This past winter has been one of the longest I’ve seen since moving to Raleigh over 11 years ago so when the temps hovered above 45 degrees in January we headed to North Cary Park with a friend and her girls for a short run and playground time. North Cary Park is located at 1100 Norwell Blvd in Cary off of Cary Pkwy. It’s a very large park situated along the northern end of Black Creek Greenway. Before having kids we used to bike through Umstead Park on the Reedy Creek Trail and connect to Black Creek Greenway at Lake Crabtree. This was a fun way to extend our mileage and explore the Town of Cary greenway system.
But, back to our recent trip. After arriving at North Cary Park we winded through the park’s slightly confusing trails and eventually met up with Black Creek Greenway where we headed south. The trail itself is a paved 7.1 total miles and winds between various neighborhoods and the creek. We passed several bikers and runners along the way so we felt very safe. We ran until the 2.25 mile mark of the greenway and then headed back. The creek will make for some fun water playtime in the warm summer months.
After running, we had some sweet, patient toddlers who needed to get exercise on the playground. This playground area has a large sandbox area, several slides built into the small hills, a rock climbing area, tot swings, regular swings, a jungle gym for ages 5-12, and a small rubberized area great for the crawlers and early walkers. With the dense landscaping and so many park features that are spread out, it made it harder for us to keep track of the toddlers while also tending to the babies. After lots of toddler wrangling we were able to enjoy some time in the sandbox area, which has several benches along the perimeter. Claire even enjoyed her first tot swing and Ashley was able to practice her potty training at the nearby restrooms, complete with a toddler-height sink.
Other than the playground and greenway, this park also has a large pavilion with a dozen tables overlooking 4 sand volleyball courts named after Julie Robison, 2 basketball courts, and a soccer field. Benches and picnic tables are scattered throughout the playground area and before heading down to the greenway. With so many friends with kiddos who train for running races, this is a great place to run solo or with kids combined with a playground visit!
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Thumbs up: variety of park features, safety of greenway, rubberized option for infants/early walkers, running/playground combo for those with strollers and kids
Thumbs down: confusing signage leading down to greenway trails, playground features being so spread out making it harder to keep an eye on independent toddlers
Ashley’s favorite play structure at this park was the play chicken coop designed for ages under 2. She loved throwing mulch down the egg shoot for her friend to catch at the bottom. This play area is covered and great for early walkers as kids can access it by a small ramp or short steps.
When we reached the end of Abbotts Creek Trail we turned left north onto the Neuse River Trail for a bit before turning around. While on the Upper Neuse River Trail we passed the 2 3/4 mile mark and were impressed with the information guides about the floodplains and benches along the way. Our out and back run was a total of 3.2 miles and I look forward to getting back up here again to explore the southern half of Abbotts Creek Trail, which I think leads to the 
When I decided to run the City of Oaks 10k this past November, I used my toddler-free Tuesdays and Thursdays (thanks to preschool) to do my longer runs at Lake Lynn Trail. During these times I only had Claire with me, which meant I could run longer with the single BOB stroller. Pushing a double BOB stroller is exhausting!
After devouring some delicious pizza from my favorite local food truck, 
About a month ago we attended the 
At the House Creek Trail dedication and grand opening ceremony yesterday, you really got a sense of the anticipation and excitement around this new trail. Many guests spoke about the history of the greenway system, especially highlighting the fact that House Creek was Raleigh’s first pilot greenway trail back in the 1970s. It was a short gravel path made possible by the Barefoot family, who was also in attendance at the grand opening. Fast forward forty years and the addition of the new House Creek Trail brings the total greenway mileage up to 78! At 2.9 miles long, the House Creek Trail is a vital north/south connection between Meredith College and the Crabtree area.
After passing the memorial park, we came to Blue Ridge Rd, which was rather busy around 5pm. Several signs alert you of the busy two-lane highway, so we were able to cross with ease and continued to the corner across from the McDonalds. In all it was a relatively easy .75 miles from Glen Eden Park to the McDonalds. The mile markings begin near the McDonalds and display every .25 miles.
If you’re looking for a place to go hiking in Raleigh and have exhausted your options at Umstead Park, you should definitely make your way into North Raleigh to Annie Louise Wilkerson, MD Nature Preserve Park. Being the only visitors at the park a few months ago, we visited the main office and spoke to the very friendly and knowledgeable staff about the history of the park. It was lovely to hear her speak about Dr. Annie’s will to leave the land as a nature preserve park. The park office was converted from an old residence on the property and there are future plans to convert Dr. Annie’s old standing residence into indoor classrooms.
