Top 10 Raleigh Parks for Mother’s Day Pics

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” – John Muir

Moms tend to always be the ones behind the camera, and now is the best time to adjust the focus and snap a quick pic with her. This week I drove to some of my favorite Raleigh Parks to scope out the best spots to take pictures for Mother’s Day. Though I concentrated mostly on places with flowers and trees in bloom, I also noted places with unique backgrounds, hardscapes and water features. 

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there and cheers to snapping some fun pics in nature with your mom!

1. Horseshoe Farm Nature Preserve

It’s been at least a year since I last visited Horseshoe Farm Nature Preserve and I’m so glad I started my park visits there. Between the beautiful morning sun and large meadows of grasses and wildflowers, I wanted to daydream on a picnic blanket all day. Snap a pic among the wildflowers and grasses at the front of the park or in the large back meadow. If your mom likes rustic backgrounds, walk towards the left corner of the park for a pic in front of the old gray barn. Don’t forget to admire the flitting butterflies and chatty birds along the way, not that they’ll let you forget!

Park address – 2900 Horse Shoe Farm Rd, Wake Forest, 27587

2. Historic Oak View County Park

Where else can you stroll on brick paths and stop for pictures with animals, plants, or historic buildings? The herb garden’s contrast of brick walkways, lush plants and white picket fence make for great photos. Relax in the gazebo outside the main house, rock in the chairs outside the plank kitchen, or stroll through the pecan grove. And, don’t forget to say hi to the goats and chickens!

Park Address – 4028 Carya Dr, 27610

3. Fred Fletcher Park

Meander around the meticulously manicured lawn and flower beds and snap a pic with mom in front of flowering trees, alliums (aka enormous dandelions) or peonies. Stop by the circular stone wall for a beautiful backdrop or walk through a shaded trail on the way for a pic in front of the Borden House. Follow the path past the tennis courts for a picture in front of the art sculpture or on the deck overlooking the wetlands. With so much lush green grass everywhere, even a simple selfie on the lawn would be special!

Park Address – 820 Clay St, 27605

4. JC Raulston Arboretum

With so many color and texture options at the Arboretum, it’s hard to go wrong with photo taking at the Arboretum. Even though the irises in my yard are on the decline, the irises at the Arboretum are still in full bloom in purples, corals, and yellows. For a shady spot, admire the bright white blooms in the White Garden while relaxing on a bench with mom. Or, hold hands with mom as you walk by the tree line in the Plantsmen’s Woods. If you’re looking for a quirky surprise in the garden, look no further than the dead elm tree (near the restrooms). Even though it is currently stricken with Dutch Elm disease the tree is all dressed up in red and white polka dots – perfect for any mom with a good sense of humor!

Park Address – 4415 Beryl Rd, 27606

5. Lassiter Mill Historical Park

Lassiter Mill Historical Park still remains a hidden gem of a park to me. Tucked inside the beltline where Crabtree Creek flows through, it’s a great spot for fishing, picnicking or just listening to the water. Currently the water levels are low enough for exploring the sandy “beach” or capturing NC mountain-esque photos with the waterfalls in the background. Several large fallen trees lay on the beach, giving a driftwood look, which would be fun for any water-lovin’ mama!

Park Address – intersection of Lassiter Mill Rd and Lassiter Mill Circle

6. Raleigh Rose Garden

When I brought my girls back to the Rose Garden this week, they literally stopped to smell all 60 varieties of roses. Even though we’ve been to the Rose Garden many times in the past, the girls didn’t have memories and were blown away by the colors and quantity of roses. Nestled in the University Park neighborhood, the garden has a unique history that has evolved nearly 150 years. By early this week the roses really started to show their colors. Many varieties boasted lots of big blooms mixed with smaller blooms, with more blooms yet to come forth. You can’t go wrong with taking pics in front of mom’s favorite colors, or escaping to the ends of the park for a pic under the pergola, shelter, or benches.

Park Address – 301 Pogue St, 27607

7. Dorothea Dix Park

Dorothea Dix Park’s landscape boasts lush green fields and full trees and shrubs right now. The landscape will change a bit starting this weekend for the Light the Woods with Sound performances, offering some unique evening photos. But, if visiting in the daytime, my favorite spots include:

  • intersection of Cramer Dr & Black Dr with downtown Raleigh skyline in background
  • Umstead Dr with beautiful magnolia tree and gazebo
  • outside the Spring Hill House on Barbour Dr
  • walking under the canopy of trees along Barbour Dr or Blair Dr
  • wide open green fields and rolling hills of the Big Field (embrace your inner Julie Andrews from Sound of Music)

8. NC Museum of Art Museum Park

In years past, I’ve taken pictures of water lilies in full bloom on Mother’s Day at the NCMA Museum Park. Sadly, I only saw a few in bloom this week, but maybe they’ll be ready to open by this weekend. Even if the lilies aren’t in bloom, the Museum Park is bursting with photo op spots. Take a stroll with mom through the Rodin Garden near the soft roses – a great contrast to the hardscape. For a picture near water, walk to the Pond Platform for a place of relaxation that overlooks the pond. For the adventurous mom, walk the unpaved trail for a picture outside the Cloud Chamber exhibit. Don’t forget to bring out mom’s inner child with a fun slide down the Sculpt C exhibit (aka piggie slide). Finally, a trip to the Museum Park is not complete without a pic under the distinctive Gyre rings.

Park Address – 2110 Blue Ridge Rd, 27607

9. Annie Louise Wilkerson Park

Spring is a time for rebirth and renewal and Annie Louise Wilkerson Park is no stranger to welcoming new inhabitants and new flora. As we visited the park last night, we watched 7-week-old Great Horned Owlets perch on a branch near their nest. Then, the super friendly park ranger showed us where the Phoebe baby birds nested and wait for mama to return. While those might not present great mom photo spots, it’s fascinating to watch new moms nurture their young in the wild.

