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!
Hill Street Park is located at 2307 Hill St at the bottom of a relatively steep hill. It has a very colorful community center that is mostly open for after-school programs and an adjacent pavilion with picnic tables and terraced landscaping to the nearby partially fenced-in playground. The playground area has a playground with slides, climbing ladder, steering wheel and nearby tot swings for the younger kids (ages 2-5). There is also a large play structure for the older kids (ages 5-12) that features a half-moon rope climbing structure, monkey bars, balance beam, spinning bars, climbing rings, slide and more. Both kids had a great time playing on both playgrounds and Claire had a fabulous time sitting in the dog-height water fountain bowl. Claire went down the small slides at least a dozen times and Ashley enjoyed climbing her way through each rope obstacle on the bigger kid playground. The bigger kid playground reminds me a lot of the indoor play structure at Greystone Community Center on crack. With so many climbing areas it’s nice any falls will be lessened by the rubberized surface.
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!
Thumbs up: unique climbing structures, close proximity of pavilion to playground
Thumbs down: no access to restrooms when community center is closed
Kelly Glen Park is located at 
This fall we wanted to further explore Falls Lake so we set off with intentions to start closer to the dam and finish 
The playground is designed for ages 5-12 and includes a few slides, climbing structures, tic-tac-toe, and several nearby picnic tables and benches. It’s a small playground, but the perfect size for a park with so many more activities. After taking in the views from the top of the dam, we walked down the unpaved trail adjacent to the playground where we got up close and personal with the beginning of the Neuse River. The girls enjoyed throwing rocks in the water while we saw fishermen and birds. There’s also a small parking lot, canoe launch, restrooms, information map, picnic tables, and access to the start of the Neuse River Trail greenway at the bottom of the dam.
This Fall, we visited Bill’s parents in Howard County, MD and made a morning trip to the nearby Western Regional Park. Western Regional Park is located at 
After exhausting our climbing skills, we explored the nearby paved trail in search for the other playground. At the end of our short walk we saw a large lighted multipurpose artificial turf field with field hockey, soccer and football goals, a large open field, small mobile concessions, fenced-in basketball, community center, baseball fields, a line of porta-johns, tennis courts, and a playground. Unfortunately the playground was being resurfaced while we were there so it was closed, but looked like it offered a lot for all ages and was fenced in! The multipurpose field conditions were pristine – the grass was a luscious green color and very well maintained. Another interesting feature of this park is the natural area preserved next to the sports fields; I imagine the spectators enjoy some depth to the typically flat parks.
There’s also a separate smaller basketball art sculpture for the younger kids. The girls had such fun shooting baskets and watching the ball spiral down the ramp. If you forget your basketball or don’t have one, the friendly staff at the community center will let your borrow their ball.
In early Fall we headed out to Durant Nature Preserve with some friends to enjoy their weekly Wee Walkers program (Thursdays from 10-11am). Having never visited Durant Nature Preserve before I’m glad I attended an organized program that guides you and the kiddos on a short walk through the park because this nature park is huge! Durant Nature Preserve is located at 
We hiked along the eastern side of the park following the Pine Ridge Connector, Pine Ridge Trail and Lakeside unpaved trails. Our guide stopped several times along the trail to point out a variety of flora and fauna. We saw a little bit of everything: wasp nests, leaf poppers, water striders, water frogs, mushrooms, mosquito fish, poplar tulip leaves, muscadine grapes, dogwood berries and a real turtle! The kids (ranging in ages from under 1 to 5 years old) were most impressed by the turtle walking along the trail, but it’s been fun to see how Ashley gets excited when she sees dogwood berries in the backyard! The neat part about the Wee Walkers program is that each program is different because it’s based on what’s going on in nature that week and it’s FREE…what a deal!
Unfortunately, our visit to Jockey’s Ridge did not go as swimmingly as I would have liked. As with most things I plan with two small children, my expectations exceed reality and this was one of those examples. Knowing the sand is at least 10 degrees hotter than the outside temperature we got an early start to our trip and were in the parking lot area by 9:30am. After a short stop inside the visitor’s center, Bill and I set off with both girls to find the top of the dunes. We made our way to the end of the wooden walkway near the large group of visitors that were catching their breath from just coming off the dunes. We followed some of the other visitors along the loosely marked 
After walking back we headed over to the lighthouse to talk to the NPS rangers. We had a great conversation with the young rangers who shared some of their favorite facts about the lighthouse: 1) how the Confederate troops blew up the lighthouse to prevent Union troops from occupying it, 2) that the lighthouse still uses its original Fresnel lens from Paris and 3) how the lighthouse still aids in navigation today given its checkered history. Despite the high heat index they still allowed visitors to climb a few steps to the first landing. We explored the old oil storage rooms in the front and then took pictures of the amazing view up the heavy duty spiral staircase before heading out.
