Lower Walnut Creek Trail

This morning I decided to spend some time exploring the Lower Walnut Creek Greenway. According to the greenway map that I was using (here’s a link to the 2010 version), this stretch of trail is 4.2 miles long. Unfortunately, the trip computer on my bike stopped working, so I’m not really sure how far I rode. This trail connects with the Rocky Branch Trail, providing passage from NC State at its west end, east almost to Walnut Creek Park along the south side of Raleigh.

I started at the trail’s easternmost point at Worthdale Park, just off of Sunnybrook Road in southeast Raleigh. I had a bit of trouble finding the trail head. I’m pretty sure that the intention is to use sidewalks on Little John Road. I found the “proper” greenway on the west side of Rose Ln after riding along a short trail at the end of Little John. If you’re looking for a good place to park so that you can walk or ride on this trail, I’d recommend the parking lot next to the Ralph Campbell Community center at the Apollo Heights park.

This is a nice ride that includes some wooden bridges over wetlands as well as a little bit of urban riding (you’ll need to cross Wilmington Street at a crosswalk). There are some tunnels under some of the bigger roads that can be a bit dicey if it has rained recently. We had some strong downpours last night and as a result, some of the tunnel passages were pretty mucky. Between the urban road-crossings and the mucky tunnel passage, I’ve decided that this isn’t an ideal trail to visit with the kids. Our favorite ride remains the Middle Crabtree Creek trail with connections to the Alleghany trail, the Fallon Creek trail and the Buckeye trail. I’ll be posting about these trails in the near future.

During the ride, I passed within sight of Raleigh’s historic Mount Hope Cemetery, one of Raleigh’s oldest. If you have a bit of extra time, the Eliza Pool park is a quick jog up Fayetville Rd on the west side of Wilmington Street. This park has some playground equipment and a field to run around in. The abandoned Raleigh Water Works building (built in 1939) is nearby and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It looks pretty cool.