Facilities

Maybe you'd like to strap on a helmet and embark on a 32-mile scenic trek from Clayton to Falls Lake Dam in Raleigh. Perhaps you'd like to get your children away from the TV and give them a breath of fresh air, riding their bicycles along the sparkling Neuse River. Or maybe you just need some quality family time to take a leisurely stroll and enjoy the picturesque view from the pedestrian bridge spanning the river.

Clayton River Walk on the Neuse is a beautiful 4-mile, 10-foot wide paved trail that begins at the Wake County/Johnston County line and parallels the Neuse River under Covered Bridge Road. It is part of the 1,000-mile Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST), which will connect Clingman's Dome in North Carolina's Great Smokey Mountains National Park to Jockey's Ridge State Park and all the way to the coast. If you would like to learn more about how to section or through hike on the MST, visit the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Clayton's section has also been designated as part of the 2,500-mile East Coast Greenway that will extend from Maine to Florida, linking cities in every state on the eastern seaboard.

Clayton River Walk on the Neuse connects with the recently completed Sam's Branch Greenway, a 1.25-mile, 10-foot-wide paved multi-purpose trail, which was also made possible with $600,000 in funding from the North Carolina Department of Transportation. A section of Sam's Branch is adorned with a public art project involving local artists and school children.

To ease access to these trails, the Town of Clayton just finished a trailhead/parking lot and access ramp at the intersection of the Neuse River and Covered Bridge Road. It was made possible by grant money from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Division of Water Quality.

Fun Facts about Clayton River Walk on the Neuse Trailhead and Parking

Did you know that from 2686 Covered Bridge Road to:

• Pedestrian Bridge over Neuse is 0.5 miles south
• Outdoor public art is 1.2 miles south
• Sam's Branch Trailhead is 2.25 miles south
• Wake County Line is 3 miles north
• Mial Plantation Road Bridge is 4 miles north
• Falls Lake Dam in Raleigh is 30.5 miles north