Durham County
HomeDurham County Open Space Program
The Durham County Open Space Program works to enhance the quality of life and sustainability of future generations by protecting scenic, natural, and historic landscapes; conserving significant habitats, working lands, and natural and cultural resources; and providing natural areas for public enjoyment.
Open Space News
September 17, 2024: Trail Closure: The New Hope Creek Bottomlands Trail is closed due to flooding. Staff and volunteers will continue to assess conditions and reopen the trail as soon as possible.
August 22, 2024: The New Hope Creek Bottomlands Trail has reopened! A huge thanks to the volunteer Open Space Stewards who helped monitor and clean up the trail after the substantial flooding this area experienced due to Hurricane Debby.
On a related note: there are still a few spots left for our volunteer workday tomorrow morning at the Bottomlands Trail. We'll be using a variety of hand tools to work on a habitat restoration project along the trail. We always appreciate any help we can get with this important work. To sign up for the workday, go to https://x.gldn.io/e/Jqky3ESXgMb or contact David Bradley, Open Space Specialist, at 919-943-3997 or dabradley@dconc.gov. Thank you!
August 5, 2024: TRAIL CLOSURE: The New Hope Creek Bottomlands Trail is closed due to flooding and hazardous conditions. We will continue to assess conditions and reopen the trail as soon as it is safe to do so, but we expect that it may need to remain closed for several days due to anticipated inclement weather later this week.
August 5, 2024: The Durham County Open Space Program is excited to co-host a public Moth Night event at 8:00pm on Saturday, August 17, at Hollow Rock Nature Park!
Moths are an incredibly diverse and beautiful group of insects, with over 3,000 species found in North Carolina alone! Join David George - science educator and co-author of the Moths of North Carolina website - and Durham County Open Space staff for a nighttime celebration of moths at Hollow Rock Nature Park, with games, activities, and prizes. These denizens of the night usually go unseen, but we'll use special lights to attract them to sheets and identify them. Many species of moths and other night-flying insects are sure to show up for the party - and hopefully so will you!
Things to know:
• Please RSVP for this event: https://forms.gle/aa6FVoogV3qEhrez6
• We suggest you bring water, wear closed-toed shoes, and apply bugspray.
• There is one porta-a-john restroom facility at the park. There are no water fountains, but water coolers will be available.
• Bring flashlights if you have them.
We hope to see you there!
For questions or more information, please contact our Open Space Specialist at dabradley@dconc.gov or (919) 943 – 3997.
July 31, 2024: The Durham County Open Space Program will be hosting TWO volunteer workdays in August! During each of these workdays, participants will use various hand tools to help staff remove invasive species and manage vegetation at a couple of sites in the County's New Hope Creek Preserve. One of four open-to-the-public parks and preserves managed by the Open Space Program, New Hope Creek Preserve protects a state-significant bottomland ecosystem and vital wildlife corridor in one of the busiest parts of Durham County. Volunteering with the Open Space Program is an excellent way to learn about and help care for this unique public land.
Event Details:
Habitat Restoration Workdays
New Hope Creek Bottomlands Trail
3791 Southwest Durham Dr., Durham, 27707
Ages 10+; participants under 14 must be accompanied by an adult.
Thursday, August 15, 9:00a – 11:00a: https://x.gldn.io/e/ptQ2fxbIGLb
Friday, August 23, 9:00a – 11:00a: https://x.gldn.io/e/2ijFC2gIGLb
For questions, please contact David Bradley, Open Space Specialist, at dabradley@dconc.gov or (919) 943 – 3997.
July 12, 2024: Durham County’s Little River Preserve is an excellent destination for those seeking a quiet and rugged hiking experience in northern Durham. Located at 7321 Matthews Road, the Preserve offers two miles of moderately challenging natural surface trails, allowing visitors to enjoy the dramatic bluffs, lush floodplain, and tranquil upland forest along the Little River. And because this area protects an important habitat corridor in a state-recognized natural area, it’s also a great place to see some of our local native wildlife.
Little River Preserve is one of four public parks and preserves managed by the Durham County Open Space Program.
