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Eastgate Park

February 26, 2012November 25, 2011 by Kris Montgomery

So, I’ve never had such a relaxing Thanksgiving week in a long time. Our Thanksgiving holiday started by visiting Eastgate Park earlier this week. It was extra special because we were able to spend it with Bill, who took off for the holiday week. With us around I’m not sure it was much of a relaxing vacation for him, but we enjoyed having him around all week.

Eastgate Park is located at 4200 Quail Hollow Dr, not far from North Hills Mall. The parking lot is located on Quail Hollow Dr, but side-street parking is also available on Wingate Dr. After parking in the parking lot, you can head to the left towards Cooper’s Pond. This a small pond with an small overlook area and opportunity for fishing or visiting with the fauna. Around the pond, you’ll also find a cleared path and covered pavilion with picnic tables and charcoal grill. The path this week was covered with large leaves, perfect for great photo ops!

Eastgate Park has an unstaffed community center that is available for rent and commonly used for recreational programs. There is also a large open field with several soccer goals, basketball courts, and tennis courts. We spent a lot of time at the playground area this particular day. This playground is really nice for a few reasons: 1) the spongy surface, 2) the area is fenced in, and 3) both playground areas are near each other and have several swings. Even though Ashley is only 8 months old, she thoroughly enjoyed crawling around on the spongy surface and swinging on the tot swings. I consider both features to be crucial if you have a non-walking child! Babies and mulch just do not mix!

The playground has swings, slides, and climbing areas. There is also a sandbox and musical area in the smaller child playground. Another great feature of this playground are the benches lined around the perimeter. It’s a great place for parents to enjoy watching their children play. Down from the playground is a collection of covered picnic tables and sidewalk games like four square and hopscotch.

Thumbs up: sidewalk access to park, pond area, photo ops, playgrounds, benches near playground

Thumbs down: unattractive community building

Kaplan Drive Park

February 26, 2012November 4, 2011 by Kris Montgomery

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.

There is a small neighborhood park nestled between I-440, Kaplan Drive, and a residential area where parking is only available on the street. The tall trees try to muffle the noisy highway sounds, but after all, this is a city park inside the beltline. And if you’re jogging or walking by Kaplan Drive Park at 5208 Kaplan Drive, you can stop by to use the fitness stations.

Kaplan Drive Park has a 1/4 mile paved loop with 10 fitness stations and two benches scattered about. There is a small stream running through the loop and two bridges to cross, making it fun to explore for turtles or other water creatures. The paved trail surrounds a heavily wooded forest boasting diverse trees, putting your child’s tree identification kit to good use.

There are two large open fields at this park: one just below the tree line of I-440 and another near Kaplan Drive. The fields could be perfect for frisbee, a game of tag, or other fun kid activities. Unfortunately, there aren’t any picnic tables at the park, so bring a large blanket for a picnic in one of the many open, shady spots.

Even though this isn’t a destination park per se, it’s a fun neighborhood park to explore on a walk with the dog or a jog down the street.

Thumbs up: shade, trees for possible leaf identification project, fitness stations

Thumbs down: slightly slippery trail due to moss, no picnic tables, noisiness of I-440

Method Road Park

April 28, 2013November 1, 2011 by Kris Montgomery

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.

Method Road Park is a busy park with several recreational and community activities going on, despite the small footprint you see from the road. Method Road Park is located at 514 Method Rd, just inside the beltline, near the intersection of Beryl Road and Method Road. There is a large community center building with indoor basketball courts and bleacher seating. The Method Pioneers Building is nearby and available for rent. The center has information about programs for all ages. Here are a few to highlight:

Method Halloween Festival (Oct 28, 5-7pm, ages 6-11)
Free English classes for beginning students (Oct 27-Dec 8, Thursdays, 6:30-8pm)
Daily open gym times (call (919) 831-6066 for hours)
Haunted Mordecai Lantern Tour (Oct 29)
Foster Grandparent Program

If outdoor activities is what you’re looking for, this park has plenty to offer. There are lighted tennis courts, a basketball court with bleachers, baseball fields, a large open multi-purpose field with soccer goals, a large pavilion with picnic tables, and oodles of shady spots and benches for picnics. The old playground area near the front of the park is getting a major facelift. The new playground area will have several swings, a large jungle gym with slides, unique seating, and fun activity equipment. The playground is currently being renovated and should be finished within the next few months.

