Beech Bluff County Park was originally owned and operated by the Adams Family as agricultural farmland. Over the years, the family raised a variety of crops and livestock. Wake County began purchasing the land from various members of the Adams Family between 2004 and 2019. The combined parcels became known as Southeast County Park.

In August 2019, the Wake County Board of Commissioners approved the master plan for the property, at which point it was officially named "Beech Bluff County Park." In January 2023, construction began to turn the 300 acres of undeveloped forests, wetlands, stream channels, rock outcrops and open fields into a park. Beech Bluff County Park opened to the public in March 2025.

You can learn more about the park’s history by visiting our exhibit hall (coming soon) or attending one of our History Hikes.

Beech Bluff County Park gets its name from this unique feature. The park is home to numerous beech trees, which are easy to spot during the winter. Look for trees holding onto their golden-colored leaves, which will fall off in spring when their new leaves begin to grow in.

From the Bluff Overlook, you can look out into the forest and see multiple beech trees and look down onto Middle Creek, which winds its way through the park.

Fire is a natural component of a healthy forest. Prescribed burns reduce the encroachment of competing shrubs and hardwoods in the forest understory and replenish nutrients in the soil. Due to the decline of a once vast acreage of Longleaf pines in North Carolina, the North Carolina Forest Service has made it a priority to aid in its restoration.

Beech Bluff re-introduced the Longleaf pine to the park in March 2024 through a planting with a group of volunteers from the Fuquay-Varina 4-H Spatial Science Club in partnership with Wake County Planning, Development and Inspection and Parks, Recreation and Open Space staff. Staff and volunteers planted 350 Longleaf seedlings, 150 Big Blue Stem, 100 Indian Grass and 50 Little Blue Stem. These grasses were historically found growing alongside Longleaf pines in piedmont pine savannahs.

A special THANK YOU goes out to the Wildlife Federation for donating the 300 native grasses to compliment and support our re-established longleaf area.

Staff plan to actively manage the site with prescribed burns and savannah mix plantings.

Grass Planting History:

• March 16, 2024: Planted 150 Big Blue Stem, 100 Indian Grass and 50 Little Blue Stem.

“Savannahs” were reported by explorers as early as 1540 in the Carolina Piedmont. These “savannahs” (a.k.a. Prairies) were likely the result of both fires started by lightning and indigenous people clearing land for planting. Large grazing animals such as elk and bison may have also helped maintain these prairies. The many waterways throughout the Piedmont created natural fire breaks, which caused these prairies to be smaller than those seen in the Midwest.

As the area was increasingly settled by European settlers and fire was suppressed, prairies began to give way to forested areas. There are three prairies that are being restored at Beech Bluff County Park. By restoring native ecosystems, these prairies provide many benefits by offering wildlife habitat, increasing biodiversity and supporting local pollinators, as well as allowing areas for environmental education and public enjoyment year-round. The native prairies seen at Beech Bluff County Park are former grazing pastures and agricultural fields.

Want to explore the wildlife and plants seen at our Wake County Parks and Preserves from home? Check out the Wake County Natural Resources Inventory Database (NRID)! Anyone can use it – whether you're a birdwatcher, teacher, student, citizen scientist or just curious about nature. Explore data and photos, print checklists, or discover fun nature facts here.

If you have photographed an animal or plant within the park, we would love to include your sighting in our database. Please email the picture and location it was taken to BeechBluff@wake.gov.