Anderson Point Park

  The Neuse River Trail, a 28-mile long nature-oriented leg of the Mountains to the Sea Trail, is to be formally dedicated on April 25 at Anderson Point Park. Since 2007 when residents of Raleigh overwhelmingly approved a Parks and Recreation bond Referendum calling for construction of the $15 million Neuse River trail, the project is nearing completion.  The trail will begin at Falls Lake Dam and will extend along the river to the Wake county line.

  The trail will serve as a central leg of a regional greenway trail system that will provide protection for extensive wetlands and wildlife habitat areas as well as large tracts of floodplain to manage flood waters and preserve water quality. In addition to the unique opportunity afforded citizens of Raleigh, the trail opens opportunities to adjoining communities to connect to this central spine.

 Since the adoption of the Neuse River Regional Park Master Plan in 1996, the City has acquired an interest in over 2,000 acres of land for park or greenway use along the river. The estimated construction cost for the trail is $30 million with construction of various segments of the trail starting in January 2009 with the entire project completed in 2013.  Additonal funding has been received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, North Carolina Department of Transportation, Town of Knightdale, Town of Wake Forest, and Wake County.

 A segment of the Neuse River Trail at Anderson Point

 The Neuse River Corridor is the central spine of the Capital Area Greenway, which was first adopted by the Raleigh City Council in 1976. In 1996, the City completed the Neuse River Master Recreation Plan, which is a more detailed evaluation and proposal for the development of the Neuse River Corridor as a regional linear park. With the completion of the trail and the construction of two linkages across the Neuse river—one to Smith Creek in Wake Forest and the second to Mingo Creek in Knightdale—the Capital Area Greenway will become the central system of a larger regional system serving east and northeast Wake County.

 The Mountains to Sea Trail (MST), a State of North Carolina linear park, extends from the mountains in western North Carolina at Murfreesboro to the coast of eastern North Carolina at Jockey’s Ridge. The corridor for this trail within Wake County follows the south shore of Falls Lake and connects to the Neuse River Trail at Falls Lake Dam. The planned MST then follows the Neuse River Trail through Wake County to the county line.

 The April 25 dedication ceremony to be held at Anderson Point Park from 5 to 7 p.m. will include music and activities to follow the ceremony. Residents are invited to walk, run or bike enjoying the sights and sounds along the new trail.