July 8, 2024: Volunteers, staff, and contractors have been hard at work improving the New Hope Creek Bottomlands Trail over the past few months! Last week, contractors extended one of the trail's wooden boardwalks, which will help provide visitors with a drier, more pleasant hiking experience. This past spring, volunteers redesigned and rebuilt a section of trail that had been severely eroded by increased runoff and flooding. Additionally, since the creation of the Steward program early this year, volunteer Open Space Stewards have diligently monitored trail conditions, removed debris, and reported issues and notable findings to staff almost every week. We’re grateful for everything these folks have been doing so that Durham County residents can enjoy one of central North Carolina’s most significant ecosystems.
Interested in helping care for Durham County’s Open Space lands? Contact us at openspace@dconc.gov or call (919) 943 – 3997. Thank you!
June 3, 2024: While hiking on Durham County Open Space trails this spring and summer, you may come across some folks wandering around off-trail, staring at leaves, and scribbling on clipboards. These researchers have volunteered to help us collect diversity and population data about a strange and important group of organisms called “leaf miners,” which were surveyed as part of the 2021 – 2022 New Hope biological inventory but for which there is still relatively little quantitative data. “Leaf miner” is not a taxonomic term – there is no “leaf miner” genus or family – but instead describes an extraordinarily diverse group of insects that spend part of their lives inside leaves. They tend to be highly specialized, with some species living in and feeding on only one or a few types of plants. As explained in the inventory report, “their high degree of host specificity makes them a rich target for ecological studies.”
We’re grateful for the hard work these researchers are doing to provide a more complete picture of biodiversity in Durham County. As always, we ask that visitors remain on-trail, refrain from interfering with researchers’ work, and avoid disturbing any equipment, flagging, or other materials that have been placed for this project. Thank you!
To learn more about leaf miners, check out pages 110 – 115 of the New Hope biological inventory.
We’re grateful for the hard work these researchers are doing to provide a more complete picture of biodiversity in Durham County. As always, we ask that visitors remain on-trail, refrain from interfering with researchers’ work, and avoid disturbing any equipment, flagging, or other materials that have been placed for this project. Thank you!
To learn more about leaf miners, check out pages 110 – 115 of the New Hope biological inventory.
May 30, 2024: We had a fantastic group of volunteers from the Amazon DRT8 delivery station in Durham join us for an invasive species workday yesterday afternoon. These volunteers removed privet along New Hope Creek and the Bottomlands Trail, freeing up space and resources for the native plants of the Bottomlands’ rich alluvial forest ecosystem. Thank you to everyone who helped out!
May 23, 2024: The New Hope Creek Bottomlands Trail has reopened! For more information about Durham County Open Space parks and trails, including current conditions and closures, check out the "Parks and Trails" tab of the Durham County Open Space Program website.
May 16, 2024: TRAIL CLOSURE: The New Hope Creek Bottomlands Trail is closed due to flooding. Staff and volunteers will continue to assess conditions and clear debris over the next several days and reopen the trail as soon as it is safe to do so. Until then, please avoid this area. Thank you!
May 15, 2024: This past weekend, we had the pleasure of sitting on a panel with several fantastic County, City, and nonprofit staff as part of the City-County Planning Department’s Spring 2024 Planning Academy. It was a great opportunity for us to share some of the exciting projects that we’ve been doing over the past several months and, just as importantly, for us to learn about the incredible work that other folks are doing to protect the environment, provide affordable housing, and improve transportation for Durham residents. Thank you to the other panelists, the City-County Planning Department, and – not least of all – the many residents who participated in the Planning Academy!
Panel participants included:
Reginald Johnson (Director, City of Durham Community Development Department)
Karen Lado (Durham Choice Project Manager, Durham Housing Authority)
Erin Convery (Transportation Planning Manager, City of Durham Transportation Department)
Angel Dozier (Creative Strategist/Founder, Be Connected Durham)
Ryan Eaves (Division Manager, Durham County Stormwater and Erosion Control)
David Bradley (Open Space Specialist, Durham County Open Space and Real Estate)
Panel participants included:
Reginald Johnson (Director, City of Durham Community Development Department)
Karen Lado (Durham Choice Project Manager, Durham Housing Authority)
Erin Convery (Transportation Planning Manager, City of Durham Transportation Department)
Angel Dozier (Creative Strategist/Founder, Be Connected Durham)
Ryan Eaves (Division Manager, Durham County Stormwater and Erosion Control)
David Bradley (Open Space Specialist, Durham County Open Space and Real Estate)