History

Shortly after construction began on Falls Dam in 1978, Wake County staff developed The Falls Lake White Water Study to consider a whitewater park below the dam. The study found that the tailrace of the Falls Dam was a suitable location for whitewater canoeing. In the mid-1990s, when the Triangle area made a bid for the Pan American Games, the original whitewater park plan was revisited to create a whitewater slalom course. As the Triangle was unsuccessful in this bid, the course was never built. In 1996, the Raleigh City Council adopted the Neuse River Master Recreation Plan, which included the possibility of developing a whitewater course within and along the banks of the Neuse River in the Falls Dam tailrace area. In 2003, the City of Raleigh residents approved a Park Bond Referendum which included funding toward the design of a whitewater park in this area. A preliminary analysis was completed in 2003 and the process for a full feasibility study began in 2009. The feasibility study and conceptual plan for the Falls Whitewater Park were adopted by City Council on May 17, 2011.