Harris Lake County Park offers programs covering nature, history and recreational topics. Public programs are open for registration to the general public.
Registration for Public Programs & Reminders
Public Program Registration & Reminders
To register for one of our public programs, click the button below the program description to access the registration page on our online registration website.
Having trouble registering for a program online? Contact the park office at 919-387-4342 or email us at harris.lake@wake.gov for assistance.
Important Program Reminders:
- For Family Programs, every participant must be registered online in advance.
- "Walk-ups" (those who are not registered online but show up) may not be able to participate in the program. Register early!
- Pets, except service animals, are not permitted at programs.
- If a program has a minimum age, children who do not meet the minimum will not be allowed to participate. Children who meet the age requirement must have a parent or guardian with them during the program. Age limits are established for safety and program content.
Self-Guided Activities
Geocaching
The hunt is on during this high-tech "treasure" hunting game, where park visitors come equipped with GPS devices in search of hidden geocaches! The geocaches located in Harris Lake County Park are hidden containers that have been approved by park staff and placed on park property for your exploration and enjoyment. Geocaches can be of varied sizes and hidden in easy- to difficult-to-find places. Use GPS devices to help find these hidden containers and then record your find on the paper log provided in the geocache. Some geocaches have little items, such as toys and stickers, that you can collect and replenish as you play, so the activity can be a real "treasure hunt." This activity can be self-guided by getting coordinates from Geocaching.com and bringing your own GPS unit, or you can participate in one of our scheduled “Geocaching 101” public programs.
To learn more about geocaching, watch this short introductory video created by former Park Manager Christina Hester.
NEW in 2025!
There is a new addition to the Harris Lake County Park geocaches! Our newest cache is part of the Cache Odyssey, a nationwide geocaching journey which brings a unique, highly creative letterbox geocache to every state. These caches are specifically designed with everyone in mind and are fully accessible for those with mobility concerns. We are so honored to be the site of the North Carolina location for this cache as part of the East Central Region Geo Tour! If you're interested in finding this new cache, type "Cache Odyssey - North Carolina" in the geocaching.com search engine!
Placing a Geocache
Geocaching on Wake County Park property is handled on a park-by-park basis. Please visit a specific park's website or contact them directly to learn about their geocaching policies.
Geocaching is an accepted recreational activity at Harris Lake County Park. The park maintains a maximum number of caches on park property. Those wishing to establish a new cache must receive approval from Harris Lake County Park prior to placing a cache. Please contact us at harris.lake@wake.gov or 919-387-4342 for more information.
Orienteering
If you love the outdoors, exploring and map reading, then orienteering is for you! Orienteering is the sport of navigating through an unfamiliar area using a map and, perhaps, a compass. The object is to make your way through a series of points identified on a map and return to the finish line in the shortest amount of time possible. The route you take is up to you.
Orienteering is sometimes called “the art of map and compass reading.” This fun outdoor recreational activity dates back more than 100 years and uses “low-tech” tools to navigate the landscape. Often set as a timed challenge, orienteering is a fun way to exercise and build wilderness survival skills. Finding the points and markers is a sort of “treasure hunt” for participants of all ages.
Harris Lake County Park’s orienteering course includes a short course (5 waypoints) and a long course (16 waypoints) that take you to different parts of the park, including wooded, field and play areas. The courses are accessible year-round whenever the park is open. You can use our Harris Lake County Park Orienteering Course brochure as a guide for getting started, as well as our printable course sheets to fill in the points as you find them. Each point has a rubbing – try to collect them all!
Mobile Tours
Take a mobile tour and see the park through a new lens!
Harris Lake County Park has five interactive cell phone tours that you can access from home or while you're at the park. You can access each tour from its hyperlinked title below.
Local Tree Loop
This tour was created to introduce some of the special trees we have in North Carolina and help you identify them in the future. This tour follows the paved trail around the Educational Garden and begins on the Cypress parking lot side of the garden.
Educational Garden Tour
Along this tour, you will learn about some of the history of the park, some of the plants in the garden and great ways to help wildlife in your backyard.
Cypress Tree Trail
Test your knowledge and learn more about some of our common trees.
Red Fox Run Interpretive Trail
Discover more about the plants and animals found at the park.
Womble Interpretive History Trail
Explore life on a farm as you learn about one of the families that lived on the property before it became a park.
Mobile tours have also been developed for other park sites, and you can view them all here.
For more activities you can enjoy from the comfort of your home, visit Harris Lake From Home and find all of our Wake County Parks From Home pages at Wake Parks From Home.
