Sights & Sounds: Mingo Creek

Editor’s Note: this is the first of a series of “guided tours” of the greenway trails around Raleigh, focusing on some of the interesting sights, sounds and even the occasional smells.

The Mingo Creek greenway trail is relatively new, having opened in the fall of 2014. It runs through Knightdale and crosses just south of my neighborhood.  There are two access points from our subdivision, one off the main road and one from a sidestreet that's harder to find I you don't know its there. The Mingo Creek trail is approximately 3.5 miles long, which makes it an excellent warmup if you’re going to ride the longer trails. Not everyone uses it that way, though.

The Mingo Creek trail is relatively new and runs through Knightdale.

I started a recent ride by going to the entrance off Lynnwood Road. You cross a long bridge over a swampy area, which makes an interesting contrast to the elevated I-540 bridge running parallel to it. You don’t see the 540 bridge as much as you hear the rumble of traffic. The greenway bridge runs right up to the trail, where I turned left, or east.



This bridge crosses Mingo Creek.

The trail follows Mingo Creek as it meanders through the woods. You can see the backs of houses from my subdivision off to one side and houses from another subdivision across the railroad tracks on the other side. You come to a long wooden bridge shortly after turning out onto the trail. It takes you over the creek and by a large drainage pipe that pops out under the railroad tracks. My tires make a very different sound when I hit the wooden bridge, a kind of rumble. That alerted two families who were walking across that I was coming up behind them. Regardless of that I announced myself as I went past and they waved. I passed two joggers over the next half a mile or so and passed another entrance to the greenway, this one from another neighborhood.

The courts are usually in use in the afternoons.

I pedaled to the end of the trail at Mingo Creek park, which has two basketball courts. Usually those courts are full of young guys playing a rough and tumble version of 5 on 5 where the no-blood, no-foul rule seems to be in effect. More guys watch, waiting to take on the winners. But this was the middle of a hot day, and those guys were probably somewhere air conditioned. It was very quiet. I rode up to the little parking lot and turned around. Just past the courts is a small but steep hill that’s difficult on your way up. I was on my way down and used the hill to pick up speed.

There are ducks and other animals in the swampy area of the tail.

 

I followed the trail to one of the nicer features: a long boardwalk that takes you over the swampy wetlands area just south of my neighborhood. The amount of water varies based on recent rainfall, but there’s always some there. There are cranes, ducks, geese and lots and lots of turtles. There are also beaver damns and you can see beaver every now and again. Deer like the cover offered by the tall grasses that surround the water; usually if you see one you’ll see more. After you pass the wetlands you’re back on paved trail that takes you to Hodge Road. This is a busy two-lane road and you need to look carefully for oncoming cars as you approach. Be prepared to stop because your line of sight is limited because of trees.

Be prepared to stop at the Hodge Road crossing.

 

I crossed the road turned right, then left into the Princeton Manor neighborhood and followed the sidewalk until the trail goes off to the left. The next landmark is a fairly good-sized hill. You can take it if you get a good running start and downshift. There’s a screwdiver sunk down into the concrete that you’ll see as you get to the top of the hill. It’s a signal that you’re getting started on your way out. It’s a nice signal that you’re almost finished when you’re coming back.

You take the sharp right turn at the top of the hill and that takes you out to the bridge over the Neuse and the entrance to the Neuse River trail. On the day of my ride there were some folks floating by under the bridge in inner tubes. You see them fairly often on sunny weekends.

The trail ends with the bridge over the Neuse.

The Mingo Creek trail is used mostly by walkers and joggers from the neighborhoods in Knightdale bordering the trail access points. The trail is perfect for walks and jogs and folks often stop on the boardwalks to look at the animals.  That means if you’re on a bike you need to let them know when you’re approaching. People do a great job sharing the trail as long as they know you’re coming. If you’re just starting out on a bike, going back and forth on the trail is a good first ride. Don’t be shy about having to walk up the big hill, just in case.