Copyright: North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation Falls Lake State Recreation Area

The City of Raleigh uses Falls Lake as its municipal water supply and is authorized to withdraw up to 100 million gallons of water a day. Each year the dam prevents millions of dollars in potential flood damages to downstream property and the lake hosts more than 2 million recreational visitors.

Selected forests are being managed to provide habitat for the bald eagle and similar efforts are being made to restore the forest habitat preferred by the red-cockaded woodpecker, a former inhabitant of this region. Penny's Bed Nature Preserve protects a community of rare and endangered plants.

Recreation - Falls Lake offers a variety of outdoor recreation activities. There are numerous swimming beaches, campgrounds, picnic groves, hiking trails, boat ramps and fishing piers. The park rangers not only enforce park regulations but offer interpretive programs through a variety of illustrated talks, trail hikes and other special programs.

Environmental Educational Learning Experience (EELE)-- Guess What's for Dinner. Grades: 3, 4, and 5. Introduces students to food chains and food webs and how human-caused impacts can effect them. Major concepts covered include: food chain, food web, interdependence and human impacts on the environment.

Climate - Winter daytime temperatures range from 36 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit (2 to 4 Celsius). Summer daytime temperatures range from 76 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit (24 to 26 Celsius). Spring and Fall daytime temperatures range from 71 to 73 (20's Celsius). The state has a fairly wet climate with an average precipitation for this area averaging 48-52 inches (122-132 centimeters).

Location - Falls Lake State Recreation Area is located due north of Raleigh less than 6 miles.

LAT: 36.0246680493
LONG: -78.6936950684