One Sunday at the end of April we headed out to Wake County’s newest park, Robertson Millpond Preserve for some fishing. Not knowing what to expect from this new park, we quickly discovered that Robertson Millpond Preserve is a local natural refuge for recreation and relaxation. Its main attraction is the blackwater cypress-gum swamp, making you feel transported to the lowcountry!
Robertson Millpond Preserve is an 85-acre park located 25 minutes outside of Raleigh at 6333 Robertson Pond Road in Wendell, NC. The millpond dam was created in the 1820s when the Avera family owned and operated a 600-acre farm and gristmill on the property. They lived in a federal-style home, which they re-located to a new site on Robertson Pond Rd that still exists today. The Robertson family, for which the pond and road are named for, bought the land in the late 1800s/early 1900s and probably operated the mill until the 1940s. After the mill stopped operating in the 1950s, recreational fishing and boating became the focal point. Decades later, the mill was removed, and in 2013 the land was purchased through the Wake County Open Space Program and the park opened in late October 2015.
This particular Sunday we enjoyed the park all to ourselves for several hours. We explored the boat ramp (only non-motorized boats are allowed) down to the pond where we heard and saw a variety of birds and insects. Sitting on the boat dock, we gawked over the large cypress trees that envelope the pond. The park staff have installed numbered buoys in the water to created a 1/2 mile paddling trail through the pond. Since our visit, Paddle Creek has started offering hourly kayak rentals on Saturdays only at the pond.
Then we walked over to the small shore area to set up for fishing. Before heading out that morning, the girls and I collected live worms from our backyard for bait, but our bait didn’t stand a chance. Bill and the girls had a few nibbles and saw some tadpoles, but this morning was more about just having fun, which everyone did! After fishing we walked closer to the dam, which is about 20 yards wide and sits in front of Robertson Pond Road. You can’t get very close to the dam, but the sounds are amazing and future projects include adding a short boardwalk and an interpretive display near the mill’s old foundation.
In addition to the pond’s recreational activities, the park also features a picnic shelter, open space area and nonpotable water station for cleaning your boat. After this past weekend’s canoeing and kayaking adventures down the New River in West Jefferson, NC, I can’t wait to return on a Saturday and take the girls kayaking!
Additional Resources
- Park Hours: open weekends only and a few holidays
- Park Map
- Wake Country Open Space Program
- Paddle Creek kayak rentals
Thumbs up: gorgeous views, boating options, preservation of pond and history of area, on-site station for cleaning your boat
Thumbs down: lack of weekday hours
Over New Years we spent time with dear friends at their parent’s new home in Murrells Inlet, SC. I’ve known Jennie since 6th grade and Bill and Jennie’s husband, Gary, became fast friends over a decade ago when we first met Gary. With growing families and distance (they’ve been in Columbus, OH) our time spent together has been few and far between. Lucky for us they are moving to the Greater Raleigh area this Spring so our families will get more time together, which is great news for us and our kids, as they’ve all become fast friends too!
The weather was unusually warm around New Years so shortly after arriving we took advantage of the remaining sun and made the short drive to Huntington Beach State Park, located at 
The next day we returned to the park to explore the Education Center, which is only open during daytime hours and offers daily feeding times where you can watch and learn how they feed several of the animals. With about two dozen animals to look at and learn about, we spent well over an hour in the center. They have a touch-tank with a horseshoe crab and stingray, a star fish, baby alligator, terrapins, snakes, turtles, and some hands-on exhibits about the nearby environment. The tanks are at perfect heights for little ones to get in on the action. After we exhausted the Education Center, the kids enjoyed a snack on the outdoor benches and we ran along the boardwalk overlooking the saltwater marshes. We learned about the numerous inhabitants – spider crabs, stone crabs, snapping shrimp, oysters, alligators, and lots of birds. Even though we didn’t see any of the 50-100 alligators living in the park we saw several oysters and lots of birds up close!
One Sunday morning at the end of October I took the girls to the newly opened Horseshoe Farm Nature Preserve. The park is located at 
After 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.
After 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 
In mid-October we headed to Richmond to celebrate our old college roommates surviving the first year as new parents and their sweet daughter’s first birthday. On the morning of the party we met up with several college friends and all our kids at the 
Beyond the tot playground is another playground area built into the side of a hill with rocks and tree stumps for steps and slides for sliding down the hill. There’s also a small play house, two large disc swings (which were the crowd favorite), bench swings, water tables, musical instruments, and a wheelchair-accessible tree house nearby. The littlest ones in the group loved making music with their hands and mallets while the older ones loved running and exploring the tree house. A paved walking trail leads to basketball courts and other fitness equipment behind the main building.
After some tree house play, the kiddos gathered throughout the largest playground, which features several long ramps connecting the smaller-age play structures with the taller ones. The big kids ran up ramps, flew down slides, and climbed up nets and walls while the younger ones crawled between stumps and held on to nets. Everyone also made time for the cool sensory wall featuring brightly colored mirrors, shiny rocks, spinning wheels and more. Claire and I also took time to walk through the small flower garden area. She loved climbing on the benches and stopping to smell the flowers.
