Wake County preserve opens with trails saved from development

A 65-acre stretch of forest and streamside land near Falls Lake is now open to the public instead of becoming a subdivision. Old Creedmoor Nature Preserve opened Friday, May 30, 2026, on the Wake-Durham county line, giving Wake County residents nearly four miles of hiking and mountain biking trails on land that Triangle Land Conservancy says was once planned for more than 40 homes.

The preserve sits at 13509 Old Creedmoor Road in Wake Forest and includes connections to the Mountains-to-Sea Trail around Falls Lake. Long used informally by local mountain bikers, the property has been renovated and rerouted in places, with bridges added and erosion-prone sections improved before public access began. The trail network now gives hikers and riders a legal route through land that had been at risk of disappearing under development.

The conservation case for the tract was straightforward: its streams flow into Falls Lake, the drinking-water source for more than half a million people. Triangle Land Conservancy and local partners protected the site mainly for water quality and habitat value in the Upper Neuse River Basin, where forested land helps filter runoff before it reaches the reservoir. The preserve has been permanently protected, keeping that land out of the residential market and under conservation management.

The acquisition was supported by the City of Raleigh Watershed Protection Program and Wake County Open Space Program. Triangle Land Conservancy said the City of Raleigh and Wake County primarily funded the $1.6 million purchase, and the group worked with the developer to change plans and save the tract before homes were built. Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell said the site offers a place where people can escape the suburbs and the city and enjoy nature.

Visitors will need to watch trail status closely. Triangle Land Conservancy says trails may close during wet conditions to prevent erosion, a reminder that opening land to the public also means managing it carefully. For Wake County, the preserve is a rare example of conservation beating development, and a test case for whether watershed protection and open-space dollars can keep other threatened places on the map.