Every Saturday from mid-May through the end of August, cars line the shoulder of Old Falls of Neuse Road while their owners carry inner tubes down to the water. It's one of the most reliable rituals in North Raleigh, and if you've done it, you already know the drill: put in at the Falls Dam Access, drift down, climb out at the bridge over Capital Boulevard, repeat next weekend.
The City of Raleigh says the takeout at the Capital Boulevard bridge is privately owned and that anyone using it does so at their own risk. The next official public access point downstream is ten miles further, a float the city estimates at four hours.
River access and creek restoration are two parts of this corridor's story this year. A few miles south, a water project received a $450,000 commitment.
A creek that used to be background noise
Big Branch Creek runs through the middle of the North Hills Innovation District, the 33-acre stretch of new retail and office space that's finally filling in along Hardimont Road. It's a tributary of Crabtree Creek, and until recently it was the kind of feature a developer would quietly culvert and forget. Instead, Kane Realty committed $450,000 to stabilizing the streambed with quarried stone step pools, erosion control matting, and native plantings, treating a drainage creek like it deserved the same design attention as the office towers around it.
In a WRAL report, Josie Reeves, Kane Realty's Head of Design and Brand Strategy, said, "Connectivity with Raleigh's natural environment is at the heart of NHID." The district's layout reflects that connection.
Why you have to cross the creek to get a bagel
Two pedestrian bridges span that restored stream, and they're not decorative. They're the actual circulation pattern of the district. One bridge connects Makers Alley, the micro-retail row of local businesses, to Standard Beer + Food's new location. The second connects Standard to Tower 5 and Benchwarmers Bagels. You don't walk around the creek at NHID. You walk across it, twice, whether you're headed to yoga or dinner.
Standard's new space carries more than 15,000 square feet of outdoor gathering space alongside a 5,600-square-foot interior, reportedly the largest patio footprint in North Hills to date, and it looks out over the stream and a play yard rather than a parking lot. Benchwarmers Bagels occupies a 2,800-square-foot freestanding building next door, where the dough goes through a 36-hour fermentation before landing in a 10,000-pound wood-fired oven, a process the Boulted Bread and Jubala Coffee team behind it has spent years refining at other Raleigh locations.
Here's a quick look at how the pieces line up along that walk:
| Stop | What it is | Square footage | What it faces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Makers Alley | Micro-retail row of local, women- and minority-owned shops | roughly 13,500 sf combined | Storefronts along St. Albans Drive |
| Standard Beer + Food | Second location of the Person Street brewery and kitchen | 5,600 sf indoor, 15,000+ sf patio | The restored stream and play yard |
| Benchwarmers Bagels | Wood-fired bagel shop, newest Raleigh-area location | 2,800 sf | Hardimont Road extension, greenway connection |
The creek-side walk is part of the larger district whose footprint Kane Realty expanded by 28 acres in January 2026.
The rest of the road is filling in too
You don't have to go into the innovation district to notice the corridor is busier. A few minutes north on Falls of Neuse Road, Lina's Bakery & Café is opening this month at 6617 Falls of Neuse Rd, suite 105, a new bakery joining the corridor's mix of businesses.
What this means for your next few Saturdays
If you're planning a float before the season winds down at the end of August, know which parts of your trip are actually public before you go. The Neuse River Blueway maintains six official launches for canoes and kayaks along 17 miles of river starting at Falls Lake Dam, and those are the ones with legitimate parking and legal standing. The popular tubing loop everyone treats as the default route leans on a takeout that the city itself flags as private property. Check the city's access information before choosing a route, especially since the current flows fast enough below the dam that entering during high water isn't something to improvise.
And if you're headed to North Hills for a bagel or a beer this weekend, take the long way across both bridges instead of cutting through. A creek that a developer decided was worth $450,000 in restoration is worth the extra thirty seconds of walking over it.
The corridor along Falls of Neuse Road is changing, with the restored creek and managed river both part of the area's landscape alongside its restaurants and businesses. River access and the district's design are among the details that help explain the area.
I live and work in this part of Wake County, and I like knowing these details as much for my own weekends as for my clients. If you're curious what a corridor like this means for property values nearby, or you just want to talk through what's changing in North Raleigh, I'd love to hear from you. Reach out anytime through Alexander Realty.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.