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    Lake Johnson Park

    4.6 (148 reviews)
    Closed 8:00 am - 7:00 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

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    This was a great find and pretty! Highly recommend for a long hot girl walk or a picnic.

    Scott J.

    This is a great place to hike. It's very dog friendly, as well as a few options of trails. You can do a shorter loop around 2.5 miles or up to 6 miles.

    Marissa M.

    What do I love most about Raleigh so far? The beautiful Oak Trees in abundance and all the beautiful options for a nature lover's spirit to literally run wild on all the trails. LJ is the perfect place to get your cardio in, steps, miles or whatever it takes for your self care. I work minutes from the lake so this is where I intend to spend my lunch breaks. As a native New Yorker Long Island housed many of my favorite state parks. As a new transplant here in Raleigh I was looking for a new place to call home. I stumbled upon these tranquil gem and saw many fellow Yelpers checking in. One thing I love is how quiet it is here ! I have to admit at times I started thinking about scary movies and abductions because of the silence however, it was so peaceful! I took a walk over to the lake overlook section and on my walk back I felt like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz when she couldn't decide which way to go. Parking can be scarce. Plan to come early. I was lucky to score a spot once someone left after their hike. This is a gorgeous trail to visit.

    Zoe S.

    One of my favorite parks! Every time I visit Raleigh I always have to come to lake Johnson! I visited it during Thanksgiving break and trees were absolutely beautiful with colorful foliage. I also got lucky and got to see Raleigh Bubble man in action!

    Falan E.

    By far my favorite trail since it provides an extreme incline that challenges me to push myself. I visit this park often, and I enjoy the lake view.

    Kira C.

    My absolute favorite lake in the triangle to walk. So beautiful at every time of day. They have beautiful boat house with water for dogs etc too.

    Jean K.

    Great park for enjoying the outdoors. I love that paved trails have some great hills but you can also take a trail that avoids the big hills. Staff keeps the trails well groomed which includes a leaf blower to clear the leaves. The visitor center restrooms are open during working hours and have been clean and well maintained. There is a small sandy beach which is a great play area for little if you don't mind a little sand in their shoes. It is common to see wildlife like cranes, cormorants, and even a bald eagle or two. Plenty of picnic areas and space to spread out. There is also fishing off the boardwalk but it isn't allowed on the banks. The water level seems to be lower than previous years but that may just be due to visiting at a different time of the season.

    Kara M.

    I discovered this park shortly after moving to Raleigh and I greatly enjoy it for long walks. There are two walking loops around the lake, one is 1.6 miles and the other is 2.8. I did the longer one the other day and it was so peaceful and quiet! I spotted bikers, joggers, and other walkers with dogs. I parked at the 4601 Avent Ferry location. There are bathrooms here, as well as snack/drink machines, a nice shaded spot with rocking chairs overlooking the water and a place to rent small boats. While walking through the woods, I spotted some picnic pavilions with grills. This would be a great spot to consider for an outdoor party! There is also the Thomas G. Crowder Woodland Center at Lake Johnson, which you can rent for private events. There is a posting with prices near the restroom and it all looked fairly affordable to me. Awesome place!

    Boardwalk
    Vraj P.

    Lake Johnson is one of my favorite lakes in the Raleigh area to visit and walk. At the beginning they have a nice boat house where you can rent kayaks to take onto the water. The main trail is paved and has about 2-3 larger hills. Also plenty of picnic shelters if you were to do a family picnic. Depending on when you come, parking could be scarce. Overall, a fun place to hang out with family or walk your dogs.

    View from a paddle boat
    Janet C.

    I had not been on a paddle boat for years prior to our daughter/mom outing. We needed a break from a rough week and this excursion was exactly the activity to help us to destress. The views on the lake are relaxing and paddling along is a lot of fun. This will be an activity we will look to do again in the spring. Employees were friendly in assisting us with the rental, life jackets, and getting us situated on and off the paddle boat. Very nice park!