Before preschool started, we headed to Powell Drive Park to check out the playground renovations finished earlier this year. I 
The ages 2-5 playground features bright neon colors with two small ladders, musical drums, slide, tunnel, water/sand table and stepping stones. The playground’s height is short, making it the perfect size for early explorers. Nearby is the ages 5-12 playground with a large spider web rope climbing ladder, curved metal ladder, and tall slide. The big girls loved climbing to the top of the spider web rope and everyone squealed in delight while being pushed on the large, oval swing. The old tennis courts and basketball courts are adjacent to the playground area. There are some large shade trees near the tot swings, but little shade around the ages 2-5 playground. A few benches surround the perimeter of the play area and several moms with small babes had the right idea by bringing a breakfast picnic to the park!
If you live around the Richmond, VA area you have to check out Rockwood Park in Chesterfield County. While visiting Tech buddies in Richmond at the end of June we set out for Rockwood Park Nature Center’s annual Honeybee Festival and everyone (kids and adults) fell in love with this park!
After spending at least 30 minutes in the center, we headed outside to enjoy the bee festival activities. The friendly staff helped the kids make pipe cleaner bee crafts and plant flowers. Then they enjoyed listening to bee themed stories and having bees painted on their hands. After exhausting the storyteller’s books we headed out across the field to explore the playground area.
The playground area is made for kids mostly 5 years and up, but that didn’t stop these almost 2-year olds and 4-year old from playing. The playground has a small slide for younger kids that is connected to higher play areas by monkey bars. There are several more climbing areas connected by ladders with access to twisty and straight slides. With the recent rains the kids happily discovered the large mud puddle at the bottom of the twisty slide. Tot swings and regular swings are nearby and several benches and picnic tables are also located in the playground area. The entire area is mostly shaded by tall, mature trees and there are several more amenities (such as a dog park, pickleball courts, baseball fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, pavilions) adjacent to the playground. As someone who has spent a lot of time visiting family and friends in Chesterfield, I am excited to explore more parks in this area.
At the end of May family visited us for the weekend so we headed out on Sunday morning with my aunt, sis-in-law, and niece to explore a new park in northeast Raleigh, Spring Forest Road Park. I’d been wanting to check this place out ever since I heard earlier this year that it was going to be one of the parks to host the Hot Air Balloon Festival. With such a massive open area surrounded by a walking trail and shade trees it’s no wonder it was chosen for such a festival.
We passed several small groups of folks walking that morning and noticed signs advertising walking programs held through the City of Raleigh/Wake County on their information boards. They also advertised several zumba and kickboxing evening classes held here, which sound like a fun place to meet up with neighbors and friends in the evening. The paved trail is 1/2 mile loop with a few small hills and passes through some shady spots. The surrounding open space must be one of the largest open fields in the whole park system, especially if it was large enough to house a hot air balloon festival. We also passed a baseball field before returning to the parking lot where the large pavilion with restrooms and tennis courts with backboards are located. Several types of flowers were in bloom and the trees were full of leaves throughout the park making you forget it’s just a short distance from busy Capital Blvd.
After my mom’s sudden 
Curtis Park features an olympic-size outdoor swimming pool with a large baby pool with splash umbrella and zero-depth entry, 18-hole 
Past the open field is a large parking lot with access to the pools, nature trails and large pavilion on top of the hill overlooking the pool. Further down the main road is the large lake for fishing and boating and more nature trails. The main fishing pier and boat ramp is accessible from the other side of the lake on Stony Hill Rd (you must exit the park). After our playground time we picnicked on top of the hill, which offers the best views of the park. The girls enjoyed chasing each other while taking in the site of the drained pool below. The Olympic-size pool has depths of 3ft and 4ft in the shallower end to 12ft in the deep end. The baby pool features a zero-depth entry and splash umbrella. The deep end has two diving board blocks, but with it being out of season when we visited I’m not sure if they actually allow diving. I have very vivid memories of jumping off the since removed 3-meter springboard and 5-meter platform boards during off hours. Being the daughter of the Aquatics Director had its perks!
On New Year’s Day 2015 we visited the 
Once the families gathered at the trail head, the park rangers explained more about the short .75 mile hike and gave each child a scavenger hunt brochure of things to look for along the way. Ashley was a little too young for the scavenger hunt, but the older kids had a great time. They also explained the 
In the past our hiking experiences with our kids have mostly been self-guided with very basic objectives: 1) survive (
We took advantage of another clear, sunny day this winter and stumbled upon Hill Street Park in east Raleigh. Never having been there before we set off with hopes of having a picnic after burning some energy on the playground and that’s exactly what we did!
After a lot of running around we picnicked on the nearby benches by the playground. The playground has little morning light so we huddled on a lone sunny bench to stay warm. We had the park to ourselves this particular weekday morning and look forward to sharing this hidden gem with friends next time!
