Annie Louise Wilkerson, MD Nature Preserve Park

The City of Raleigh received a gift of 157 acres of land south of Falls Lake to create its first designated Nature Preserve park. This land, containing mature forests with some trees over 200 years old, as well as rock outcrops, wetlands, and large open-field pastures, was the bequest of Dr. Annie Louise Wilkerson, a renowned Raleigh doctor with many pioneering achievements in her 53-year career in medicine and public service. The bequest specified that the land must become a "Nature Preserve Park" used for the "primary purposes" of "nature education" and "research into the methods of conservation". Today, Wilkerson Nature Preserve continues Dr. Wilkerson's vision, preserving habitats containing many rare and endangered species, and delivering hundreds of nature education programs annually for visitors of all ages.

At the Welcome Center, you can find hands-on displays designed especially for children, free nature craft activities changed monthly, free loaner equipment: Explorer backpacks, Woodland Village backpack, Art Backpack, sandbox kit, binoculars, kites, and other nature play items. Staff are available when the park is open to answer your nature questions.

Offerings:
Welcome Center
Site Rentals
Education Center
Picnic Shelter
Trails

We are open Tuesday – Saturday at 10 a.m.
We are open on Sundays at 1 p.m.
We are closed on Mondays
Closing Hours Begin at Dusk