The Town of Fuquay-Varina calls Alston Ridge Park "a quaint neighborhood park." It has a 0.4-mile paved walking loop, a playground and a picnic shelter. Along the loop is a StoryWalk presented by the Fuquay-Varina Junior Women's Club with the Town and the Wake County Public Library, and its picture books change every two to three months. For years that loop was the whole outing. On October 23, the trailhead across from the park at 6850 Hilltop-Needmore Road Extension started leading somewhere much bigger.
Officials from Fuquay-Varina and Holly Springs, staff from the NC Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, the builder Cardinal Civil Contracting and neighbors cut the ribbon on the Alston Ridge Greenway extension that morning. The new section is 2,400 feet long, and with it a neighborhood loop in Fuquay-Varina now connects on foot to a lake, a 117-acre farm preserve, a dog park and a ballfield complex in Holly Springs.
One Mile of Asphalt, Boardwalk and a Lookout
The Town describes the finished route as one mile from the trailhead to the Bass Lake Greenway. It is a 10-foot-wide trail with asphalt and boardwalk sections and an environmental lookout along the way. At ten feet, it has room for a stroller, a dog on a leash and a cyclist passing in the other direction at the same time. The Town's announcement describes it as a connection for both pedestrians and cyclists.
During construction, a Town weekly update laid out the order of work: a stone base first, then the boardwalk, then the asphalt. It also promised a lookout area with "views of the surrounding area." That lookout is the natural place to stop on the way out. For a family with young children, a walk to the overlook and back fits easily between a lap of the StoryWalk and lunch.
Why the Mile Arrived in Late October
This link was planned as a two-town project from the start. In the Town's 2024 project brief, the trail runs from the existing greenway east of NC 55 in Alston Ridge to the Bass Lake Greenway. The estimated cost was $1,549,000. A CAMPO Locally Administered Projects Program grant was set to cover 60%, or $929,000, and Fuquay-Varina was to contribute the other $620,000. Under that plan, regional transportation money carries most of the cost of a trail that starts at a neighborhood park.
Holly Springs approved the interlocal agreement on July 16, 2024. Under it, Fuquay-Varina designs and builds the connection, and each town owns and maintains the segment inside its own limits. When RightHereIn covered the approval that July, it called it the first regional greenway connecting the two towns.
The schedule slipped once. The 2024 brief expected construction to start in spring 2025 and finish by spring 2026. The later Town update moved completion to fall 2026, and the ribbon-cutting fell on the fourth Friday of October. So the trail opened at the start of cool-weather walking season, after Bass Lake's summer had already ended.
Where the Mile Lands: Bass Lake After Labor Day
Bass Lake Park is at 900 Bass Lake Road in Holly Springs. The Holly Springs Daily parks guide, last checked October 11, lists its hours as 8 a.m. to sunset. In November, sunset ends the visit sooner than many walkers expect. Anyone setting out from Alston Ridge after lunch should count backward from dusk, because the trip back to Fuquay-Varina is another mile.
The canoes are gone for the season. According to the guide, canoe and jon boat rentals at $10 an hour and motorized Gheenoe rentals at $15 an hour run seven days a week from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and swimming is not allowed. That leaves the shoreline, which suits walkers anyway. The Lake Trail is a 1.9-mile loop that starts behind the visitor center. About 1.65 miles is an easy lakeshore walk, and about a quarter mile climbs through the woods. The guide says to look for osprey, eagles and turtles.
Fishing continues after the boats are put away. The guide reports that fishing is free with a valid license, that the visitor center sells bait and lends tackle for free, and that the lake is stocked with catfish every other month from mid-spring to mid-fall. License requirements and catch limits are on the Town's boating and fishing page. Visit Raleigh describes the visitor center as an environmental education center with a conference room and deck, and it lists a floating dock and a wildlife observation platform at the park.
So the outing doubles in length on its own. One mile to the lake, the 1.9-mile loop and one mile back make 3.9 miles that start and end at a Fuquay-Varina playground.
Past the Lake, the Chain Keeps Going
Bass Lake is the first stop in Holly Springs. The town's Carl Dean Greenway is a paved 1.3-mile route between Bass Lake Park and Womble Park that passes Sugg Farm and has six workout stations along the way. Together with the new Alston Ridge mile, that's 2.3 miles of greenway between Alston Ridge Park and the ballfields on Grigsby Avenue.
Sugg Farm, at 2401 Grigsby Avenue, has 117 acres of pasture and woods overlooking the lake. Triangle Land Conservancy holds a conservation easement on it. The farm has an archery field, a community garden, a radio-control flying field, a nature play area with a sensory trail, and the town's festival grounds. For dog owners, the free one-acre off-leash Dog Park at Sugg Farm is the destination. It has separate areas for dogs over and under 30 pounds. Dogs need current vaccinations and a rabies tag, children under 12 aren't allowed inside, and each adult may bring two dogs.
Parrish Womble Park, at 1201 Grigsby Avenue, has ballfields, a turf field, tennis courts, a playground and a band shell. A Saturday game there is now within a walk or bike ride of Alston Ridge, using greenway for most of the route.
| Stop | Address | Listed hours | How far along the chain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alston Ridge Park | 6850 Hilltop-Needmore Road Extension, Fuquay-Varina | Not listed on the Town's page | Start; 0.4-mile loop and StoryWalk |
| Bass Lake Park | 900 Bass Lake Road, Holly Springs | 8 a.m. to sunset | 1 mile of new greenway, then the 1.9-mile Lake Trail loop |
| Sugg Farm | 2401 Grigsby Avenue, Holly Springs | 7 a.m. to sunset | Along the 1.3-mile Carl Dean Greenway |
| Parrish Womble Park | 1201 Grigsby Avenue, Holly Springs | Sunrise to sunset | End of the Carl Dean Greenway |
Each park has its own closing time, and Bass Lake's 8 a.m. opening is the latest start of the three Holly Springs stops. If you'll be on the trail around sunrise or sunset, Sugg Farm's 7 a.m. opening or Womble Park's sunrise opening may suit you better than the lake.
Before the First Cold Saturday
A few practical details for the first trip out:
- Start at the trailhead. It's across from Alston Ridge Park at 6850 Hilltop-Needmore Road Extension, not inside the playground loop.
- Call ahead about Bass Lake hours. The park's line is 919-567-4028, and the email is [email protected]. Seasonal hours can change, so a quick call before a late-afternoon walk is a good idea.
- Plan for walking, not boating. Rentals end at Labor Day, so November and December at Bass Lake are about the Lake Trail, the dock and the observation platform.
- Bring the rabies tag. The off-leash Dog Park at Sugg Farm requires current vaccinations and a rabies tag, and each adult may bring two dogs.
- Check the StoryWalk on the way back. With books rotating every two to three months, the story installed when the greenway opened will probably change before the trail's first spring.
The Town describes the project as connecting two growing greenway systems. For now, the simplest measure of the change is that Alston Ridge Park's loop is 0.4 miles, while its trailhead leads to 2.3 miles of greenway and a 1.9-mile loop around a lake.
The agents at Hodge & Kittrell Sotheby's International Realty follow new connections like the Alston Ridge Greenway around Fuquay-Varina as closely as they follow any listing. If your home is near Hilltop-Needmore and you'd like to know how the new trail fits into its story, start with an instant home valuation.