After exploring the animals (don’t forget to visit charismatic turtle Holden), settle in for some remarkable photo ops with mom. The mowed grassy trails provide a nice contrast to the tall surrounding grasses. For a water pic, relax on a bench near the pond. Finally, don’t forget to explore the Nature Play Area, which features lush groundcover in a wooded area. The sunlight sneaks through the trees making the groundcover pop in color!

10. Historic Yates Mill County Park

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Though I didn’t make the drive to Historic Yates Mill County Park this week, I vividly imagine great photo ops based on previous trips. For an unmistakable photo, gently climb the rocks in front of the dam for a memorable waterfall pic. Then, head back towards the main building and across the bridge over the pond for great photos overlooking the water. Finally, head to the back of the main building to enjoy the rocking chairs or sneak a quiet spot together on the small landing overlooking the water. 

Park Address – 4620 Lake Wheeler Rd, 27603

 

Mother’s Day Ideas of the Past

2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2012

Horseshoe Farm Nature Preserve

IMG_2812One Sunday morning at the end of October I took the girls to the newly opened Horseshoe Farm Nature Preserve.  The park is located at 2900 Horse Shoe Farm Rd in Northeast Raleigh and contains about 146 acres of property on an oxbow of the Neuse River.  The city purchased the property in 1994 as a future park site, and it is now being developed in multiple stages.  According to the city’s website, Phase I development included improvements to the entrance drive and dam, parking, signage, soft surface walking trails, connection to Neuse River Greenway, picnic shelter and restroom facility. Future phases include developing an educational center, playground, amphitheater, and canoe launch while promoting sustainability and enhancing the land’s natural characteristics.  We’ve been keeping an eye on this park ever since we explored the nearby Neuse River Trail so it’s nice to connect to a nature preserve along the greenway!

IMG_2819After parking in the main parking lot, we headed toward the large pavilion and then to the large open space to run and kick the ball around.  Down from the large pavilion is an old red farm house  and white picket fence leading to a rustic barn, all perfect for an outdoor photo op (which we witnessed while there).  In looking at future phases, the farm house looks to be used for the education/art center.

Hoping to take advantage of energetic little ones we kicked the ball across the field to the other side of the tree line in hopes of finding the nature trail.  Luckily I looked at the park’s website before coming out to the park to know a 0.5 mile natural walking trail runs along the tree line in a horseshoe shape.  There were no signs within the park indicating such trail exists, but that’s probably because of the park’s infancy.  So we headed to the tree line where you can barely make out the river through the woods and started our short walk.  The girls really got into collecting berries and learning about plants in nature this fall so they really enjoyed this walk.  Along our way we saw lots of berries, colorful leaves, tall and fuzzy grasslands, pine cones, moss, and sticks.  The main parking lot and large open fields aren’t visible from a few sections of the path, but for the most part you can see the whole park from anywhere.  The path horseshoed around toward the old farm house and barn where we saw a one year old’s cake smashing photo session going on, which was a lot of fun!  The photo op motivated me take a few pics of the girls under the beautiful maple trees, which were just starting to show their color.  I had to bribe them with the promise of chocolate once we got home!

IMG_2843After our walk we rested under the pavilion with snacks and water and then used the compost restroom facilities before heading home.  I look forward to coming back to this park over the years to see new developments and to hopefully better time the changing of the colors of the leaves.  Check out their list of upcoming park programs including a New Year’s Day 2016 Hike!

Thumbs up: connection to the greenway, open land for endless running and playing, easy 0.5 mile nature trail, future park developments, photo opportunities, compost restrooms, native landscaping

Thumbs down: lack of signage about nature trail inside park

Biking the Neuse River Trail – MP 2.75 to 8

IMG_1430On the heels of family visiting at the end of May, my aunt offered to watch the girls while Bill and I headed out for a date night.  Instead of gorging ourselves at a new restaurant, we decided to dust off our bikes and chomp away at another segment of the Neuse River Trail between the Bedford neighborhood and US-401 (followed by beers at a new brewery, Compass Rose Brewery).

For our bike ride we parked in the trail parking lot at 10888 Bedfordtown Dr in the Bedford neighborhood in North Raleigh.  We followed the access road to the trail, turned right to head south, went over a small bridge and then bared to the left to stay on the main trail.  This part of the Neuse River Trail is mostly flat and shaded with several bridges (including covered ones) to pass over and under.  We passed several folks biking and running on the trail and even more folks canoeing and tubing down the river.  Here are a few highlights along our route:

  • IMG_1394milepost 3.5 – look over the river to spot old gas or electricity lines running across an old steel bridge
  • milepost 4.5 – access to oxbow in the river due to years of erosion and sand deposition creating a really sweet swimming hole with sandy beach.  The water flows very slowly in this spot and we saw a few younger kids fishing.  I’d love to bike with the girls down here and bring a picnic and bathing suits.
  • milepost 5 – large bridge access to (presumably future) Wake Forest trails
  • milepost 6.5 – access to WRAL soccer park
  • milepost 7.5 – access to Horseshoe Farm Nature Preserve (still under construction, set to open August 2015)
  • milepost 8 – suspension bridge near US-401

For two people who hadn’t ridden bikes in at least 4 years, this was the perfect ride to ease back into things.  Overall the ride was a little over 11 miles total (out and back) and provided a lot of great scenery and ideas of future outings for swimming, biking and maybe even some tubing!

Thumbs up: access to swimming hole and several parks along the way, relatively flat and shaded trail, variety of water activities available

Thumbs down: nothing to report