Wake County preserves open seven days a week for peak season

Birds chirp and other nature sounds waft through the trees at Turnipseed Nature Preserve.

"We have wood ducks here,” said Deborah Fowler, Wake County's open space manager.

She’s more than familiar with most species in the parks.

“There's a yellow billed cuckoo, there's an indigo bunting, there are cricket frogs,” she said.

But Turnipseed Nature Preserve is more than a place of peace for birds and bugs.

“This area and eastern Wake County doesn't have a lot of parks with trails,” Fowler said. "There was a huge need from the community. They really wanted something like this, and ever since we've opened, I've had nothing but positive remarks from visitors.”

All of the trails in the park are ADA accessible, meaning people in wheelchairs or walkers can easily enjoy them.

“We see hundreds (of people) every weekend,” Fowler said. “We have a lot of visitors who really want to come seven days a week. That was probably the No. 1 request that we got when this preserve first opened.”

Turnipseed Nature Preserve is 265 acres.

“We have meadows, open fields, we have this beautiful wetland floodplain here. If you're here during a flood event, you can see how this truly works as a floodplain, and it is a natural way of getting water to slow down," she said.

Slowing down is something park visitors can do as well and enjoy a weekday walk in the wilds of Wake County.