Yates Mill Park: A Real Mill And A Great Park

Yates Mill Park provides a unique park and educational experience for Raleigh locals. The restored mill is the centerpiece for immaculate park for good reason. Take your time to explore this little treasure to its fullest.

Yates Where?

Yates Mill Park is a located south of Raleigh across the street from Howling Cow Creamery. The entrance is nestled in some tall shrubs. Depending on which way you are approaching, it may be hard to see the entrance. The parking area is sized well and we did not have any trouble finding a place to park. The parking area is right next to the visitor center and the trail heads.

Yates Mill Park has a very strict “No Dogs” policy. This is due to ecological experiments/monitoring occurring within the park. The presence of dogs would apparently disrupt these experiments.

Stroll The Trails

There are 3 main trails around the pond. Two go around the far side of the lake and meet up just before the Mill. The other trail heads out over marsh lands, circles back and returns to the north side bridge. These trails are true trails with packed dirt with some mulch or pine straw on top. We saw a few people running these trails but most were just hiking. The trails are all fairly short but are packed with great views.

The Bridge on the north side of the pond provides direct access to all three of the trails and provides great overlooks of the pond. We took our time here since the views were great and we were still stuffed from visiting the Howling Cow Creamery. All trails are well marked. Do be careful of the poison ivy/poison oak just off the trails. There is an outdoor classroom area that I imagine is well used by local programs. We did not get to see it used on the day we visited though.

Explore The Mill

At Yates Mill Park, there is indeed a mill. This mill has been the center of much press over the years and has a rich history with the City of Raleigh. It is the only grist mill in Wake County that still stands and is operational to boot. There are several great picture stops that are all easy to get to. My favorite is down in the spillway when there is some water flowing.

Do be careful if you head down to the spillway. The rocks can get a little treacherous and water snakes do like to hide out there. That does not deter many from using this as a backdrop for all sorts of pictures. When we visited there was a group getting pictures taken a little closer than I would be comfortable with. Plenty of local photographers will use this for photos. The spill way access requires the used of some steep stairs so bare that in mind.

You can get a tour of the mill from one of the very knowledgeable volunteers if interested. This Mill has been owned by many different groups but currently is owned by NC State university. The mill was restored in 1989. The restoration does not hide the age of the mill but preserves its rustic feel and authentic utility.

The Mill is a short walk from the parking lot and visitor center. The Mill is also visible from the adjacent road. This is a great short walk to burn off some of the ice-cream from near by Howling Cow. Probably the most novel part of the park and very fun to explore.

Visitor Center

The visitor center functions as a museum, offices, classroom and gathering area. The is epic structure is nestled into the woods and relatively modern. The Museum area is well crafted. You will find plenty of interactive components that interest young and old alike. The exhibits explain how the mill works and why it is important. They also spend time explaining some of the ecosystem of the surrounding area. Madilyn ran from area to area playing with all of it. I found these exhibits fun myself

There is also an outdoor overhand with plenty of rocking chairs. If we lived closer, I would probably be found out here during most of my free time. If the weather is bad, there is an indoor area with nearly as many rocking chairs too.

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