At just 0.5 miles long, Section 9 of the Falls Lake Trail/MST (Twin Creek section) is so short that I'm including it with section 10 (Quail Roost section - 2.5 miles). These sections start at New Light Road, and head mostly west to NC-50.
For a while, this section follows a branch of Falls Lake, but for most of the trail you are quite a distance from water, so if you're looking for great water views, this isn't the section for you. However, there is a lot of variation in geography and elevation here, so it's an interesting hike nevertheless. The first half is very hilly, and the second half is very flat.
You can park along the grassy shoulder on New Light Road, near where Section 8 ended. Walk a short distance north, and the trail enters the forest on the west side of the road. It's called the Twin Creek section because, you guessed it, there are two creeks to cross, both of which look alike.
The trail initially goes uphill, then back downhill to a bridge crossing of the first creek at 0.1 mile. Head back uphill to a bluff with a water view on your right, and a big house (with chicken coop!) on your left. The trail goes back downhill to a bridge over the second creek at 0.3 mile. Then, a sharp right as you walk along Ghoston Road, and back uphill to a crossing of that road at 0.5 mile.
There's really no place to park at the Ghoston Road crossing, and hey, you've only gone 1/2 mile, so just keep going straight onto Section 10 of the MST.
The trail is flat for a while, and then starts heading downhill. At 1.0 mile, you cross the outlet flow from a small pond, and soon after that you have a steep uphill to a bluff as you walk along a small arm of Falls Lake. At 1.3 miles, you cross a plank bridge, then uphill again for more lake views.
Soon, you turn left, away from the lake and follow a flat route along a creek. At 1.6 miles, you turn right to cross the creek on a bridge, and head uphill again. Soon, you start to follow an old road-bed, and the path widens out as you go steadily uphill. I saw some mountain bike tracks here, although I think this trail is off-limits to them.
At 2.0 miles, the trail gets wider as you pass and merge with several wide old road beds. Just keep going straight, until at 2.1 miles you get to a gate across the road. Turn right across a small bridge, and the trail goes around an old farmsite. You pass the remains of a tin shed. At 2.2 miles, you cross an old dirt roadbed and enter a thick pine forest. At 2.3 miles, you cross a creek.
At 2.4 miles, you come out of the forest to a cleared area, and you see the old dirt roadbed again. This time, you take a left, and follow the road. Someone has conveniently placed a bunch of rocks in the middle of the road so it looks like a left-pointing arrow. This road is used by horses, since I saw horseshoe prints here. The cleared-out area to your right must have been an old farm or homesite, since you can still see the remains of a 2-story stone fireplace in the distance.
At 2.5 miles, you turn left back into the woods, and enter a state park. At 2.6 miles, cross a gravel service road. Then, at 2.9 miles, cross a paved service road. At 3.0 miles, you cross another paved road (Falls Lake Info Center/NC State Parks Mgmt Center is down this road).
You go downhill, then turn left and go back uphill to NC-50 at 3.2 miles, where there's a gravel parking area. The next section, Section 11, starts across the street and just to the north.
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