Over the past few weekends, when the weather was a little less hot and humid, I started to explore the Walnut Creek Greenway which runs East-West between I-40 and Tryon Road. There is a new trailhead that now connects to Lake Wheeler Road across from the Farmer’s Market. I was on the trail this past weekend before it got too terribly hot. The Walnut Creek Greenway is a hidden gem for those that haven’t found it yet.
Start your exploration near the Farmer's Market
Starting at the Farmer’s Market, you head East along the greenway. You can see a path that goes South which will be a future connection to the NC State Centennial Campus greenway system. There is a really cool railroad crossing that you go underneath, a variety of tunnels, and many historic spots along the way.
You’ll see glimpse’s of Caraleigh Mills through the tree line. Then you go under South Saunders Street via a tunnel. Next is the EB Bain Water Treatment Plant before getting into South East Raleigh where you can test your nature skills in the Legacy Garden. If the Legacy Garden were better maintained and publicized, it could be one of Raleigh’s most popular natural spots. It has the potential to be a city botanical garden or similar. A big missed opportunity for South East Raleigh. Along most of the street crossings, you’ll catch amazing views of the downtown Raleigh skyline.
Most of the greenway is well-maintained and provides a great experience. There were a few spots along the way that could use some clean-up efforts. In the area around Dacian Road, there is a lot of trash like shopping carts, old tires, and children’s toys littering the creek. Unfortunately, there is also litter along portions of the Legacy Garden and the around the observation deck (in the swampy area). It looks like some of the flash flood waters move the litter from neighboring streets. I think cleaning up the greenway area in these spots would be a good project for a future Service Raleigh effort.
My route usually takes me out to Worthdale Park, but I’ve gone as far as the Walnut Creek Amphitheater (on bike). If you haven’t had a chance to explore the Walnut Creek Greenway, on bike or on foot, I would highly recommend it. For those on foot, it’s relatively flat and there are numerous benches along the way. The new section behind Caraligh Mills is mostly shaded.
I took some pictures to whet your appetite, which you can see in the gallery below. But the pictures do not do justice for the in-person views. These are not the only things to see along the Walnut Creek greenway; I’ve left a few things out so that you can explore for yourself. Get out for a walk, a jog, or a bike ride, see some nature right down the street, and discover why Raleigh is a city in a park.
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- Start your exploration near the Farmer’s Market
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- Railroad bridge
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- Caraliegh Mills smokestack
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- South Saunder’s Street tunnel
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- Greenway bridge
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- Historic EB Bain water treatment plant
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- Historic EB Bain water treatment plant (2)
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- The Legacy Garden
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- Walnut Creek Greenway trail
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- Observation deck
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- Walnut Creek
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- Walnut Creek
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- Little ones
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- Unsightly Greenway additions
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- Missed the recycle bin
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- Do not return carts here please
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- Walnut Creek waterfall
Tags: bikes, caraleigh mills, district D, eb_bain, greenway, lake_wheeler_road, neighborhoods, park, raleigh, walk
I used to commute down this trail every day from Lake Wheeler to Raleigh Blvd. I rolled through there every morning at sun up, and I rolled back through around three-ish. It’s a beautiful path, but it’s not all roses. Here are some things I saw: The good, the bad, and the smelly.
The good:
1. Riding in the early morning, you’ll consistently see deer, coyotes, and foxes ghosting across the trail.
2. The wooden walkways are beautiful and well maintained.
The bad and the smelly:
1. On multiple occasions I’ve seen homeless folks bathing in the creek.
2. The path runs parallel to 440 and along a stream. It also runs directly over the city’s sewer lines, and there are ventilation pipes spewing smells of the sewer (especially in the morning when folks are getting up and getting ready to leave for the day).
3. If, on a whim, you keep going past Raleigh Blvd to do a bit of exploring, you’ll end up in a really sketchy area of town. On a bike I felt like a potential victim. Just be careful.
4. There is no electricity in the tunnels, and drainage is bad. There are two in particular that get mighty dark. Take a flashlight or you’ll get creeped out; you won’t know what you’re walking on. Also, after a rain the bottom of the tunnel is covered in inches of water and mud, and you can’t go around or over it.
5. access to the trails. This is a problem I’ve brought up with some of our city leaders including Mayor Meeker himself (in a less than formal setting). In an area within a square mile or two there is a large city park/community center (soon to be renovated and renewed), farmer’s market, grocery store, greenway trail heads, and what will soon be a national eye-opener of a public space when the Dorothea Dix project is finished, we still lack a sidewalk. Sure, there is parking at many of these attractions, but this is still an area where there are people who lack cars. And there are also folks like myself -folks who would love to be able to safely bike and walk to these local attractions. A sidewalk on Lake Wheeler is a no-brainer.
shu
Mike,
This is a great preview to the follow-up article I had in mind for this. The one thing that gets me is the lighting in the tunnels. VERY unsafe.
Sidewalks on Lake Wheeler is another pet-peeve. Funny how Raleigh seems to have issues with sidewalks around State-owned land, thinks FairGround @ Blue Ridge + Hillsborough as well.
Great post, and the cons in the comments can be easily seen. The tunnels need better lighting and perhaps some better drainage to get the water out of there. Some of the mud and water stays days after a rain.
Sad to hear about the litter. In my experience, these greenways, this particular section, does not get as much use as they should so perhaps getting more people using it will help get the trash out of there and the problems fixed.