Things to Do in Wake Forest, NC: Downtown, Parks, Museums and Town Events

Things to Do inWake Forest, NC

The best things to do in Wake Forest, NC are mostly free: walk the historic downtown on White Street, tour the Wake Forest Historical Museum and the 1820 Calvin Jones House, and spend an afternoon on the paved trails at E. Carroll Joyner Park. Add a greenway ride, a morning at the Saturday farmers market, a free town concert if your timing is right, and you have a full day that ends at the Hideout.

Downtown Wake Forest is a compact grid of brick storefronts, most of them one to three stories, built between 1890 and 1949. The town notes that construction more or less stopped in the early 1950s after Wake Forest College moved to Winston-Salem, which is why the street still looks like a small railroad town and not a strip of newer buildings. Look for the old Bowser gas pump in front of the Wilkinson Building. Parking is easy, the walk is flat, and the shops are local.

A few blocks north, the Wake Forest Historic District covers the town's original core. North Main Street was once called Faculty Avenue, and the town says it holds examples of nearly every American house style from 1820 to the 1950s. The central campus, with eleven brick Colonial Revival and Classical Revival buildings, is where Wake Forest College started in 1834. Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary has owned it since 1956. Mature oaks, granite curbs and low stone walls make it one of the better short walks in Wake County, especially in fall.

The museum sits at 414 N. Main St., next to the Calvin Jones House, the oldest building in the district. Built in 1820 and moved to its current spot in the 1960s, the house once stood at the center of a 615-acre plantation, and the college was founded on that land. The museum has permanent and rotating exhibits, a photo collection on how White Street changed over the decades, and guided tours of the house. Admission is free. Weekend hours have been the norm recently, so check the museum's site before you go.

Joyner Park is the town's largest park: 117 acres of rolling former farmland with restored farm buildings, a pecan grove, gardens, a long stone ribbon wall, fishing and about three miles of paved walking trails. The lawn amphitheater seats around 1,000 and hosts the spring concert series. It is open daily from dawn to dusk. Two rules worth knowing: alcohol is prohibited, and personal grills are not allowed. Dogs are welcome on a leash.

The Smith Creek Greenway off Burlington Mills Road is 1.15 miles of 10-foot-wide paved trail that crosses the Neuse River on a 558-foot pedestrian bridge and ties into the Neuse River Greenway Trail. That trail runs 27.5 paved miles from Falls Lake to the Wake County line, so you can walk a mile or ride half a day without touching a road. Wake Forest has other shorter trails too, including the Dunn Creek Greenway and soft trails at the Wake Forest Reservoir.

Falls Lake State Recreation Area wraps around a big reservoir west of town. It has swim beaches, boat ramps, about 25 miles of hiking trails (including part of the Mountains-to-Sea State Trail) and a mountain bike system at Beaverdam. Vehicle entrance fees apply on busy weekends and through summer, so plan for that.

The Wake Forest Farmers Market runs every Saturday, all year, behind Town Hall on South Taylor Street. It starts earlier in the warm months and later in the cold ones, and it wraps up at noon either way. Go early for the best produce, then walk to downtown, which is right there.

Friday Night on White brings a party band to downtown on the second Friday of each month in the warm season (the town has run it April through September). Expect classic rock, Motown, 80s and 90s covers and a crowd that dances.

Six Sundays in Spring, presented by ARTS Wake Forest, fills the Joyner Park amphitheater on Sunday evenings for six weeks in spring. Bring a blanket and a picnic. Lineups and dates are posted each year on the town's site.

When the sun's down and the park gates are closing, head to the Wake Forest Hideout at 1839 South Main Street. It has been pouring Lonerider on draft since May 2019, plus limited releases you won't find in stores and Lonerider Spirits behind the bar. There's live music, trivia, outdoor games and outdoor seating, and dogs are welcome inside and out. There's no kitchen, so bring your own food or pick up takeout nearby on the way. Parking is free, the building is wheelchair accessible, and there are no reservations. Check today's hours on the Hideout page.

Bringing the dog along? Read our dog-friendly Wake Forest guide.