Capitol Area Greenway - Update Report 4: The Shelley Lake Trail 2.0 Miles

Capitol Area Greenway - Update Report 4: The Shelley Lake Trail 2.0 miles

Background:

For those visiting Raleigh or are new residents of Raleigh not be aware of the wonderful park system and the "Capitol Area Greenway."

The "Capitol Area Greenway" is a project in process. Started in March 1974 by the city council of Raleigh it has a master plan to make sure that there is open space for residents throughout the city. It is being built one trail, park and community area at a time.

Today the city boasts more than 50 miles of trails connecting many of the 3000 acres of city park land. Over the next few years I plan to follow all of these trails and share my impressions.

After a good start with the master plan, the parks and trails were damaged badly in 1996 by Hurricane Fran. Although a lot of clearing and rebuilding had to occur the years immediately after the storm the city is well underway on its project to create links between the various greenways. Though many of the trails are not yet connected, those that are create wonderful off road access to many parts of the city, especially for bikers and runners.

Shelley Lake Trail (loop) - Report 4

This is an update, the first of 2007, on the Shelley Lake loop trail. This trail is a paved trail primarily asphalt. It is a good general use trail, though it does have a few rather steep hills that can make for some difficult for elderly and disabled folks.

Recently the trail markings have changed a bit. Primarily for the better! The trail has always been one of the best maintained and best marked trails.

The Start/Finish post has been moved from its prior position near the small parking lot on Millbrook to the end of the path from the Sertoma Art Center parking lot near the concrete bridge where so many people feed birds. The loop is still a solid two miles.

If you need to avoid hills it is possible to go left from this point across the bridge and then turn around at the one mile marker. This won't take all hills out of the trail but it will take the steepest hills out.