After our visit to Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet, we headed across the street (literally) to Brookgreen Gardens to spend time at the zoo, storybook playhouses and nature playground. Brookgreen Gardens is located at 1931 Brookgreen Drive off US-17 and features thousands of acres of gardens and sculptures, a low country zoo, beautiful light displays in the evenings at Christmastime, educational programs and much more.
We didn’t have time to visit the gardens, but spent about an hour walking the 1-mile+ loop and visiting the animals through the zoo. We saw domesticated animals such as cows, horses, turkeys and several native animals such as alligators, bald eagles, foxes, otters. The aviary features a boardwalk elevated over a swamp where you walk through the birds’ habitat to see several different types of birds including herons and egrets.
After seeing the animals we walked over to the Storybook Playhouse area where the kids explored every inch of the storybook-themed houses for Cinderella’s Castle, Hansel & Gretel’s gingerbread house, Snow White’s cottage, Dr. Seuss, and Rapunzel’s tower. Then the kiddos climbed, jumped and banged around the nearby nature playground. They seemed to mostly enjoy making music with the pots and pans secured to the wall.
Brookgreen Gardens is an enormous place; we hardly dusted the surface of this Lowcountry garden and zoo. In looking at their website, they have lots of cool exhibits and events scheduled for their 85th anniversary this year, including LEGO sculptures on display at the zoo.
Thumbs up: variety of activities, native animals, aviary exhibit
Thumbs down: nothing to report
Sunday mornings in Raleigh with little ones require creativity! The few indoor play places that are open are usually crowded so that’s when we escape to the outdoors. One summer Sunday morning we decided to re-visit Historic Oak View Park in search of their vegetable garden and newer nature walking trails.
We headed down the main trail path, which has a small gravel base, making it doable with a Bob stroller. After a short 100yd walk we came to the small pond, amphitheater, and gazebo. After playing in the gazebo we walked around the Hunnicut Trail, which is a 0.4 mile loop through the woods. It was a nicely shaded and flat gravel path making it an easy walk for little ones. The forest was alive with noises from hundreds of insects and birds. We passed an old vehicle gate, presumably evidence of the old working farm’s 
With our red wagon and balance bike in hand, we headed out on a clear, sunny winter day to explore 
Along our walk/ride we passed several beautiful settings including the refurbished farm buildings. This park was originally a working farm as recently as the 1940s, owned by the Walker family who grew produce to sell to local merchants. It was sold to E. Carroll Joyner who raised cattle until the 1990s and then bought by the Town of Wake Forest in 2003 and opened as a public park in 2009. The original farm buildings include a tobacco barn, log cabin, chicken coop and mule barn. The girls had a fantastic time exploring the different buildings, especially the chicken coop. Several of these buildings and the nearby settings also offer great photo opportunities.
Next, we passed by several picnic tables and open spaces on our way to the grassy walking trail. The trail follows along the stream and then crosses into the lowland forest and piedmont prairie areas. Near the piedmont prairie area is a building that overlooks the pond that is made for bird watching. The kids had a great time looking for birds and playing in the building. After we arrived back at the beginning of the trail (about 1/2 mile total) we visited the Green Building, which is used mostly for educational programs but also has restrooms and a back deck great for picnics. Since we didn’t pack a picnic we continued to explore the grounds and settled in the Nature Neighborhood Garden. The garden features NC native plants, dry stream beds for collecting run-off water, a koi pond and more. Claire and I enjoyed some quiet time on the benches under the pavilion before heading out.
Today, Chatham Manor and its grounds are still beautiful and a symbol of the South. The entrance through the gardens is surrounded by a large brick wall. We visited at the beginning of Virginia’s spring season so the gardens were popping with daffodils. Other than the main house, there is a fish pond, kitchen, dairy barn, and greenhouse. The main house has exhibits that are open to visitors (our little visitor was not interested in walking through the house that day) but the other structures on the property are not open to the public. The back of the property overlooks the river, providing gorgeous views of downtown Fredericksburg. You can also see a replica cannon and pontoon bridge, similar to what General Burnside’s Union army used to cross the river in 1862.
