Raleigh Swamp is the local nickname for this expanse off Raleigh Boulevard. A massive boardwalk with gazebo connects Buckeye Trail with Capital Boulevard. There are almost always blue herons and/or hawks, dozens of various turtle species, the occasional thirsty deer, and the best chance I know to actually see beavers during the day. Raleigh Boulevard has become their permanent no-maintenence dam, but their two houses – one on the west bank near the railroad and one right beside the boardwalk – have been badly exposed by the drought. We will return here often.
Google map of area linked below:
raleighnaturalist
The Raleigh Naturalist 
Comment brought forward from old site:
Jan 5, 2008
Hey John! Keith and I live near the swamp. In the warm months there are more turtles there than I can count! Also I have seen herons and a kingfisher bird. Once at dusk I saw a doe. This is one of my favorite spots! Anna P.
Comment by raleighnaturalist — January 11, 2009 @ 8:09 pm
Copied from a later post:
comment by Mark Senior
Was reading through your website after getting the link from the Fletcher Park Watergarden and noted that the “pond” off Raleigh Blvd was one of your favorite places. I thought i’d mention that this was actually a City of Raleigh mitigation project i designed many years ago to offset the environmental impacts from the construction of Raleigh Blvd. It was supposed to be a wetland but the beavers in the area had a different idea as they immediately blocked the culverts under the roadway causing the water to back up and form a permanent pond. Can’t say i object to the result of their efforts. It’s a beautiful spot and the addition of the greenway has made it accessible to the masses.
Mark Senior, PE, Senior Project Engineer, Water Quality Section, Stormwater Divsion of the City of Raleigh Public Works Department (Amy Hathaway, who oversaw the Fletcher project, works for me)
Comment by mark senior — January 16, 2009 @ 5:38 pm
Comment by raleighnaturalist — January 16, 2009 @ 11:47 pm
[…] that parallels Capital Boulevard as it flows north toward its intersection with Crabtree Creek at Raleigh Swamp. What look like huge pits will allow the water to deposit sediment and be filtered by plant […]
Pingback by Fletcher Park water feeds Pigeon House Creek « Raleigh Nature — March 7, 2009 @ 3:15 pm
[…] of residential and industrial sectors, crossing Raleigh Boulevard and ending in what neighbors call Raleigh Swamp – 25 acres of heron, beaver and turtle heaven inside the Beltline. Middle Crabtree proper begins […]
Pingback by Raleigh Public Record » Featured The Natural View » Raleigh’s Greenway Outlook — May 11, 2009 @ 6:39 pm
Great photos! The owl is a barred owl. (the one at https://raleighnature.com/2008/06/29/hot-spring-critter-sightings/) My husband and I saw one yesterday while kayaking on the Neuse below Falls Dam!
Comment by Laura Jackson — April 19, 2010 @ 8:36 pm
[…] start seeing sandy soils. Just down the road from Marsh Creek Park, Skyline Drive heads down to good old Raleigh Swamp. Before it gets there, at the intersection with Trawick, you can find this meadow of […]
Pingback by Marsh Creek Park – no relation to the creek! « Raleigh Nature — August 10, 2010 @ 1:08 pm
Aww poor trees 😦
Comment by Liah — August 27, 2010 @ 12:23 am
There use to be a pair of eagles nesting here a few years ago but they have moved on to Falls Lake.
Comment by Arthur — January 14, 2011 @ 11:52 pm
[…] east of Raleigh at Milburnie and New Bern to Raleigh Boulevard in Northeast Raleigh. There it meets Raleigh Swamp, the neighborly name for the large shallow body of open water bisected by Raleigh Boulevard just […]
Pingback by Buckeye’s Intermittent Closings Remind Us of Its Value « Raleigh Nature — August 31, 2012 @ 3:32 pm