Sports & Outdoors
J. C. Raulston Arboretum
No admission feeA 10.5-acre botanic garden in Raleigh run by NC State, focused on plants suited to southern landscapes.
Photo: bobistraveling, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
Sports & Outdoors
Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve
A Cary nature preserve run jointly by the state and town, known for cool-climate hemlock woods on creek bluffs.
Cary, NC
About Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve
This preserve in the Research Triangle area of Cary, North Carolina, is a joint effort between the state park system and the town. It spans roughly 140 acres, with about 97 acres held by the state as a natural area and about 42 acres owned by Cary, which leases the state land for management. Its standout feature is a stand of Eastern Hemlock trees and other plants more commonly found far to the west in the mountains. Tall, north-facing bluffs above Swift Creek create shaded, cool conditions that have let these plant communities persist since the last ice age.
- #nature preserve
- #hemlock forest
- #Swift Creek
- #bluffs
- #state natural area
What's around here?
The closest stops to Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
6.8 mi awayMore like this
- MuseumsRainy-Day Pick
North Carolina Museum of Art
No admission feeSee 5,000 years of art in two gallery buildings, then walk trails past outdoor sculpture in the 164-acre Museum Park.
Transit: reachable by public transit
7.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
- Sports & Outdoors
Dix Park
No admission feeA 308-acre urban park in Raleigh with open meadows, play areas, a dog park, and skyline views, free to enter.
7.6 mi awayMore like this
- Sports & OutdoorsFamily Favorite
Pullen Park
Check pricesRide a 1912 Dentzel carousel and a miniature train, rent a pedal boat on Lake Howell and picnic in North Carolina's oldest public park.
Transit: reachable by public transit
7.8 mi awayMore like this
- Museums
Gregg Museum of Art & Design
No admission feeUniversity art museum on the NC State campus in Raleigh with rotating exhibitions, collections, and free programs.
8.1 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
- Museums
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
No admission feeA state-run natural history museum in downtown Raleigh with live animal displays and rotating exhibitions.
Transit: reachable by public transit
9.0 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
