Waterfall Hero Hikes: Falls Lake Trail Section 1 Hike

Section 1 is the easternmost section of the Falls Lake Trail, running just under 3.5 miles from the Falls Lake Dam to Raven Ridge Road. As an out-and-back hike, it's nearly 7 miles round trip or half that for a shuttle hike.

Length: 3.3 miles (shuttle)/ 6.6 miles (out and back)
Estimated Time: 1 to 3 hours
Difficulty: Easy
Location: Falls Lake Dam and Butner-Falls of Neuse Game Land
Trail Users: Hiking only
Dogs: Must be on a leash
Features: Lakes, Creeks, Forest
Crowds: High
Warnings: Part of the trail passes through game land where hunting is permitted. Wear blaze orange during hunting season.
Trailhead GPS: 35.93992,-78.58070 (Falls Lake Tailrace)/35.92844,-78.60581 (Raven Ridge Road)

Directions:

Falls Lake Dam is located in North Raleigh off Old Falls of Neuse Road. From I-540 in North Raleigh, take exit 14 for Falls of Neuse Road. Go north on Falls of Neuse Road for 3.1 miles and turn left at the light on Old Falls of Neuse Road. Go 0.5 miles and turn left into the Falls Lake Dam Tailrace Area immediately before the bridge over Neuse River to park.

To arrange a shuttle, drive back to Falls of Neuse Road and turn right. Go 1.7 miles and turn right onto Raven Ridge Road. Drive 1.1 miles and pull off on the right before the causeway over Honeycutt Creek.

Map:

In the following map, the hike is shown in pink.

Click here for an interactive map of the entire Falls Lake Trail.

Hike Description:

Section 1 of the Falls Lake Trail is also called Honeycutt Creek East or Day Hike A. The eastern trailhead is at the Falls Lake Tailrace at Falls Lake Dam located off (Old) Falls of Neuse Road, right before the bridge over Neuse River. There is a parking lot here as well as restrooms - about the only restrooms you'll find on the trail. The Mountains-to-Sea Trail continues in the eastbound direction along the Neuse River Trail, part of the Capital Area Greenway.

The trail starts down a gravel road leading up to the dam and in a couple hundred feet, turns left onto a single track trail heading into the woods.

At 0.2 miles, come to a split: the Blue-Dot Trail is a spur trail that bypasses the Falls Lake Dam Visitor Center and shaves about a quarter-mile off the hike. Continue straight/right and after the split, the trail crosses the Falls Dam Management Road and turns right along another gravel road. Shortly, the trail turns left into the woods and then crosses the Visitor Center Road. Turn right here along a paved trail and go down the wooden stairs towards the lake. From here the trail heads through the woods following the shoreline. There is one more paved road crossing with nice views of the lake at 0.8 miles.

The Blue-Dot Trail joins back up with the main trail after about a mile from the start. After this point, the trail departs from the shoreline and heads into the woods, crossing several small feeder streams.

At 1.6 miles, the trail passes through an opening across a utility easement.

In approximately 2.5 miles from the start, a trail to the left goes to Annie Louise Wilkerson, MD Nature Preserve, a City of Raleigh Park.

Past here, the trail descends to and crosses a small unnamed tributary on a footbridge and then runs along this tributary as it feeds into Falls Lake.

This area is prone to flooding. In less than a mile from here, the trail comes out on Raven Ridge Road and crosses Honeycutt Creek on the road. Section 2 starts across the causeway. Honeycutt Creek Trail, part of the Capital Area Greenway, starts across Raven Ridge Road on the east side of the causeway. If you shuttled, your car will be here; otherwise, turn around and head back.