    John B.

    A great place to catch the fall colors, this park has various paved and unpaved trails surrounding a small lake, including a nice footbridge across the middle of it. Somewhat infuriatingly, the visitor center and its parking was closed off when I visited, and the other immediate parking lot was small and full. There was plenty of additional parking at the nearby community center, and to be fair, if you're going to be making a loop, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference where you park.

    Beautiful tiny water fall/spout off the hiking trail
    Rockford R.

    I came here on a late Sunday afternoon in August (During COVID-19 Pandemic) and found the park & trails pretty busy. Definitely way busier than it was before the pandemic, but it's all in good spirit! Never did it feel "overcrowded", considering the trails are big enough! The entire paved trail around lake johnson is approximately 3miles long, give or take. This is a great trail for adventurous people! There are plenty of paths going off the paved trails. Do be careful, however, as some of these paths can get rough and unsafe. Definitely not for beginning hikers, but definitely ones that love to do a little exploring and sight seeing. I found one path that branched off from the paved trail, that led me to a little creek with a tiny waterfall! Nothing spectacular, but it was definitely a fun thing to find! There is plenty of things to do, see, and explore here for everyone that loves to get outdoors and enjoy nature. Pros: Paved trail, good exercise, plenty of photo-op spots, great sights, and a lot of fun for the adventurer in you! Cons: If you have issues with steep inclines/declines, might not be the best. Parking is minimal on side by welcome center, but there is parking across the big bridge!

    The paved trail.
    Kendall L.

    I visited this location on a Wednesday afternoon with one other person. These are my thoughts and observations. - The park is clean and well-maintained. - The scenery is gorgeous. - It'll take you about 1 hour to leisurely stroll the longest trail. - It was crazy busy I when I visited. It was difficult to find parking and the paved trails were horribly crowded. I think this can be partially attributed to the state parks being closed due to COVID and people having nowhere else to go. - The bikers are annoying. I wish they had their own trail to ride instead of sharing with pedestrians. - The unpaved trail isn't nearly as busy as the paved one. I think you're allowed to mountain bike on it. Overall the park is beautiful but too crowded for my taste.

    Sunshine on the water looks so lovely!

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    Beautiful clean park. Lots of trees so we had great shade. Easy walking paved trails and very dog friendly

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    3 years ago

    Loved the hike around the lake. Beautiful, calm and clean. Funnily enough mu dogged dragged me into the lake midway through the loop.

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    Ask the Community - Lake Johnson Park

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    Review Highlights - Lake Johnson Park

    It recently went through a (year long?) dam renovation, and running over the dam was one of my favorite parts.

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    Motor-Boatin

    Motor-Boatin

    4.9(12 reviews)
    20.0 mi

    We have rented boats from this company with friends 4 times already and they are the best. The…read moreboats are well taken care of and they are easy to do business with. We have had them put the boats in for us at Falls Lake as well as picked the boat up and towed it ourself. I highly recommend letting them do it all. So easy and they take care of all the hard stuff and leave us to have all the fun.

    This was great. I book a 14 person boat about a month out. I also rented a tube. So, I was looking…read morefor something different to do. We are stuck at home during COVID. So I decided to take the crew out. They really enjoyed it. No worries if you think driving a boat is hard. It's not. You have to be careful and look out for your surroundings. But it's pretty easy. Remember a boat does not have brakes. Lol. Maybe few years from now, but no brakes. Let me tell you how easy it is. Once your date for the boat date comes up, you just park and unload at the dock area. Park as close to the water as possible. The team will be down there, and will have the boat in the water for you already. You will have time to load your stuff. No big rush. They will hop on the boat with you to give you instructions. And you just take off. It's that easy. You can rent for half a day or full day. The lake is big so you may want a full day out. Half of a day is plenty. Remember when your out on the water and have any issues, you can always call them.

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    Lake Johnson Park - parks - Updated May 2026

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