This post originally appeared on southwestraleigh.com, where you can learn more about what a great place South West Raleigh is to live, work, and play.
Powell Drive Park is another example of a Raleigh park that offers more features than meets the eye. Drive past Powell Drive Park and you might only see the features closest to the road, such as the unattractive neighborhood building, playground area, and tennis courts. You may not know that if you explore the park further, you’ll find a small pond surrounded by shade trees great for picnics and photos, pavilions perfect for small family outings, and a large open field for group recreational activities.
Powell Drive Park is located at 740 Powell Drive in the southwest Raleigh area. It is located in the triangular region between Western Blvd, I-440, and I-40. For those in the nearby neighborhoods, there are sidewalks and stairs for accessing the park.
Close to the parking lot is a small open field, a neighborhood center used for programs or available for rent, two lighted tennis courts, and a playground area. The neighborhood center is not staffed, but you can learn more about the facility at the City of Raleigh’s website. The playground area has a large jungle gym with mulch base, swing set, sandbox area, benches, and water fountain.
Follow the paved path from the parking lot past the playground and you’ll first come to the lighted basketball court. Immediately past the basketball court is where the small pond surrounded by shade trees is located. Several benches are located along the perimeter of the pond, which you can access by a cleared trail covered in pine needles. At opposite ends of the pond are small steel bridges, which add architectural interest to the area. Sadly, on this particular day, I didn’t see any evidence of ducks or turtles near the pond.
Continue on the paved path to access the large, open field where the backstop and soccer goals are located. The open field is surrounded by a dense forest to the north and west and four small pavilions (one has a charcoal grill) and a less dense forest to the east and south.
With the busy school schedule and college/pro football season upon us, take some time out and grab the kids and stomp around the playground, enjoy a yummy picnic with a loved one, or round up some friends for a game of flag football at Powell Drive Park.
Thumbs up: playground area, shady picnic spots, photo ops around pond, large open field, small pavilions
Thumbs down: unattractive community building
Loved seeing Ashley in the swing. Lots of other great pictures, too — thanks!!
The park looks like a great adventure. The best part is seeing Ashley enjoying the swings and sunshine.