Hiking the Neuse River Greenway & Bailey & Sarah Williamson Nature Preserve Easy

Today we will be hiking the Neuse River Trail and Williamson Preserve from Mial Plantation Road trailhead (also known as the Neuse River Trail Capital Area Greenway trailhead) to the trailhead on Old Mial Plantation Road, a minimum of 6 miles. Shuttles will be provided back to the beginning of the hike. Please RSVP as soon as possible to help us plan for the shuttles.

We will start by hiking along the Neuse River on the Greenway to the Williamson Preserve is a 447-acre property in Wake and Johnson Counties offering a unique mix of forests and meadows, farm fields, and ponds and streams. With more than 16 miles of walking and biking trails connecting the Neuse River Greenway and the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

A hike through the preserve gives you a chance to enjoy walking through towering hardwood and pine forests and pausing on the riverbank in hope of spying a great blue heron, or maybe a river otter. The preserve provides an important habitat for animals like great horned owls that thrive in unfragmented woodlands.

Close to two miles of trail are open to foot traffic only. Bikers and hikers share the trails by following directional signs on the rest of the trails.