North Raleigh

Williams Park

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Williams Park is a bustling playground in the center of North Raleigh adjacent to Lynn Road Elementary School.  It is located at 1525 Lynn Road and some of the photos are from when Ashley was much younger and some are from this Spring.  As you can see, having a friend to climb through tunnels with, chase through the soccer field, and swing with is the best way to spend an early Spring afternoon!
In addition to the large playground area (complete with shady canopies), Williams Park has a large open field with soccer goals surrounded by a short walking path, tot swings, sand volleyball courts, youth swings, tennis courts, a large shelter area, and some shaded sitting areas.  The playground surface is made of wood chips and sand.  The playground areas are a series of small climbing structures with slides that are connected by monkey bars.  For younger ones, that means lots of repetitive trips down the same slides or that they’ll need your help getting to the other play areas.  Since Ashley was just beginning to climb ladders at this time, she needed my help getting up to the higher slides too.

If you take a walk along the trail at the park, you’ll find a small plaque memorializing the park to Peter P. Williams Jr.  According to a News & Observer article, his father donated the land for the park in honor of his son.  I always enjoy when I can find some tidbits on the history of a park!

Thumbs up: great shade, close parent-sitting areas throughout the playground

Thumbs down: I’ve been here in the past and seen where drainage can be an issue

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Cedar Hills Park & Fun News

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img_3087A few months ago Ashley and I explored Cedar Hills Park, just a fews minutes from our new neighborhood.  Cedar Hills is located in North Raleigh at 5600 Sweetbriar St , which is the main entrance to access the playground, tennis courts, basketball courts and pavilion.  There are also entrances at Rosehaven Dr and from Spring Forest Rd but those provide easier access to the softball fields.  The frisbee golf course is accessible from all entrances, with hole #18 located near the main entrance.

After following the park signs from Millbrook Rd, we arrived at the Rosehaven Dr entrance, unsure how to get to the playgrounds.  The lack of signs made it difficult to figure out where we should go, so we got back in the car, broke out the iPhone and eventually arrived at the Sweetbriar entrance to play on the playground.

img_3091The playground has a wood chip base with a small sandbox play area.  There are two playgrounds – one for tots and one for the older kids.  Cedar Hills also has plenty of swings for everyone – four tot swings and four big kid swings.  There are a few benches along the perimeter of the playground.  Adjacent to the playground are the tennis courts, complete with a backboard for single play.  The basketball courts are also nearby.  The park sits amongst a dense forest, which is a great backdrop for the 18-hole frisbee golf course.  Each time we’ve visited this park, the playground has been rather empty while the frisbee golf has been pretty busy.

We’ll have many reasons to visit this park for years to come especially since we’ll be welcoming baby #2 this summer!  I had my 20 week check-up today and baby Montgomery is happy and healthy and looking forward to surprising his or herself on or around July 14th!  Bring on the hot and humid North Carolina summer!

Thumbs up: playground area, shady spots, tennis courts, swings

Thumbs down: lack of signs to other park features

 

 

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Annie Louise Wilkerson, MD Nature Preserve Park

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img_1720If you’re looking for a place to go hiking in Raleigh and have exhausted your options at Umstead Park, you should definitely make your way into North Raleigh to Annie Louise Wilkerson, MD Nature Preserve Park.  Being the only visitors at the park a few months ago, we visited the main office and spoke to the very friendly and knowledgeable staff about the history of the park.  It was lovely to hear her speak about Dr. Annie’s will to leave the land as a nature preserve park.  The park office was converted from an old residence on the property and there are future plans to convert Dr. Annie’s old standing residence into indoor classrooms.

After visiting the park office, we headed off on the Hidden Rocks trail (1 mile long), which is known for having several crops of hidden rocks throughout.  The trail is about 2ft wide in most places and an easy path to walk, but there are a few narrow and slippery spots throughout.  This trail passes through open fields, forests of hardwoods.  As this park is still taking shape, the signs aren’t completely finished yet, so be sure to pay close attention to where you are going.  After Hidden Rocks trail, we walked the Pond Loop, which is about 1/2 mile long and crosses over one of the ponds on the property.  This particular day was absolutely gorgeous and the reflections off the pond were crystal clear.  On our next trip here, we’ll be sure to bring our hiking backpack instead of the Bob stroller that we used.  I’m sure we looked ridiculous with our stroller!