Go for a StoryWalk®
Take a self-guided StoryWalk® at Harris Lake County Park! A StoryWalk® is a children’s book presented page by page along a trail or path, combining the joy of reading with the opportunity to enjoy nature. Every other month, the paved trails in our Day Use (shelter) area or the paths in and around our Educational Garden and Natural Play Area will feature a different illustrated children’s book. Interactive activities are included at the bottom of each set of storybook pages to further engage your child as you make your way through the book. StoryWalk® will be available during current park hours.
The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont, and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. StoryWalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson.
Be sure to check out our August 2026 StoryWalk®, Finding Wild, written by Megan Wagner Lloyd and illustrated by Abigail Halpin, at our sister park, the American Tobacco Trail, from Aug. 1–30. The StoryWalk® begins at the White Oak trailhead (1305 White Oak Church Road).
Adventure Backpacks
Parents and teachers, would you like to enhance your visit to the park? Our four Adventure Backpacks contain self-guided educational activities complete with instructions, equipment, guides and take-home activities for further enrichment.
Choose from the following offerings:
- Birds of Wonder: Explore the wonderful world of birds! Go birdwatching with binoculars, learn how to keep birds safe, practice your worm-hunting skills and more!
- Bug Out!: Be an insect investigator! Go on a bug hunt to safely catch insects, discover how to create insect habitat in your own backyard, play a game to move like different insects (Can you fly like a dragonfly? Scurry like a roach?) and make a fun craft and insect-themed snack with take-home activities!
- Exploration: Learn how to be a nature detective as you explore the park! Participate in a special challenge to decipher clues as you visit different areas of the park, make your own scat and more!
- Journey to the Past: Embark on a journey to the homesite of a family who lived on this land before it became a park. Play games from this bygone era, go on a scavenger hunt, try your hand at our "history mystery" and use props to play make-believe at the Womble family wash house!
Adventure Backpacks are located in a bin at the Park Office building (the first right after you enter the park). Stop by anytime during park hours to sign one out and begin your adventure!
Virtual Public Programs
Wild Wednesday Program Series
Join us for our Virtual Wild Wednesday Program Series! Virtual public programs will be interactive, including games, stories, activities and/or live specimens with suggestions for further enrichment and an invitation to explore the outdoors. Zoom meeting links and other pertinent information provided upon registration.
*Please note that this series is on hiatus while we evaluate the demand for virtual public programs.
Other Program Opportunities
Family Programs
Designed for families to enjoy together, these programs are geared toward all ages, unless a minimum age is specified. For Family Programs, all participants must be registered online in advance.
Each family member attending must be registered in advance through our online system.
Longleaf Ramble Special Event
Saturday, Sept. 12, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Join us for this free, family-friendly event as we celebrate all things longleaf pine! Educational booths from our partner organizations will introduce you to this unique ecosystem and its critters and explain the importance of prescribed fire. Meet live animals, enjoy longleaf-themed games and crafts, and take a guided wagon tour to our 60-acre Longleaf Pine Restoration Area. Pre-registration is required for wagon tours due to limited seating (register separately through our online registration system). Purchase a cool treat from Kona Ice of Western Wake and take home your very own longleaf pine seedling! Extend the fun by bringing a picnic lunch and spending the day at the park. This free event is open to all ages and will take place at the Loblolly Shelter and on the open playfield.
No registration is required for the event itself. If you wish to secure a spot on one of the two available wagon tours, register below.
For the Love of Longleaf
Sunday, Sept. 13, 1:30–3 p.m.
Not able to attend our Longleaf Ramble event yesterday? You can still enjoy a relaxing wagon ride to our longleaf forest and walk among our beautiful longleaf pines! Learn about their special history in the area and the ecology of the longleaf forest ecosystem, including the importance of prescribed fire. Plus, it’s Grandparents Day, so bring your grandparents along for some fun! For ages 8 and up. All participants (children and adults) must be registered. We will be getting off the wagon to explore, so please wear closed-toe shoes and bring a water bottle. Meet at the wagon near the playground.
NEW! Harris Lake Outdoorsman Series: Fishing 101
Saturday, Oct. 17, 9–11 a.m.
Join us for the first installment in our new three-part Outdoorsman Series designed specifically for older teens and adults! Fishing can be a fin-tastic way to get outdoors and connect with nature, but it can be hard to dive into as a beginner. What equipment do you bring? What bait do you use? What kinds of fish are you likely to catch? If you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers! Join our knowledgeable park staff for a morning of coaching and casting as we help you take the first steps on your journey to becoming an expert angler! Fishing gear and bait will be provided. Space is limited! For ages 15 and up. All participants must be registered. Participants ages 16 and older must have a valid North Carolina Inland Fishing License: https://www.eregulations.com/northcarolina/fishing/fishing-licenses. Meet at the Fishing Pond. Bring a water bottle and wear closed-toe shoes.
