Falls Lake Trail Section 12 Hike

Section 12 of the Falls Lake Trail is 1.5 miles from Boyce Mill Road to Wake Forest Highway/NC-98 in Durham County.  As an out-and-back hike, it's 3 miles round trip or half that for a shuttle hike.

Length: 1.5 miles (shuttle)/3.0 miles (out and back)
Estimated Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Moderate
Location: 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: 35.99104,-78.71965 (Boyce Mill Road) / 35.98065,-78.73705 (Wake Forest Highway/NC-98)

Directions:

Section 12 trailhead is at the end of Boyce Mill Road.  From Durham, head east on NC-98 for about 8 miles.  Turn left on Boyce Mill Road, which is unpaved.  Drive 0.6 miles to the end of the road and park before the gate.

To arrange a shuttle, turn around and follow Boyce Mill Road back to NC-98.  Turn right and drive 1.1 miles to a pull-off on the right just before the causeway over Lick 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 11 heading eastbound follows the short blue-blazed spur from the parking area to the trail.  See Section 11 Hike for more description.  For Section 12, hike past the gate down the road a short ways and the trail will turn to the left and pass a farm pond.

The trail follows an old road bed heading down and then back up.  The trail becomes more of a foot trail as it runs along the southeastern shore of Lick Creek.

Near the end, the trail crosses a tributary that is prone to flooding.  It was rerouted in 2023 to go further up and cross on a footbridge.  After this, the trail comes out on NC-98.  If you arranged a shuttle, your vehicle will be here.  If not, turn around and head back.  To continue on the Falls Lake Trail, walk along the side of NC-98 (do not cross the highway) across the causeway over Lick Creek for almost a half-mile to the trailhead for Section 13 at a kiosk on the right.  See Section 13 Hike for more description.

External Links:

Mountains-to-Sea Trail website: https://mountainstoseatrail.org/the-trail/segments/falls-lake-day-hikes/fallslake-dayhike-10/