Being that this is a nature preserve park, you won’t find any of the regular playground equipment you’re accustomed to at other parks.  However, that did not prevent Ashley from having an amazing time in the natural play area; complete with stumps, teepees, tall grasses, and large logs, there are a lot of options for kids to have some imaginative play.

Near the natural play area is also a large pavilion used for educational programs and the public restrooms.  For more information about the Dr. Annie park, visit the City of Raleigh website.

Thumbs up: hiking trails, play area, park office, views of the open fields, photo ops, picnic spots

Thumbs down: signage through hiking trail

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Greystone Recreation Center

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With the weather being rainy on the 10th day of Raleigh Parks Christmas, we headed to an indoor park (yes, that’s correct) in North Raleigh.  We visited Greystone Recreation Center at 7713 Leadmine Rd in the Greystone Village Shopping Center.

Greystone Rec Center has a unique indoor playground area with several different climbing structures that are all intertwined. There’s a giant rope spider web, holes suspended by rope to climb through, nature rocks, and spinners.  The back wall has been turned into a great climbing wall.  The playground area sits atop the spongy surface, which is mostly green in color except for the blue “river” that runs through the playground.

This indoor playground is mostly designed for kids ages 5-12 years old, but there were plenty of kids ages 2 and up enjoying the playground too.  I was clearly the one with the youngest baby and the staff didn’t say anything to me about her age.  We mostly hung out near one of the corners by the rock wall, cruised along the rock wall, crawled on the ground, and tried to stay out of the way of the older kids.  Ashley was also pretty entertained by the paintings on the wall too.  The playground hours are 9-11am and 12:30-5pm Mon-Fri and 9-noon on Saturday.

This indoor park also has several benches along the wall, vending machines, and nice restrooms.  Greystone Rec Center also has several programs for people of all ages going on throughout the year.  Here are a few coming up:

  • Jan 10-Feb 2: Mom and Tots Leap into Learning (ages 20-24months, Tues/Thurs, 9:15-10am, $35)
  • Jan 12-26: Dance-Twinkle Toes I (ages 2-3yrs, Thurs, 11:20-12:15, $40)
  • Jan 12-26: Tumbling Tinies (ages 9-24months, Thurs, 9:30-10:15am, $40)
  • Jan 12-Feb 2: Math Madness (ages 3-5yrs, Thurs, 2-3pm, $40)
  • Jan-Apr: Mahjongg Open Play (adults, Mon, 2-4pm, FREE)
  • Jan-Apr: Bingo (adults, 1st & 3rd Tues, 2-3pm, $1)
  • Jan-Apr: Senior Fitness (Mon/Fri, 10-10:45am, $15/month)

Thumbs up: unique indoor play area, rock wall, community center programs

Thumbs down: indoor playground is small and gets easily crowded on popular days, unattractive shopping center setting

Day Seven: Millbrook Exchange Park

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On the seventh day of Raleigh Parks Christmas, Kris gave her husband Bill (that’s me) an assignment: visit the Carolina Pines dog park with the dog and baby while she was doing Raleigh Jaycees board of directors stuff. After some confusion about where the car seat and stroller were, we ended up at a different dog park: Millbrook Exchange.

There’s a lot going on at Millbrook Exchange: a pool, community center, tennis center, dog park, basketball courts, baseball fields, and playground. Today, we just explored the dog park.

There are actually two dog parks here, sharing a common fence: a large area (maybe 2 acres) for large dogs, and a small area (1/4 acre-ish) for small dogs. Ripken plays like a large dog, but he can get crazier than a sack of rabid weasels at the dog park and I’ve got a baby to manage, so we stick to the vacant small dog area.

There are plenty of water bowls, tennis balls, and poop bags; no need to bring your own. Lots of mature hardwoods and pines, too–perfect for shade in the summer or doggie outhouse all year round.

Ripken and Ashley both had a blast, and we left the dog park after dozens of Ripken races up and down the fence

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and horsey rides for Ashley on daddy’s shoulders.

Next, we walked around and photo-documented some of the other facilities, as you can see in the gallery below. But, it was getting close to nap time and we had to split. This one deserves another visit and a feature-length post in the spring.

Thumbs up: Lots of mature trees, tons of facilities, both large and small dog parks.

Thumbs down: Seems like parking might be an issue on nice days; it was 75% full on a damp Saturday morning in December.

Strickland Road Park

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On the fourth day of visiting Raleigh Parks we headed to North Raleigh to check out the newly constructed Strickland Road Park.  It’s located at 12804 Strickland Road, not far from the intersection of Leesville Road.  This park has picnic tables, benches, a walking trail with access from the nearby neighborhood, swings for kids of all ages, and a large playground area.

