Accessing the lake requires practical planning, particularly during peak weekend hours when neighborhood side streets encounter heavy parking restrictions. The park features two official municipal lots with distinct logistical profiles.
The primary southern entrance is the Millbrook Road trailhead parking lot located at 1400 West Millbrook Road. This asphalt lot holds roughly 80 vehicles and provides direct, flat access to the southern dam boardwalk and the lake loop. Because this entrance directly serves greenway commuters and running clubs, it routinely fills to capacity by 8:30 AM on Saturdays and Sundays. Drivers circling the lot often create traffic backups onto West Millbrook Road.
The alternative entry point lies at the Sertoma Arts Center lot, situated north of the lake at 1400 Millbrook Road / Norwood Road access. This parking area features more than 120 marked spaces winding through wooded terrain. Parking here requires walking down a graded paved path to reach the lake loop, adding roughly 0.2 miles to a circuit. However, it consistently offers vacant stalls even during peak morning hours. Visitors must avoid parking along residential shoulders in adjacent neighborhoods like Lakemont and North Hills West; Raleigh Parking Enforcement routinely tickets and tows vehicles obstructing curb cuts or parked within 25 feet of suburban intersections.
