Are You Ready to Ramble?!

Other September Public Programs

Kids Discover Nature: Feathers for Lunch

Thursday, Sept. 3; 10-11 a.m.

For ages 2-5 with accompanying adult

Register Here

*This program is full. Please join the wait list.

See all the different types of backyard birds an escaped house cat encounters as we read Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert. After the story, we'll play a matching game and take a walk looking for birds. 

Meet at the Cypress Shelter.

For the Love of Longleaf

Sunday, Sept. 13; 1:30-3 p.m.

For ages 8 and up

Register Here

Not able to attend our Longleaf Ramble event at Harris Lake County Park yesterday? You can still enjoy a relaxing wagon ride to our Longleaf forest to walk among our beautiful Longleaf Pines! Learn about their special history to the area and the ecology of the Longleaf forest ecosystem, including the importance of prescribed fire. Plus, it’s Grandparents Day, so bring them out for some fun! For ages 8 and up. All participants (children and adults) must be registered. We will be disembarking from the wagon, so please wear closed-toe shoes. Bring a water bottle.

Meet at the wagon at the playground.

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Take a Child Outside (TACO) Week:

Creatures of the Night at the American Tobacco Trail

Saturday, Sept. 26; 7-8:30 p.m.

For all ages

Register Here

In celebration of Take a Child Outside (TACO) Week, learn about the animals that come out as the sun goes down. We will hike along the trail to look and listen for owls, insects, amphibians, and more. Discover the adaptations necessary for these creatures to survive and thrive in the dark. Bring a water bottle and flashlight. All participants (children and adults) must be registered.

Meet at the New Hill parking area at the picnic table near the comfort station (1309 New Hill-Olive Chapel Rd.)

It's that time of year! Daylight hours are changing quickly, so please be aware of the following updates to park closing time:

Beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 8:

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

The Wake County section of the American Tobacco Trail will close at 7:30 p.m.

Beginning on Monday, Sept. 21:

Harris Lake County Park will close at 7:30 p.m.

The Wake County section of the American Tobacco Trail will close at 7:00 p.m.

Upcoming Events

The American Tobacco Trail

Peak Charter XC Meet

Sept. 10; 3:30-6 p.m.

This meet will use the White Oak parking area.

Staff Anniversary

Please join us in congratulating Ash Subat on his 20th anniversary with Wake County Parks, Recreation & Open Space! Ash began his Wake County career in 2006 as a Park Technician of Maintenance at HLCP and the ATT, was promoted to Assistant Manager of Maintenance in 2021, and became our Park Manager in 2024! Here's to many more years, Ash!

Get ready for a new program series!

Calling older teens and adults!

Come learn a variety of recreational skills at our new three-part Outdoorsman Series! We'll teach you all about fishing, canoeing (November), and archery (December)!

Harris Lake Outdoorsman Series: Fishing 101

Saturday, Oct. 17; 9-11 a.m.

For ages 15+

Register Here

Join us for the first installment in the Outdoorsman Series! Fishing can be a fin-tastic way to get outdoors and connect with nature, but it can be hard to dive into as a beginner. What equipment do you bring? What bait do you use? What kinds of fish are you likely to catch? If you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers! Join our knowledgeable park staff for a morning of coaching and casting, as we help you take the first steps on your journey to being an expert angler! Fishing gear and bait will be provided. Space is limited! For ages 15 and up. All participants must be registered. Participants ages 16 and older must have a valid North Carolina Inland Fishing License: https://www.eregulations.com/northcarolina/fishing/fishing-licenses.

Meet at the Fishing Pond. Bring a water bottle and wear closed-toe shoes. 

Park Bond Improvements Update

The park improvements made possible with funding from the voter-approved 2018 Parks, Greenways, Recreation and Open Space bond have made substantial progress! The first facility to reopen to the public will be the Cartop Boat Launch and we anticipate that to be very soon. Other areas will follow soon after! The photos below were taken this month and provide a glimpse of what's in store!

More information on the bond improvement projects is available here.

View of the new

Cartop Boat Launch from the lake

Expanded Park Center

New restroom at the Disc Golf and Fishing Pond comfort station

Nature Nook: The Longleaf Savanna

Imagine a savanna woodland covering 2/3 of the southeastern United States. Instead of giraffes foraging in the canopy there were deer. There were no elephants travelling in herds, but there were bison. Rather than lions hunting gazelles, there were bobcats hunting fox squirrels. 

This savanna still exists today (albeit in only about 5% of its historic range), and is known as a longleaf forest, named for the dominant tree species in the ecosystem, the Longleaf Pine. When we hear savanna, we often think of the savannas of South Africa with sparse trees and shrubs and endless fields of grass, so how is a longleaf forest a savanna? Savannas are ecosystems of mixed woodlands and grasslands that are dependent on fire cycles. With only 50% of light blocked by the canopy in a mature longleaf forest, and community adaptations to thrive when faced with fire, longleaf forests meet the requirements! 

Longleaf forests have a long history of being shaped by fire. They evolved under frequent fires caused by lightning strikes. Longleaf forests rely on fire to add nutrients like calcium and carbon to the soil, to clear out underbrush for new growth, and to allow seeds to be dispersed. Today, longleaf forests thrive under prescribed burns, the application of fire to a specific swath of forest in a controlled, safe way by professionals. Prescribed burning has been a forest management tool for centuries and was originated by indigenous people, and is used at Harris Lake County Park in our 60-acre Longleaf Pine Restoration Area!

When managed by fire, longleaf forests are one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems in North America with more than 50 unique plant species per square meter of forest floor. Longleaf savannas are also home to 125 species listed as federally endangered or of special concern, as well as over 1,000 species of plants and animals, including several endemic species (species found nowhere else on Earth) such as the Red Cockaded Woodpecker, the White-Topped Pitcher Plant, the Eastern Fox Squirrel, and the Northern Pine Snake. Step into the savanna, and explore the longleaf forest!