CITY GUIDE
Explore Cary
One of the fastest growing towns in America has great restaurants, miles of greenways, and a local scene that keeps getting better.
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Cary gets underestimated. It has a reputation as a quiet suburb, but the reality is a town with some of the best restaurants in Wake County, a greenway system that connects neighborhoods across the entire town, and a growing arts and entertainment scene anchored by the Koka Booth Amphitheatre and the new Fenton development. Whether you are moving here, visiting for the weekend, or just looking for something good to eat, Cary has more to offer than most people expect.
From Fenton to downtown Cary, the town has a strong and growing restaurant scene. These are the spots worth knowing.
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One of the best outdoor music venues in the Triangle. Concerts, movies, and community events through spring, summer, and fall.
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Cary has one of the most connected greenway systems in the Triangle. Miles of paved trails link neighborhoods, parks, and town destinations.
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The Fenton development brought new restaurants, shops, and entertainment to Cary in a walkable mixed use format. Here is what to know before you visit.
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The coffee scene in Cary has grown significantly. From local independents to specialty roasters, here are the best spots to grab a cup.
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Cary has more going on than most people realize. From parks and greenways to live events and great dining, here is how to spend a day or weekend.
Read the Guide →A small railroad stop that became one of the fastest growing towns in America
One of the most connected trail systems in the entire Triangle
SAS Institute, the world's largest private software company, is headquartered in Cary
Cary's ambitious mixed use district bringing big city dining and shopping to the suburbs
Cary gets dismissed. The jokes have been around long enough to have their own Wikipedia page. But spend a few days here paying attention and the dismissals start to feel lazy. This is a town with over 100 miles of paved greenway trails, a world class outdoor concert venue on a lake, a mixed use district that draws people from across the Triangle, and one of the largest private software companies on the planet running its global headquarters in the middle of a quiet residential neighborhood. Cary does not particularly need your approval, and that is part of what makes it interesting.
The greenways are the thing that surprises people most. Over 100 miles of fully paved, connected trails link Cary's neighborhoods, parks, and lakefronts into a network that is genuinely rare in the suburban South. You can ride from Lake Crabtree through downtown to Bond Park and back without touching a road. The system connects to the East Coast Greenway and, through Apex, all the way to the American Tobacco Trail. For cyclists and walkers, it is one of the best infrastructure stories in the entire Triangle.
The arrival of Fenton changed the conversation. When the mixed use district opened along Koka Booth Road, it brought a restaurant and retail lineup that Cary residents no longer had to leave town for. Crawford Brothers Steakhouse, Brewery Bhavana, Colletta, Superica, these are not suburban chain restaurants. Fenton is a real dining destination, and it is growing. Combined with Koka Booth Amphitheatre hosting 60+ events a year on Symphony Lake, Cary in 2026 is a meaningfully different place than the one people are still making jokes about.
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