The playground area has equipment for kids ages 2-5 and 5-12 to use and all the equipment is in the same area making it convenient for parents with kids of different ages.  There is a large jungle gym with monkey bars, slides, and climbing areas for the older kids.  There is a sandy playground area and fun slide for the younger ones.  Between the two areas is a sitting area with benches, which is nice for the parents.  The nearby swingset has a spongy surface, which is great for crawlers to play around on.  I also love that even though this is a new park, much of the surrounding woods are still in tact, making it seem like a real park.  The new camellia bushes that have been planted are already in bloom adding some great color to the landscape.

According to the City of Raleigh’s website, there are future plans to add basketball courts and a community center to this park.

Thumbs up: playground areas, sitting areas for parents

Thumbs down: sidewalks on busy Strickland Rd would increase walk ability to this park

Boyce Farms

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Looking for a way to spend a gorgeous Sunday Funday outside while celebrating the Christmas season?!  Why not pack up the family (don’t forget the dog) and head out to your local Christmas tree farm at Boyce Farms in North Raleigh. Since volunteering here as part of the Raleigh Jaycees fundraiser, I’ve made choosing our tree at Boyce Farms part of our Christmas tradition.

Boyce Farms is a family-owned and operated farm located at 2813 Mount Vernon Church Rd. The tree farm is open Mon-Fri from noon-7pm and Sat-Sun from 9am-7pm.  You can choose from a huge selection of fresh cut fraser firs from the NC mountains or choose and cut your own tree right on the farm.  Every year I’ve gotten a tree from Boyce Farms, I’ve always been incredibly pleased with the quality of the tree.  The tree needles stay on longer, the fresh fir scent lasts through the New Year, and even with our slack watering the tree doesn’t dry out.  The prices are also incredibly reasonable…this year our 7ft tree only cost $42!

The experience at Boyce Farms wouldn’t be complete without the help from the friendly staff.  Once you pick out your tree, they carry it to the tree shaking machine to clear away the few dead needles, cut off any branches near the trunk, run it through the netting machine, and then securely tie it to your car.  They also have a great selection of pine roping, fresh wreaths or centerpieces, tree stands, and more.

The Raleigh Jaycees will be out there again today selling treats and helping folks find the perfect tree, so be sure to stop by and you’ll quickly make it part of your Christmas tradition too!

Thumbs up: friendly staff, quality trees, reasonable prices, fun Christmas atmosphere

Thumbs down: nothing to report

Lake Lynn Park

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A couple weeks ago I found myself in a terrifying position: at home alone with the baby for 36 hours. I hadn’t done that before. My lovely wife, the creator of this blog, was at the Britney Spears concert in Washington DC (I’m afraid I’m not joking) with her sister and some other troublemakers.

I asked my wife, “What do I do with the baby for that length of time?!” After an incredulous look followed by, “What do you think I do while you’re at work all week?” she politely suggested I take the baby to a yet unexplored park, take some pictures, and write a guest article on her blog. I did the first two at the end of July, and here I am mid-August completing the job.

My assignment was Lake Lynn Park. I had no idea there was a Lake Lynn. I knew Lynn Road from the shopping center with Goodwill and the movie theater that serves beer, but this lake was news to me. Turns out that it’s a great location for walking or running, and it’s teeming with fauna, considering its suburban location.

The park is squarely in north Raleigh, between 540 and 440 to the north and south, and Creedmoor Rd and Glenwood Ave to the east and west. I entered at 7921 Ray Rd and parked in a large, 90% empty parking lot on a Monday morning. (By the way, what were those 20 cars doing there? Don’t these people have jobs?) There is a large community center that looks like it’s used for things like summer camps, several lighted tennis courts, a lighted softball field, and a nice playground.

But, the real attraction is the lake and Lake Lynn Trail around it. The trail is alternately paved and a sort of boardwalk/causeway stretching over long sections of water. This segment of the greenway is part of the Hare Snip Creek Trail. I’ve heard it’s around 2 miles, but we didn’t make it to the halfway point before someone got fussy so we didn’t make it all the way around (I’ll leave who it was to your imagination).

There are waterfowl galore, including many stripes of duck and a camera-shy white swan. I even found a pair of adult turtles with their litter of babies sunning on a log, but they scattered when I was close enough for a photo. A little girl was feeding the ducks stale bread as we were leaving. I’m guessing this is a popular activity, due to the large duck population and their affinity to humans, hanging out within a few feet of a busy section of trail.

