1101 Old Milburnie Road, Raleigh, NC
You’re lucky I’m telling you about this place… I really just wanted to keep it my own little secret, but word has already spread so I guess sharing is caring! Did you know there is a beach off the Neuse river trail right off Old Milburnie Road? I call it Milburnie Beach, and it’s probably Raleigh’s best kept secret!
A beach with no waves
Listed on the City of Raleigh website as just a canoe launch access point, Milburnie Beach is SO MUCH MORE! When the beach is calling, we just setup camp right here with our beach chairs and umbrellas and make a day of it!
The kids can still hunt for shells, which I think are actually mussels, but they they don’t know the difference! Between that and the minnows they love to try to catch, bring some buckets and they will be occupied for hours.
For my little ones I think I like this river beach even more than the real beach at the ocean. There’s no waves to knock them over so I can actually just sit back and relax while they play in the water. You know those moms that can lay out and read a book on the beach? You can actually do that here!!!
The current of the river isn’t very strong near the shore. However, if you venture out too far you may want to bring the puddle jumpers just in case. My husband has taken the kids out to the sand bar in the middle of the river, and over to the rocks from the old dam. So the water is shallow enough to walk through, but there are some deeper spots to watch out for.
Don’t come when water levels are high
The only downfall is that when water levels are high the beach can get flooded out. We tried to go shortly after a tropical storm and the whole trail was covered in water!
How do I get there?
From the I-440 beltline take Route 64 East exit 13B. Travel 2.7 miles and just after crossing the bridge over the river turn left on Old Milburnie Road. Turn left on Loch Raven Parkway and then go about 100 yards and you will see a sign for the Neuse river trail. Turn onto that road and follow it down to the small parking lot by the river.
If you plug in 1101 Old Milburnie Road to your GPS it will get you in the right area, but it doesn’t have you turn down the side road. Once you enter the apartment building complex take your next right near all the parked cards and there’s a parking lot down by the water.
Zebulon also has their own beach at Little River Park where you can dip your toes in the sand!
And check out our list of spots that have water activities in Raleigh!
Is the water safe for swimming?
I’m not sure about the specifics of the bacteria levels or anything like that, but it is a moving river so the water doesn’t get stagnant and gross. You do need to be careful of the current with young kids though because it can sweep you downstream quickly. But overall, I haven’t heard anything about the Neuse River being contaminated and we’ve swam there many times without issues so I believe it to be safe in that regards. We don’t drink the water or anything though.
Is this what was called Raleigh Beach back in ‘60’s?
Oh I’m not sure! This was the site of milburnie dam until around 2015, so I’m not sure it was much of a beach until after the dam was demolished. But maybe! Did you go to Raleigh beach in the 60s?!
It was known as Raleigh Beach in the 50s and 60s. And it was a sandy beach on the downtown Raleigh side of the river. The water falling over the dam created dangerous currents and several people lost their lives over the years.
Are there any public bathrooms anywhere nearby? Even if not, we still plan to go…just want to be prepared. Thanks for the awesome info!
There is usually a porta-potty in the parking lot, but no full restroom facility with running water.
So kind of you to take the time to share this information with us – thank you!
I still call it Raleigh beach and I’m and 80s babies been in this area since 85. My dad would take my siblings and I to go fishing long before the trail existed. I remember the damn and I remember it as heavily forested. We I feel like there was a side road back in the day where the church on New Bern Ave is we would park, but you had a short walk thru the woods to get the river. In my 20s my first place was Beachwood Village and I would walk down the dirt road leading down to the beach.