Gorgeous views of Falls Lake is only improved by free loaner equipment at the visitor center. Forest Ridge Park is a true surprise all around. Be sure to check out the peninsula point hike when you come.
You Mean It Isn’t In Wake Forest?
Though Forest Ridge park is a City of Raleigh Park, it is more often associated with Wake Forest due to proximity. The Park fully occupies a peninsula jutting into the Fall Lake resevoir. This area near Wake Forest is absolutely canvased by boisie neighborhoods. Some with their own private security. Wake Forest is also home to a great ice cream parlor named Lumpy’s Ice Cream among so much more.
If you put the address into your GPS, you can not miss this park by accident. The road dead ends into the park entrance. Part of one of the trails actually uses part of the old road that is no longer used which makes for a very wide walking area.
Parking is consolidated into a single long parking area spanning from the visitor center past the playground. Like many city parks, there is a lot of traffic from locals. Needless to say it is not surprising that the parking lot can fill up. We came the weekend after Thanksgiving and were still able to find a parking spot with ease. I can easily see this place being packed out on holiday weekends and those particuraly pleasent days in Spring and Fall.
Now there are no real alternatives for parking. I suppose you could park on the side of the main road inside the gate but many parks actively discourage this after the first time they see it. Most of the very nice neighborhoods do not take kindly to strangers parking on their roads. If you can not find a parking space, I would suggest circling or just coming back in a while.
Barney’s Angry Cousin
Playground
Like any quality city park, there is a playground with a variety of options. I have previously tried to wait until after we hiked to let Madilyn enjoy the playground but I decided to mix it up today.
The common trend is to have a series of different stations in playgrounds to accommodate different age groups. I find that the playgrounds that are designed to be approachable to all ages at all stations are much more beloved. The playground at Forest Ridge met that criteria. There is some classic elements with slides and swings that Madilyn enjoyed early on. There were some more advanced options that she dabbled with. One being a full scale zipline that continually had a line of kids to get on.
Madilyn really enjoyed this dinosaur that allowed her to rock back and forth. We came back to this probably a dozen times. I eventually gave up trying to show her other parts because she just was so content rocking on Barny’s mean cousin.
There were two fair sized picnic shelters on either side of the playground area. Additionally there were two picnic tables in the middle. That being said, I was a little disappointed by the lack of benches through out the playground. It made me realize I took the massive snaking benches at Town Common for granted. All the same we had a great time.
Hiking
While learning how to hike with a toddler, I have been routinely reminded the importance of planning your route. Three miles is still the maximum distance of hiking we can successfully do with Madilyn. In doing my research for this route, I found the interactive map that the city of Raleigh has to be a little funny. The map make it hard to understand how far a given trail is and what it is measuring. I was eventually able to decern that the distance from the parking lot to the end of peninsula Point trail was approximately 1.5 miles.
The trail is rather wide which makes it perfect for sharing with other hikers and bikers. Madilyn is always inspired by large bodies of water so when she caught a glimpse of the lake, she started to sprint to the end. Once we got out on the trail I felt relatively secluded and immersed in nature. I could hear some far off sounds of civilization now and again but that was fairly infrequently. This stood in stark contrast from near by Umstead State park also in Raleigh that came with a continuous barrage of jet engine noise. It is crazy what just a few more minutes away from town will do.
When we finally got to the end of our trail, I was reminded how amazing Falls Lake looks on a clear day. I grew up seeing Falls lake regularly and was always struck by how picturesque it could look. I even took Kaitlyn on a picnic years ago at one of the best kept secrets of Falls lake. It has been a few years since I had seen Falls Lake at this point. We did see a 1-2 boats out and about.
There are a variety of other trails but all of the generally will take you to the water’s edge at some point. The point has a very dramatic reveal that can be magnified depending on the level of the lake.
Loaner Equipment
Forest Ridge Park has an impressive assortment of amenities for a local city park. I would argue that Pullen Park is the only city park in Raleigh with more to offer. Up by the playgrounds you will find two fairly large picnic shelters. These were both in active use the weekend we came for birthday parties. arguably perfect for local birthday parties. They also have a set of bathrooms dedicated for the playground. This means you do not have to make the short hike to the visitor center if little Timmy needs to weewee.
The visitor center has a large conference type room available for reservation and a very nice family restroom inside. I was more surprised by what I found online before visiting. The visitor center maintains a variety of different loaner equipment that can be used on a first come first serve basis. This includes several different types of exploration backpacks, adult binoculars, balance bikes and even full fishing poles!
We did not take advantage of any of this loaner equipment but I would love to take Madilyn fishing when she is a little older. This would be a fantastic way to do that without having to invest in a bunch of equipment for a 1-2 time thing.
Free Fishing Poles!
The free fishing pole rentals are an amazing concept for a city park. I think this underpins the fact that the Forest Ridge Park has a lot of unexpected features. If we live closer, I would be taking Madilyn here probably weekly. This felt like Umstead State Park but…better.
Overall
Forest Ridge Park offers one of the most robust local park experiences I have had in a while. The fact that this park has loaner equipment at no cost is really amazing. Madilyn and I really enjoyed our hike too and I plan to check out some of the other trails when I drag Kaitlyn with me next time.
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