Kids Discover Nature
This monthly series for children ages 2–5 with accompanying adult introduces them to the natural world through stories, hikes, crafts and games.
The adult does not register for these programs.
Kids Discover Nature: On One Flower
Thursday, Aug. 13, 10–11 a.m. *Note the earlier program time for warmer months!
Learn about a community of animals that live together on a single flower as we read On One Flower by Anthony Fredericks. Then, we’ll go on a scavenger hunt in our Educational Garden to search for insects and other tiny critters living among the plants. We’ll finish with a craft!
Kids Discover Nature: Feathers for Lunch
Thursday, Sept. 3, 10–11 a.m. *Note the earlier program time for warmer months!
Discover the different types of backyard birds an escaped house cat encounters as we read Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert. After the story, we’ll play a matching game and take a walk to look for birds.
Kids Drop-Off Programs
These programs allow older children to explore nature on a higher level and are designed for them to attend on their own, without parent participation.
Nature Lab: Adventure Challenge
Tuesday, Aug. 11, 9 a.m.–noon
Fee: $12/child
*This program is full. Please join the wait list below.
Compasses and questing, riddles and racing, teamwork and trials—join us for a morning of adventure across the park! Participants will work together to complete building challenges, solve puzzles, navigate an orienteering course and much more while discovering clues that reveal an ultimate surprise. Can you work together to complete the adventure challenge? Bring a snack and a full water bottle. For ages 8–12. Meet at the Cypress Shelter.
Theater in the Park
Practice Session #1: Thursday, Oct. 29, 1–4 p.m.
Practice Session #2: Friday, Oct. 30, 1–4 p.m.
Performance: Saturday, Oct. 31, 1–3:30 p.m.
Is your child a budding actor who enjoys the outdoors? We’ve got just the right opportunity for them: our Theater in the Park drop-off program! Over the course of three days, we’ll practice skits and work together to create performances with a “Creepy Critters” theme. On the final day, we’ll put on a performance for family and friends to enjoy! No experience is necessary—just bring your energy and enthusiasm! For ages 7–13. Please make sure your child eats lunch before coming to the program. Dress for the weather and bring a full water bottle and a hearty snack each day. Meet at the Cypress Shelter.
Please be sure to register your child for all three days of the program! Also, register everyone in your household who will be attending Saturday’s performance (registration links below).
Harris Lake ecoEXPLORERS
Interested in becoming a citizen scientist and improving your nature identification skills with park staff? We’ve got the opportunity for you! Harris Lake County Park is an ecoEXPLORE HotSpot, which means it’s a place where you can make observations of plants and animals and share them with scientists! We'll be offering a quarterly opportunity to explore the park with our staff in search of a certain taxon, or group, of animals or plants. We will add our findings to the park's Natural Resources Inventory Database, which records our wildlife diversity, so we need you, citizen scientists!
Harris Lake ecoEXPLORERS
Sunday, Aug. 9, 2–3:30 p.m.
Our focus for today’s program will be insects! Come learn about the many insect species you can find in the park and help us search for beetles, butterflies, dragonflies and more! If you are new to ecoEXPLORE, please create a profile at www.ecoexplore.net/signup prior to the program. Meet at the Cypress Shelter and bring a device for taking photos and capturing data. For ages 7 and up; children must be registered with an adult. Space is limited!
Adult & Young Adult Programs
Harris Lake County Park periodically offers programs and workshops for adults and older children and teens, many of which are eligible for NC Environmental Education Certification or CEU credits.
Introducing a NEW program series designed specifically for older teens and adults: the Harris Lake Outdoorsman Series!
Fishing 101
Saturday, Oct. 17, 9–11 a.m.
Join us for the first installment in our new three-part Outdoorsman Series! Fishing can be a fin-tastic way to get outdoors and connect with nature, but it can be hard to dive into as a beginner. What equipment do you bring? What bait do you use? What kinds of fish are you likely to catch? If you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers! Join our knowledgeable park staff for a morning of coaching and casting as we help you take the first steps on your journey to becoming an expert angler! Fishing gear and bait will be provided. Space is limited! For ages 15 and up. All participants must be registered. Participants ages 16 and older must have a valid North Carolina Inland Fishing License: North Carolina Fishing Licenses. Meet at the Fishing Pond. Bring a water bottle and wear closed-toe shoes.
Become a Junior Park Explorer!
Do you like to explore parks and preserves? Do you like winning prizes? Our Junior Park Explorers program is for you! Learn more here.