Falls Lake Trail Section 7 Hike

Section 7 of the Falls Lake Trail is about 2.5 miles from Six Forks Road to Durham Highway (NC-98) in North Raleigh.  As an out-and-back hike, it's 4.8 miles round trip or half that for a shuttle hike.

Length: 2.4 miles (shuttle)/4.8 miles (out and back)
Estimated Time: 1 to 2 hours
Difficulty: Easy
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: 35.97576,-78.65657 (Six Forks Road) / 35.97893,-78.63449 (Durham Highway/NC-98)

Directions:

Section 7 trailhead is located off Six Forks Road.  From I-540 in North Raleigh take exit 11 for Six Forks Road.  Go north on Six Forks for 2.5 miles and turn left to stay on Six Forks.  Go another 2.4 miles and pull off on the side of the road just after crossing the causeway over Upper Barton Creek.

To arrange a shuttle, continue on Six Forks for 0.7 miles and turn right at the light onto Durham Highway/NC-98.  Drive 1.5 miles to a pull-off on the left just before the bridge over the lake.

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:

This section is also called Upper Barton Creek.  Section 6 starts across the causeway; see Section 6 Hike for more description.  From the pulloff along Six Forks Road, the trail goes into the woods for a short ways and then crosses the large Upper Barton Creek Boat Ramp parking lot, managed by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission.  Across the parking lot, the trail runs through a pine forest and then a powerline clearing, before heading back into the woods.  At about 0.7 miles, a side path on the right goes down to a small beach.

The trail then passes through the powerline clearing again and then a third time at about 1.2 miles.

The trail mostly stays in the woods from this point with some views of the lake.  At about 2 miles from the trailhead, the trail follows an old overgrown paved road (old NC-98 before the lake was constructed).

Towards the end of this road, turn left to head back into the woods for the final stretch.  There is a very big and very old white oak tree that was along the trail.  This tree was believed to be the oldest tree on Falls Lake at over 400 years old.

Unfortunately, this massive tree split and came down some time in 2016.  The trail has since been rerouted around the tree.  Section 7 ends past here where the trail crosses NC-98.  Section 8 starts across the highway.  See Section 8 Hike to continue the hike.  If you shuttled, your car will be here.  Otherwise, turn around and head back.

External Links:

Mountains-to-Sea Trail website: https://mountainstoseatrail.org/the-trail/segments/falls-lake-day-hikes/fallslake-dayhike-7/