation Area. The cemetery is located along Falls Lake Trail just past the Shinleaf parking area.

Rigsbee Cemetery:

Rigsbee Cemetery is located right near the entrance to Rolling View Recreation Area. The blue-blazed Mountains-to-Sea Trail Rolling View Spur passes right by the cemetery.