Walnut Creek Wetland Park

Walnut Creek Wetland Park serves to support the mission of both our team and the late Dr. Norman and Betty Camp: to connect people and nature through experiences, education, and conservation. Our vision is to create strong, healthy, sustainable communities and the environment.

Come visit a diverse ecosystem, and come discover your local wetland!

The park office is located in the lobby of the Norman and Betty Camp Education Center. Our Education Center offers public restrooms and water fountains as well as two classrooms that are available for public renting. Additionally, the Norman and Betty Camp Education Center provides ADA accessibility to park patrons and hosts a variety of green building features. The education center lobby is open and free to the public Tuesday through Sunday during operating hours and offers access to several free amenities.

Available staff can provide an oral history of the park, give guided building tours, provide trail maps, and answer questions related to the park. We can also provide groups of patrons with a scavenger hunt card in English or Spanish.

Front desk staff can assist you borrowing dip nets, rain boots or waders in a variety of sizes and catch basins for independent creek exploration. Additionally, we offer field guides and binoculars for patrons interested in birding from our deck or around the park. Other gear you could engage with includes our ecoExplorer Backpacks, and trail maps.

Walnut Creek Wetland Park currently hosts four animal ambassadors: an Eastern King Snake, a Black Rat Snake, an Eastern Box Turtle, and a Cope’s Grey Tree Frog. Available staff can assist in introductions and provide related education on individual ambassador species.

Norman Builds a Park: is a 3-foot-tall storybook installation that tells the childhood story of Dr. Norman Camp. An inquisitive young scientist from Rochester Heights, right here in Raleigh, who had the dream to build Walnut Creek Wetland Park and made it happen!

Walnut Creek Wetland Park participates in the City’s Nature Quest challenge!

Come grab our tree trail map from our front desk located in the lobby. In collaboration with NC State University, we feature 14 unique tree species found in the wetland. Scan the map’s QR code as you follow along our trails and listen to each tree’s audio file to learn more about each species.

The Education Center lobby hosts a variety of books on nature-related topics for all reading levels, to include a carpeted area for children’s story time and a library exchange box outside of the lobby door.

Walnut Creek Wetland Park lies at the confluence of Little Rock Creek and Walnut Creek Greenway trails, at about the halfway point on the Walnut Creek Greenway between Lake Johnson and the Neuse River Greenway. Cyclists enjoy using the Walnut Creek Wetland Park as a place to adjust or pump up their tires at the bike repair station. Additionally, the Center currently maintains two natural surface trails