All in all, Ashley and I had a great time exploring this park. It’s another great Raleigh Parks facility, and ideal for going on a walk, feeding the ducks, or a short run with great scenery.

North Hills Park

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North Hills park is located at 100 Chowan Circle in North Raleigh. Overall this is a basic neighborhood park with B+ features. As you arrive there is a medium-sized parking lot with a nice lighted baseball field on the right. It has bleacher seating for the spectators and a water fountain near the far team’s bench area. The adjacent grassy hill also provides plenty of additional seating.

Baseball field
Bleacher seating near baseball field

Water fountain near far team's bench
Another view of lit baseball field

At the top of the grassy hill is a building for restrooms and the Buffaloe family cemetery.

Building with restrooms
Buffaloe family cemetery

If you continue driving past the baseball field you arrive at the back parking lot near the two lighted tennis courts, playground, pavilion with picnic and access to the greenway. The playground has several connected jungle gyms with a hard mulch base and a smaller sandy playground. The pavilion has 6 picnic tables and a nearby charcoal grill. The wide, paved sidewalk provides easy from the parking lot around the playground and pavilion.

Large back parking lot
Tennis courts
Playground area
Another view of the playground
Sandy playground area
Benches and sidewalk near playground in the shade
Pavilion with picnic tables
Nearby charcoal grill

The access to the greenway is near the tennis courts. This is the North Hills Segment of the Crabtree Creek Trail and it is 1/4 mile of steeply sloped paved pathway. Going down isn’t bad, but pushing the stroller back up was quite a workout! I would definitely recommend the baby bjorn for this segment. The trail tees into the Crabtree Creek Trail, where if you go left you’ll head south towards Lassiter Mill Park and if you turn right you’ll head north towards Shelley Lake.

Access to Crabtree Creek Trail greenway
Beginning of paved greenway
Signs at the end of the North Hill Segment of the trail
Head left towards Lassiter Mill Park
Head right towards Shelley Lake

It’s amazing to think that under all these overpasses and adjacent to creeks and roadways exists this other world of trails.  Navigating through the greenways really helps you get a better sense of direction and helps you realize how close these parks really are to each other. It sort of reminds me of a foreign place like Middle Earth in LOTR.  I encourage you all to explore the greenway.  A lot of the trails are paved and shaded and would make for a great adventure with dogs, loved ones, or a group of friends.  So, pick a greenway segment, find a parking lot, and explore!

All smiles again

Thumbs up: quality of amenities, large parking lots, large playground, easy access to greenway, sidewalk access to pavilion and playground areas
Thumbs down: no sidewalk from baseball field to playground area

Shelley Lake

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Shelley Lake is a large park in the North Raleigh area. It is located at 1400 W Millbrook Rd and is a popular place to walk and run, especially in the evenings. The lake is surrounded by a portion of the Bent Creek greenway trail that is 2.08 miles. The Lake Park trail (unpaved .42 miles) also connects off the greenway.  A lot of the trail is shaded, but there are also long stretches of full sun.  When you pull into the parking lot follow the snaking trail to the left where you’ll connect to the greenway.

As we walked around the trail we came across several different things this park has to offer.

The parking lot off Millbrook Rd and signage about the park

 

Condition of the trail
Pier and boat house
Access to the fishing pier
Restrooms on one side and scenic views on the other
Water fountain outside the restrooms

Beautiful viewing area overlooking lake

 

Continuing on, you’ll notice that the signage throughout the park is pretty thorough. This park has a lot to offer and it could be easy to get lost along the way. Luckily we didn’t have to leave bread crumbs to help us get back to the parking lot.  The signs direct you to the Lake Park Drive (the unpaved section of the greenway), the Sertoma Arts Center, restrooms, and the Shelley Lake Trail around the lake.  We didn’t venture up to the Arts Center, but it has a plethora of adult and youth art classes available.

As you continue on the trail, you’ll come across a wooden bridge where you can stop to take pictures and visit with the ducks and geese.  Here are some pictures of Ashley with her own Duckie Wubbanub.

In addition to the amenities listed above this park also contains benches along the trail, workout stations, large open fields, and additional access to the other portions of the greenway trail.  Here are some more spectacular views of the lake and open fields.

Thumbs up:  spectacular views, great jogging trail, signage, access to other greenway trails, art center

Thumbs down: popular spot so it’ll be busy, litter in the lake