This would be a great park to bring your mommy/baby/toddler groups for playtime followed by lunch or a great place to bring the older kids for open gym, flag football, or kickball. Visit raleighnc.gov for more information about Method Road Park.

Thumbs up: picnic spots, basketball courts, tennis courts, baseball fields, shady areas

Thumbs down: noisiness from I-440

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Roanoke Park Playground

February 26, 2012October 27, 2011 by Kris Montgomery

So, a few weeks ago when my mom came into town I wanted to do a picnic lunch in the park, but wanted to have food from a new (to us) place and explore a new park. After some quick online surfing we decided on take-out from Nofo at the Pig followed by a trip to Roanoke Park Playground. Both ideas turned out to be absolutely fabulous!

Roanoke Park Playground is located southeast of Five Points at 1500 Cherokee Dr. It’s located in a quiet neighborhood in the median between W Aycock St, Cherokee Dr, and Greenwood St. This was a part of the Five Points area I had never been to and quickly fell in love with the homes and the nearby shops.

On one side of the park is a large open field perfect for a pick-up game of flag football, kickball, or volleyball. There are numerous shade trees along the perimeter, which gave us ample of shade for our picnic lunch. There’s also a small pavilion with picnic table, but having a baby in the prime of her crawling meant we were having lunch in the grass!

After lunch, we followed the wooden path to the other side of the park that contains the playground area. Along the way we passed a large wooden deck with built-in benches. There are two swing sets complete with tot swings for the little ones. The jungle gym has several slides and climbing areas atop a mulch base. The sand box area has a few diggers and other play equipment. We were also shocked to see numerous riding cars sitting in the toy corral area. It was welcoming to know that neighborhood toys could sit in a park and go without being stolen. After some more research on this park, I learned that the neighborhood partnered with the City a few months ago to fund some of the toys you see in the park. At the far end of the park there’s also a full-size basketball court.

This park was so delightful that I packed a picnic lunch and visited it again the next day with my husband, baby, and dog!

Thumbs up: shadiness, peacefulness, swing sets, open fields, friendliness of neighbors

Thumbs down: nothing to report 🙂

Powell Drive Park

February 26, 2012September 19, 2011 by Kris Montgomery

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

Morrisville Community Park

July 26, 2011 by Kris Montgomery

After a rained-out start to our shift on Monday night, Tuesday proved to be plenty hot and sunny! Tuesday night we headed to Morrisville Community Park at 1520 Morrisville Parkway where the 10u girls age group was playing. This park is run by the Town of Morrisville Parks System and it did not disappoint!

The softball fields used for the tournament are in the back, but you can’t help but stop and stare at the gigantic playground area on your way in. I think this playground is in competition with the Anderson Point Park playground for its massive size and ability to entertain! This playground has several jungle gyms hooked together by various bridges. There are also two swing sets and a shaded gazebo in the middle perfect for a picnic. The main playground sits on a rubbery base and adjacent to it is a sandy play area with see saws. A 0.6 mile paved jogging trail loop, which is part of the Hatcher Creek Greenway, is close by as well.

P1010352 — Gazebo in middle of playground

P1010350 — Access to the Hatcher Creek Greenway

Follow the walkway past the playground to the restrooms and adjacent pavilion with picnic tables and charcoal grill. There is a small open area in front of the pavilion too.

P1010346 — Pavilion with picnic tables and charcoal grill

P1010353 — Restrooms near playground and pavilion

Continuing on the walkway you’ll pass a large open field (mostly used for soccer according to another volunteer) and a small softball field with bleachers.

