Neuse River Trail milepost 15 to 13 - Raleigh

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       I've been trying to get out to this new greenway for awhile. I would like to do the whole Trail in sections.

      We started our trek at milepost 15 from Loch Raven Parkway off of Old Milburnie Road. There is a parking lot there at the end of a gravel road. You'll find picnic tables and a canoe launch at this same spot.

       As you cross the first bridge you're treated to a view of water rushing over a dam, as pictured above. The trail is wide and paved. No steep grades on this section, just gentle slopes. We saw several cyclists along our 2 mile stretch. My 3 year-old rode his Big Wheel for 3/4 of a mile. This portion of the Trail is not shaded so it was a good thing we did it on an overcast day.

        For a half mile of this section the Trail backs up to a neighborhood of double occupancy homes, so that part is not as scenic. But in the more natural portions we saw ducks, geese, turtles, and all kinds of birds. At one point the Trail passed a home with two ponies in the backyard.

        At milepost 13.5 you encounter an impressive suspension bridge across the River.

        And there are a couple of nicely landscaped crossroad points that allow access to the Trail from other neighborhoods.

       This is a nice greenway and everything is so new and pretty. You can even smell the new wood used on many of the bridges. There is not much litter along the way and I hope people will care enough to keep it that way. I wanted to keep going because I never knew what I'd see around the next turn, but with young children you only have so long before their attention wanes and the whining begins.