August 2026 at Harris Lake County Park and the American Tobacco Trail

AUGUST 2026

Alert: A section of the American Tobacco Trail in Wake County will be fully closed from Aug. 1 through Oct. 31 (dates subject to change) while crews repair areas damaged by a landslide during Hurricane Helene in 2024.

The closure will extend from the Wimberly Road parking area to the entrance of the White Oak Creek Greenway. A map of the affected area is available on the construction page on our website.

During this time, the affected portion of the trail will be completely inaccessible. The Wimberly Road parking area will also be closed to visitors, and parking along the shoulder of Wimberly Road is not allowed. Please help spread the word!

For more information about this closure and the repair work on the trail, please visit our website.

PARK CLOSURE ALERT!

Harris Lake County Park will be CLOSED to the public on Sunday, Aug. 2 until 11 a.m. in order to host the Humans of Steel Multisport Festival.

UPCOMING EVENTS AND NEW PARK CLOSING TIME

Greater Raleigh Open Disc Golf Tournament

Saturday, July 25; 8 a.m - 6 p.m.

The disc golf course will be closed to the public during this event.

Sprocket Fuel XC Mountain Bike Race

Saturday, Aug. 8; 8 a.m - 2 p.m.

(Rain date of Aug. 22)

The mountain bike trails will be closed to the public during this event.

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Beginning on Monday, Aug. 10:

Harris Lake County Park will close at 8:30 p.m.

The New Hill parking area on the American Tobacco Trail (1309 New Hill-Olive Chapel Rd.) will close at 8 p.m.

AUGUST PUBLIC PROGRAMS

Programs at Harris Lake County Park

Harris Lake ecoEXPLORERS

Sunday, Aug. 9; 2-3:30 p.m.

For ages 7 and up

Interested in becoming a citizen scientist and improving your nature identification skills with park staff? We’ve got the opportunity for you! Harris Lake County Park is an ecoEXPLORE HotSpot which means it’s a place where you can make observations of plants and animals and share them with scientists!

Our focus for today’s program will be on insects! Come learn about the many insect species you can find in the park and help us search for beetles, butterflies, dragonflies, and more! If you are new to ecoEXPLORE, please create a profile at https://www.ecoexplore.net/signup prior to the program. Meet at the Cypress Shelter and bring your device for taking photos and capturing data. For ages 7 and up, must be registered with an adult. Space is limited!

Meet at the Cypress Shelter.

Nature Lab: Adventure Challenge

Tuesday, Aug. 11; 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Cost: $12.00/child

For ages 8-12

*Only a couple spaces still available!

Compasses and questing, riddles and racing, teamwork and trials, come join us for a morning of adventuring across the park! Participants will work together to complete building challenges, solve puzzles, complete an orienteering course, and so much more while discovering clues to reveal an ultimate surprise. Can you work together to complete the adventure challenge? Wear closed-toe shoes and bring a full water bottle and a snack.

Meet at the Cypress Shelter.

Kids Discover Nature:

On One Flower

Thursday, Aug. 13; 10-11 a.m.

For ages 2-5 with accompanying adult

Learn about a community of animals that live together on a single flower as we read On One Flower by Anthony Fredericks. Then we will go on a scavenger hunt in our Educational Garden searching for insects and other tiny critters living among the plants. We’ll finish with a craft!

Meet at the Cypress Shelter.

Programs at the

American Tobacco Trail

Valuable Vultures

Sunday, Aug. 23; 1:30-2:30 p.m.

For all ages

Ever wonder what those big black birds circling high in the sky are up to? Get to know our local vultures as we search the skies for these fascinating birds and learn about the important ecological role they play with a fun game!

Meet at the New Hill parking area at the lower picnic table

(1309 New Hill-Olive Chapel Rd.).

StoryWalk® at the American Tobacco Trail:

Finding Wild; Aug. 1-30

What is "wild", and where can you find it? Two kids set off on an adventure to search for wild in the city they call home. Along the way, they discover the different ways wild can look, sound, smell, taste, and feel. This lyrical book uses simple language and imaginative illustrations to show you that the wild is often closer than it may seem.

This StoryWalk® will start near the restrooms at the White Oak trailhead (1305 White Oak Church Rd.) and head south along the trail.

Save the Date:

Longleaf Ramble event

Saturday, Sept. 12; 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Our 2026 Longleaf Ramble is less than two months away! We hope you can come celebrate the incredible longleaf ecosystem with us through educational exhibits from our organizational partners, guided wagon tours to our recently burned (we hope!) 60-acre Longleaf Pine Restoration Area, live animals, games, crafts, and more! Purchase a sweet treat at Kona Ice of Western Wake and take home your very own Longleaf Pine seedling!

The Longleaf Ramble event page will be available soon! We will be sharing much more information on our Facebook page as well.

Heads Up: Prescribed Burn Planned for Longleaf Pine Restoration Area

We are hoping to conduct a prescribed burn in a portion of our Longleaf Pine Restoration Area on either August 20th or 21st, depending on weather conditions.

Portions of the Peninsula Trail would be closed to the public while we conduct this important forest management procedure.

Stay tuned to our Facebook page for the latest updates.

Create Your Parks Adventure Challenge!

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Wake County Parks, Recreation

& Open Space by exploring our parks and preserves! Complete the challenge before the end of the year by visiting our parks and/or attending programs and receive a special anniversary prize!

Participating is easy: simply pick up a tracker at any of our parks or preserves or download one here. For each park or preserve you visit or program you attend, you earn 10 points. Once you've reached 50 points, email a photo of your completed tracker to WakeParks50@wake.gov along with your name and email address, and we'll send you instructions on how to pick up your prize.

Good luck!

The bond construction projects are closer to completion at Harris Lake County Park!

Can you believe that we are coming up on one year since construction began to renovate and improve multiple areas and facilities at Harris Lake County Park? Construction will be winding down in about two months, and as we are able, we will be reopening some facilities in the coming weeks.

We will keep you posted via Facebook!

If you have visited the park recently, you may have noticed that the expanded disc golf parking lot has been paved (photo below), though a reminder that the lot is still closed to cars and pedestrians as it is an active construction area. Parking for the disc golf lot and fishing pond is in our parking field (first gravel lot on your left after you enter the park). Follow the designated walking paths in order to cross the main road and access the fishing pond or disc golf course.

From the second aerial photo below, you can see that the access road and sidewalk leading to our new Car Top Boat Launch are nearing completion! Last week, construction crews used this access road to transport a new floating dock, which will be installed at the Car Top Boat Launch. We're excited about these much-needed upgrades to this area and the improved accessibility for all.

If you would like to learn more about the bond improvement projects, please visit our website.

Nature Nook: Four-toothed Mason Wasp

Last week at day camp, this Four-toothed Mason Wasp (Monobia quadridens) provided plenty of action! This is a species of native parasitoid wasp, and she hunts and paralyzes caterpillars to provision her nest cell. Inside the nest, she will lay an egg on each caterpillar. Once the egg hatches, the larva feeds on the host caterpillar, pupates, and then emerges from the nest as a fully developed adult wasp.

After stuffing this green caterpillar inside her nest, the female wasp disappeared and returned a few minutes later with another caterpillar, a white one this time. It seems she is a successful hunter!

Believe it or not, there are an estimated 500,000 to possibly 1 million species of parasitoid wasps in the world! These wasps are important predators of various pest species, so they (and their unique lifecycle) are critical parts of our local ecosystem!

(Photo by park staff)

Harris Lake County Park

2112 County Park Drive, New Hill, NC 27562

(919) 387-4342

Email: harris.lake@wake.gov

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