Finally in the back of the park are the two lighted softball fields, concession area, water fountain, and restrooms. Both fields have covered team benches and uncovered spectator bleachers. Today was a hot one for playing and watching softball so most of the team’s families brought in canopies, which they set up over the bleachers.

We were set up next to field 2 so we had a good view of the thrilling pickle, slides into third base, and outs at home. And these were only the 10u games! I encourage everyone to come out and watch the games. 10u, 12u, and 14u Championship games will be played on Thursday at Middle Creek (10u and 12u) and Thomas Brooks (14U) parks. 16u and 18u Championship games will be played on Friday at Thomas Brooks park. Stay up to date with dates and times on the PONY website.

P1010351 — Pretty tired after a long night of volunteering

P1010339 — Future volunteers! Chris with his daughter, Kennedy, and me with Ashley!

A nice feature to this park is the proximity of the parking lots to the playground, pavilion, and softball fields. There are large pockets of parking throughout the park.

Thumbs up: proximity of parking areas, functionality of walkways, quality of softball fields, friendly Town of Morrisville staff
Thumbs down: lack of shady seating near main softball fields

Anderson Point Park

July 22, 2013July 12, 2011 by Kris Montgomery

My mom visited this past weekend so on Friday morning we headed out to Anderson Point Park at 20 Anderson Point Dr in east Raleigh. This park is bordered by 264/64 bypass on the north, the Neuse River to the east and Crabtree Creek on the west. From the park you can also access the greenway via the Neuse River Trail which is over 4.5 miles of unpaved trails. Here’s a satellite view of Anderson Point Park from Google Maps.

When you arrive at the park, go around the cul-de-sac to the far left to the parking lot. From there we found a very helpful park map detailing all the features. We then walked by the Large Shelter and headed left along the main trail, which is about 3/4 mile loop. The shelter is a large pavilion with several picnic tables, restrooms, and an adjacent open field with a back stop.

P1010211 — Informational board near parking lot

P1010252 — Open field with backstop near Large Shelter

P1010253 — Another view of the open field

Walking along the paved trail we first came to the amphitheater. It’s a beautiful stone-terraced amphitheater with lush green grass at each level. At the bottom is a large tree surrounded by a stone wall with benches and swings along the perimeter. The tree provides great shade for picnics or reading on a hot day. My mom did comment on how difficult it might be to see any type of performance at the bottom due to the hedges at each terraced level.

P1010222 — Looking from the top of the amphitheater

Back on the trail we followed the spiral pathway up to the scenic overlook. There’s a circular flower garden at the top surrounded by a stone wall perfect for sitting and enjoying the views of the park. There are also several covered swings at the top great for relaxing and taking in the scenery.

P1010228 — View from the top overlooking the park

Continuing on, we passed bluebird trails and bird houses that attract martin birds. Luckily my mom, who is a bird enthusiast, was with us to identify the bird houses. The surrounding natural vegetation still allows for great views of the park.

P1010224 — Houses along the bluebird trail

Next, we came upon a large open field with a backstop across from the Retreat Cottage. The cottage can be rented for conferences and events and contains a small nearby parking lot to use.

P1010230 — Open field with backstop near cottage

Close to the cottage is the Small Shelter, which is a covered pavilion with several picnic tables and restrooms. It has an adjacent open field surrounded by crape myrtles and magnolias. Nearby there is also an information board with details about renting the various shelters, open fields, and Retreat Cottage.

P1010235 — Small Shelter with picnic tables

P1010236 — Open field near Small Shelter

P1010237 — Beautiful crape myrtles and stone work near open field

Next on the trail is the largest playground I’ve ever seen. Part of the playground is covered in a mulch base and part is a sandy base. There is a large jungle gym, multiple swing sets, and several teeter totters with plenty of seating along the perimeter and sloped, grassy hill. The entire playground area is full sun, so be sure take a break at the nearby water fountain. The Small Shelter would be perfect for birthday parties with the playground being so close!

P1010240 — Looking down at the playground

P1010244 — Another view of the jungle gym

P1010245 — Sandy area with teeter totters

Continuing on, we arrived near the entrance, which has several shade trees and swings overlooking a large part of the park. The signs are helpful in directing you to the various parts of the park.

