William B. Umstead State Park

Great park for hiking 🥾 with a multitude of sights to see 👀. There is a waterfall of sorts near where sycamore trail enters its big loop that is a bit out of the way but a worth while trek. It has a good range of beginner and advanced trails but there could be more. Overall good and a must-visit if you are in NC

Free entry, the 2.8ish mile loop that starts/ends at the welcome center/ranger station has a good mix of relatively light-to-moderate terrain, and a lake to see (no area to walk around the perimeter of the lake per se). Short drive from the city center, a decent amount of parking spots, but I can see it be packed during peak hours.

Went to Raleigh because my wife had a work type workshop, and I had like six hours to kill. I chose to spend my whole day here and absolutely loved it. Peaceful, beautiful, and fun trails. I got lucky enough to visit when I did because I was told the carved log was being taken due to it degrading. It was still beautiful. I would love to visit the park again and do other trails I missed out on.

Umstead park is a fun place to explore in Raleigh. We went with three littles. We parked and did the oak rock trail which is a .6 mile loop. Then we went to the next parking lot and took the trail that said 150 yards to Big Lake. We found a picnic table under a pavilion and ate lunch. Potts Branch trail looked fun as well. It’s a 1.3 mile loop. However, we decided to go and look for the chainsaw log art. To do this, park at the sycamore road parking lot. The trail is on your left. There are signs that lead you to the log art which is located on the Grayln multi use road. It’s about a mile trek round trip on big gravel roads. It is not a loop so once you see the log turn around and come back 😉. It’s the purple trail on the map in the picture. The chainsaw log is really cool. It’s starting to get eaten by bugs but is still cool to see.

My ultimate favorite park here in NC! Trail paths are generally well maintained with constant upkeep by the park rangers and workers. So gorgeous no matter what season you visit. Plenty of rest stops and clean bathrooms near every parking lot

Just conquered the sycamore trail. Make sure to stretch before you go. Ended up being almost 8 miles total from the parking lot. There are some hills, creek beds and a lot of roots. Bring comfortable shoes, my dogs were barkin' and my feet were flat as pancakes after this one!

Very beautiful state park.the trails are very nice,well maintained.the people who work for this park are very knowledgeable and answers every question with lots of patience.must visit place.my kids loved this place and want to visit again soon.

absolutely stunning place to have a hike. trails are easy to navigate and not difficult at all. not hard to get lost either as the trails are marked. great place to fish, hike, or enjoy time in nature.