Lake Lynn in the FallDeer are frequent visitorsLake Lynn Park spans 75 acres Surrounding North Raleigh's Lake Lynn is a 75-acre park that is part of the city's extensive greenway system. On the north border of the lake is the Lake Lynn Community Center which opened in 1996. The facility includes a gymnasium, art room, meeting room, weight room, basketball courts, and locker room. Outside amenities include lighted tennis courts, a ballpark with batting cages, and a playground. 

Park entrances are on Ray Road and Lynn Road, and both include paved lots with ample parking space. Additionally, a greenway spur from Glenharden Drive on the lake's western border enables pedestrians easy access the walking trails.

Encircling the lake is a 2.1 mile paved and boardwalk walking trail that follows a mildly hilly terrain through the hardwood forest. The path is great for walking, jogging, rollerblading, and cycling and for walking leashed dogs. Adjacent to the Lynn Road parking area are expansive open fields that provide ample space for picnicking and a host of outdoor activities.

The lake's perimeter offers several natural accesses for fishermen. No boating facilities are available, but privately owned rowboats, canoes, kayacks and sailboats frequently ply the calm water. (Motor-propelled watercraft are prohibited).

At the shallow, north side of the lake, the trail follows a long boardwalk that extends over the water and across several islands that have formed. Because the wild terrain directly north of this area is marshy and undeveloped, it is not uncommon for pedestrians to encounter deer grazing among the several creeks that feed the lake.

Even though the park is situated between established city neighborhoods, wildlife abounds at Lake Lynn. There are plenty of opportunities to see ducks, geese and turtles sunning on logs as well as squirrels, rabbits, and chipmunks frolicking in the woodlands. For many years the lake has been home to several Great Blue Herons that are often seen stalking the shallows for minnows.

The park is host of "The Lake Lynn Journal" -- a unique, open-source project that enables people to share, reflect and converse through the use of a written journal kept in a container that is mounted on a memorial bench located on the east side of the lake at the 1.25 mile post. For more information about the community journal project, listen to the story covered on NPR.