Black Creek Greenway Is Open End to End Again. Here's What Changed on the North Half.

The tallest pedestrian bridge in Cary is made of weathered steel. It weighs more than 400,000 pounds and sits about 50 feet above Black Creek, beside Cary Parkway, where the Town says no crossing existed before. Large leaf-patterned panels run along its 285 feet and change with the light through the day. It opened May 1. Since late October, the greenway on both sides of it has been open all the way through.

The Town of Cary's Black Creek Greenway page posted its update on October 30, 2026: the greenway "has fully reopened" after about 2.5 miles of renovations. Those 2.5 miles were the trail's oldest. The stretch between Old Reedy Creek Road and West Dynasty Drive had been in place for more than 25 years. The rebuild brought the north end up to the standard of the rest of the trail. That makes the full 7.1 miles from Bond Park to Lake Crabtree, and on into Umstead, a single route you can plan around.

Three phases, about two and a half years of detours

Crowder Construction started work on June 3, 2024. Before crews broke ground, Town staff worked with the North Carolina Native Plant Society to move several plants out of the way along Phase 1. The work was split into three phases so only one section closed at a time:

1. Phase 1, West Dynasty Drive to Livingstone Drive. Reopened August 29, 2025. This phase included five pedestrian bridges along the greenway.
2. Phase 2, Livingstone Drive to Weston Parkway. Reopened May 1, 2026, on the same day as the Cary Parkway pedestrian bridge.
3. Phase 3, Weston Parkway to the Old Reedy Creek Road Trailhead. Closed May 4, 2026. The Town's October construction update called it complete and "reopening ahead of schedule."

Phase 3 beat its estimate even after a wet summer. In August the Town said heavy July rain had slowed work, and it still expected a winter reopening. Each phase came with contractor incentives for finishing early. Funding came partly from the 2019 Shaping Cary's Tomorrow bond referendum and partly from the Locally Administered Projects Program.

What the rebuild changed under your feet

The renovation project page lists the design goals for the north end:

• Widen the trail to 12 feet, bridges included, to meet Cary's current greenway design standard
• Realign the path to remove some of the sharper curves
• Improve drainage, and move sections away from flood-prone ground where possible
• Upgrade and raise the existing bridges to reduce flooding
• Treat runoff where possible to improve water quality

The Town's page includes a photo of crews clearing the trail after a January 3, 2022 storm. The page says the widening and realignment are meant to improve safety, handle heavier use, and prevent storm damage. Raising the bridges goes straight at the problem in that photo.

The Cary Parkway bridge fixes a different gap. It comes with a 650-foot sidewalk connection and a new traffic signal with pedestrian push buttons at Cary Parkway and Norwell Boulevard. North Cary Park, at 1100 Norwell Boulevard, is a main access point for the greenway, so the bridge and the signal give the streets around the park a marked crossing over the creek. The bridge has built-in lighting, which the Town says improves visibility and access into the evening. That helps now that it gets dark before many people finish work.

The whole route, north to south

Here is the full 7.1 miles, using the Town's own route description.

Lake Crabtree to North Cary Park

The north end starts at the Old Reedy Creek Road Trailhead, 2139 Old Reedy Creek Road. It has 82 parking spaces, restrooms, and a bike repair station. At half a mile in, a shelter overlooks Lake Crabtree. The Weston Parkway underpass is 0.3 miles past that, and North Cary Park is another 0.7 miles, with the trail following the creek the whole way. You can also get on the trail at Weston Parkway, Tynemouth Drive, Linton Banks Place, and Midenhall Way.

Wake County says Lake Crabtree County Park's own multi-use trails have been closed since June 1, 2025. The park's six-mile Lake Trail shares part of its route with Black Creek Greenway.

North Cary Park to Maynard Road

South of North Cary Park, the trail goes under Cary Parkway, past entrances at Livingstone Drive and Homestead Drive. The Reedy Creek Greenway branches east 0.7 miles from the park. Half a mile later you reach West Dynasty Drive, where the route follows the sidewalk for 0.3 miles. A mile past that is the Black Creek Trailhead parking lot on NW Maynard Road.

Godbold Park to Bond Park

Cross NW Maynard Road at the crossing with flashing lights into Robert V. Godbold Park. The trail runs between the Cary Dog Park and Cary Action Sports, joins the Northwoods Greenway, and passes under Evans Road. At Chapel Hill Road you cross at the lights. A pedestrian overpass on NW Maynard Road then takes you over the railroad tracks. The trail leaves Maynard Road at Carrousel Lane, 0.8 miles from the Black Creek Trailhead. It ends at the greenway hub in Fred G. Bond Metro Park. Park at the Boathouse or Community Center lot, both a short walk from the trailhead kiosk at the Bond Park spillway.

Restrooms are at North Cary Park, Godbold Park, Bond Park, and the Old Reedy Creek Road Trailhead. The Town also notes that parts of the trail may be too steep for wheelchairs.

Past the ends: Umstead in one direction, White Oak in the other

The north trailhead is close enough to Umstead to count as a way in. The Town says the connection is 0.6 miles along Old Reedy Creek Road, and the road turns to gravel past I-40. At the south end, Bond Park connects to the White Oak Greenway. The Black Creek and White Oak trails are part of the East Coast Greenway. The Town describes this system as already linking Cary to downtown Durham via the American Tobacco Trail, and to Raleigh and Clayton via Umstead and the Neuse River Greenway.

If you bike into Umstead, check the NC State Parks page for William B. Umstead State Park before you go. It lists trails as open but notes that the South Turkey Creek Multiuse Trail doesn't connect to the North Turkey Creek or Cedar Ridge multiuse trails while bridges are removed and repaired.

Late-fall hours along the route

The greenway is open dawn to dusk. With short November days, the hours of the places at each end matter more than they did in summer.

Lake Crabtree County Park closes on Thanksgiving, which is November 26 this year. Umstead stays open that day and closes only on Christmas. Wake County also says Lake Crabtree may close for special events, bad weather, or natural recovery.

The two Maynard Road businesses are on the same stretch, near the Black Creek Trailhead and Godbold Park. Great Harvest Bread Co. at 1240 NW Maynard Road serves breakfast, lunch, and espresso drinks. Trek Bicycle Cary at 1377 NW Maynard Road repairs bikes of any brand. Great Harvest closes at 4 p.m. If you start an out-and-back to Lake Crabtree from the Black Creek Trailhead in the morning, you'll be back while it's still open.

Our Fall in Cary guide covers what's happening downtown, at Fenton, and at Koka Booth this season. The Cary neighborhood page has more on the parks and streets around the greenway.

If your home is near North Cary Park, Godbold Park, or another Black Creek access point and you'd like to know what it's worth now that the trail is open end to end, Quin Realty Group can tell you. Request a Free Home Valuation and we'll walk you through the numbers for your street.