| Falls Lake State Recreation Area | |
|---|---|
 Boating access at Falls Lake | |
  Location of Falls Lake State Recreation Area in North Carolina Show map of North Carolina Falls Lake State Recreation Area (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Location | North Carolina, United States |
| Coordinates | 36°01′00″N78°41′45″W / 36.01667°N 78.69583°W /36.01667; -78.69583 |
| Area | 5,035 acres (20.38 km2)[1] |
| Established | 1981 |
| Named for | Falls Lake |
| Governing body | North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation |
| Website | Falls Lake State Recreation Area |
Falls Lake State Recreation Area is aNorth Carolina state park inDurham andWake counties,North Carolina in theUnited States. NearWake Forest, North Carolina, it covers 5,035 acres (20.38 km2)[1] along the shores of 12,410-acre (50.2 km2)Falls Lake.
Prior to 1978, flooding of theNeuse River caused extensive damage to public and private properties including roadways, railroads, industrial sites and farmlands. The Falls Lake Project was developed by theUS Army Corps of Engineers to control damaging floods. Construction of the dam began in 1978 and was completed in 1981. In addition to recreation opportunities, Falls Lake now provides flood and water-quality control, water supply, andfish and wildlife conservation.
In 1992, the NC Division of Parks and Recreation took control of theJames Mangum House as part of Beaverdam Recreation Area.
Rock Cliff Farm is owned by the federal government, and part of a large acreage managed by the state of North Carolina as the Falls Lake State Recreation Area.[2] It was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 2007.[3]
Falls Lake hiking trails on the south side are part of theMountains-to-Sea Trail which stretches fromKuwohi in the Great Smoky Mountains toJockey's Ridge State Park on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Camping along the Falls Lake portion of the trail is only available at Shinleaf Recreation Area in Wake County and Rolling View Recreation Area in Durham County. Trails are easy to moderate on some steep ridges.
The Beaver Dam bike trails at Falls Lake are easy to intermediate and have trails for everyone. Trail heads are accessible from the park entrance at Beaverdam Recreation Area only.
Falls Lake is accessible bykayaks andcanoes from two boat launches at Highway 50 and Beaver Dam Lake.[citation needed]
Falls Lake is one of the settings in the spy thriller novelCrisis Four byAndy McNab.[4]