P1010249 — Shade trees and swings near entrance

We followed the trail back to the parking lot and headed out of the park, but not without stopping at the canoe launch that we passed on our way in. Park in the lot there to get on the Neuse River Trail or head down the gravel road to the launch area for the Neuse River.

P1010263 — Canoe Launch sign from Anderson Point Dr

P1010260 — Looking north up the Neuse River

P1010258 — Looking south towards the railroad tracks and 264/64 bypass

This is a great open park with lots of unique amenities surrounded by a paved trail that is perfect for walking the dogs and babies or going for a run. We had a fun morning with lots of exploring, so we finished off our adventure with cupcakes from The Cupcake Shoppe!

Thumbs up: scenic overlook, shelters, open fields, access to greenway, canoe launch area, playground, beauty of amphitheater, birding

Thumbs down: unsure of usage of amphitheater

Glen Eden Pilot Park

January 16, 2014July 7, 2011 by Kris Montgomery

Glen Eden Pilot Park seems small and uninviting at first glance, but boy does it pack a punch! This park is located at 1500 Glen Eden Dr just outside the beltline. When I first pulled up I immediately noticed the empty parking lot and ugly stone building. I was carrying Ashley in her car seat due to lack of signs about trails so I figured I’d take a few pics with nothing to report and we’d head home. The main building is not staffed and was locked but can be rented by calling the Jaycee Comm Center at 831-6833. Next to the building I passed some stairs so we decided to walk down them. At the bottom I was pleasantly surprised to see a paved walkway and a gravel path that seemed like you could access it from Glen Eden Dr. My gut told me maybe there was more to this park than I initially thought, so I went back to the car, put Ashley in her stroller, headed on the narrow sidewalk and turned left out of the parking lot onto Glen Eden Dr. We found the secret wheeled-access path and met back up with the paved walkway.

P1000884 — View of the empty parking lot

P1000885 — Another empty parking lot pic

P1000887 — Stairs next to the building leading down to the paved trail

P1000886 — Side view of stone building available for rent

P1000892 — Gravel path for wheeled access (tough for pushing the stroller)

As we continued we passed a small pond for fishing and then came upon this open space oasis! I felt like we had just entered the secret garden! There is a large pavilion with 5 picnic tables, large open fields, 2 basketball courts, and a playground area all adjacent to this 1/4 mile loop paved trail. There are benches and a water fountain near the basketball court. The playground has a swing set and 2 jungle gyms. The large open spaces would be great for picnics or flag football.

P1000895 — Playground with jungle gyms and swingset

We walked past the basketball courts and found another entrance to the park with a small parking lot at Carlow St and Eden Croft Dr. This is a much more suitable entrance for visitors with strollers or in wheelchairs.

P1000894 — Smaller parking lot at alternate entrance (again empty)

From the trail we also came across a secret set of tennis courts. There are 4 courts and 1 court for single play against the backboard. The sign on the courts said to reserve the courts through Raleigh Tennis or use them on a first-come first-serve basis. There is also a separate entrance for the tennis courts although I couldn’t access the parking lot because of having the stroller.

P1000898 — One of the four tennis courts

As we headed back on the trail I enjoyed how the birds were drowning out the noisy nearby I-440. We had the entire park to ourselves, but I couldn’t help but imagine how much more popular this park could be if only a few signs were posted in the parking lot advertising “spectacular basketball courts, playground, picnic tables, and tennis just a few 100 yards away!”. Here’s a satellite view of the park from Google Maps of the entire area so you get a feel for what it looks like from overhead.

Thumbs up: peacefulness, open space, tennis courts, basketball courts, playground
Thumbs down: wheeled access from Glen Eden Dr entrance, lack of signage throughout park, lack of information at main building

Shelley Lake

April 24, 2013June 7, 2011 by Kris Montgomery

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

P1000396 — Restrooms on one side and scenic views on the other

P1000397 — 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

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