And so begins my multi-part series on public parks we explored in Northern Ca. At the end of the summer we took the girls on a huge adventure to visit my aunt and uncle in Northern California. It’s unfortunate we waited so many years before visiting them – we made amazing memories this trip and I’m so glad we shared it with our kids.
My aunt and uncle live in the small town of Sonora, Ca., and one morning they drove us over the dramatically high New Melones Reservoir bridge into Calaveras County and the small town of Murphys, Ca. to explore the small city park and have lunch downtown. Historic Murphys Park is located at 505 Algiers Street in Downtown Murphys, a mid-1800s gold mining town turned charming Main Street with upscale retail shops, an inn, yummy restaurants and bars, and 20+ local winery tasting rooms. Here’s a side note about Murphys: the town narrowly escaped the too-close-to-home Butte Fire, a fast moving wildfire that spread during the 2015 California wildfire season.
Murphys Park is a true community park – built by the people, for the people. The all-volunteer, non-profit Murphys Community Club opened the park in 1948 and maintains the park for the public through membership dues, donations, and use fees for special events. Upon entering the park your eyes are immediately drawn to the white wooden gazebo – perfect for photo ops, picnics, and outdoor music. I was shocked to see rotisserie spits, presumably for hosting the exciting summer concerts that were advertised on big banners throughout the park. The shallow Murphys Creek runs through the park creating a relaxing and water recreational aspect. We splashed in the creek to cool off and enjoyed watching other park-goers gently tube the creek. Picnic tables and benches also align both banks of the creek.
After splashing in the creek the girls played in the playground area. The smaller-age playground contains a slide, interactive spin toys, and climbing stairs. The playground for older children features several tall slides, monkey bars, climbing ladders and walls, tunnels and shade sails. Two tot swings, two traditional swings and picnic tables are adjacent to the playgrounds. Family names are carved into the nearby fence pickets, probably signifying park donors.
After exploring the park we visited retails shops in downtown Murphys and ate a yummy lunch at Firewoods. Before leaving Murphys, we visited the tasting room of Villa Vallecito Vineyards, which is owned by dear friends of my aunt and uncle. The vineyard is a 20 minute drive from Murphys and features amazing views of the rolling hills and overlooks the New Melones Reservoir. The owners treated us to the most delicious wines and snacks and gave the girls the most sincere hospitality. You can even rent the casita at the top of their property. If you’re heading to the Northern California area, include Murphys on your stop for wine, food, and community feeling – I can’t wait to come back with my wine glass in hand!
More Resources:
- Sacramento Magazine’s review of Murphys
- Town of Murphys
- History of Murphys
Thumbs up: small-town feel, seating options, splashing in the creek, Villa Vallecito Vineyards wines and property views,
Thumbs down: nothing to report
Over the past few years I’ve continually heard about the amazing “dragon” park in Cary with great play areas for all kids. Well, we finally ventured to the super popular Marla Dorrel Park, which features the 
Beyond this playground is another play structure with graduated levels of difficulty that feature wheelchair ramp access, twisty slides, arched ladders, a fun rolling slide, interactive play items and so much more. Tot swings, traditional swings and chair swings are also located nearby including a swinging platform with wheelchair accessible ramps. The playground surface is mostly sand so bring your sand toys or enjoy the diggers; but wide paved sidewalks wind throughout making it easy to access all areas. They even have wheelchair-accessible sand tables along the pathways!
When we didn’t travel this summer, we explored lots of different places in Raleigh – the library, nature parks, the pool, and trampoline parks. After feeling like we exhausted places in Raleigh, we mixed things up and visited different places outside Raleigh. First on our stop was the 
The splash pad costs $2 per child for non-residents (cash only) and is free for Fuquay-Varina residents with a Resident Splash Card. During the summer, the splash pad opened at 11am so there was quite an initial rush and it was at capacity by the time we got there at 11:15am. After about 15-20 minutes the attendant called for everyone inside the splash pad to exit while the next group entered. This juggling of guests continued for a few cycles before the crowds naturally evened out.
On the way home from our mountain trip in West Jefferson we decided to take advantage of the close proximity to Mount Jefferson and pay a visit. Mount Jefferson State Natural Area is located just east of US 221 at 
We walked through the picnic area and followed the short Summit Trail (0.3 miles) up the mountain. Although the website lists this trail as strenuous, we felt it was more on the moderate side. Due to our haste planning half of us wore flip flops, but could easily walk the gravel trail. The gravel path is wide and shady giving a cool mountain feel to the hike. Along the way we saw butterflies, rhododendrons, mountain laurel and red-starred flowers; though stop by the park office for official plant and animal checklists. We visited the bathrooms along the way, which were super convenient and an easy walk from the main path. We passed access to the Kids TRACK trail, which is part of the longer Rhododendron Trail (1.1 miles). Near the top we turned left to the Mount Jefferson summit, which has an elevation of 4683 feet. I climbed out a little further to catch the beautiful views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
One Sunday at the end of April we headed out to Wake County’s newest park, Robertson Millpond Preserve for some fishing. Not knowing what to expect from this new park, we quickly discovered that Robertson Millpond Preserve is a local natural refuge for recreation and relaxation. Its main attraction is the blackwater cypress-gum swamp, making you feel transported to the lowcountry!
This particular Sunday we enjoyed the park all to ourselves for several hours. We explored the boat ramp (only non-motorized boats are allowed) down to the pond where we heard and saw a variety of birds and insects. Sitting on the boat dock, we gawked over the large cypress trees that envelope the pond. The park staff have installed numbered buoys in the water to created a 1/2 mile paddling trail through the pond. Since our visit, 
Before summer ended, we explored a new section of Crabtree Creek Trail via bike. With the hot and humid weather, we knew pushing a double stroller would be tough, so why not pull the girls by a bike trailer?! The girls were super excited about the prospect of riding in a bike trailer and despite having to cut our trip short because of a busted bike chain we had a great morning ride and even stumbled upon a new park.
Lockwood Park is small fenced-in park designed mostly for ages 5-12. It has a large climbing rock boulder, sand box with diggers, swings, and large playground with slides and various climbing structures. The playground has a rubberized surface with a picnic table and benches and a nearby open grassy field. The girls loved climbing on the boulders the best, but were also excited to get back into the bike trailer to continue on our ride.
Before preschool started, we headed to Powell Drive Park to check out the playground renovations finished earlier this year. I 
The ages 2-5 playground features bright neon colors with two small ladders, musical drums, slide, tunnel, water/sand table and stepping stones. The playground’s height is short, making it the perfect size for early explorers. Nearby is the ages 5-12 playground with a large spider web rope climbing ladder, curved metal ladder, and tall slide. The big girls loved climbing to the top of the spider web rope and everyone squealed in delight while being pushed on the large, oval swing. The old tennis courts and basketball courts are adjacent to the playground area. There are some large shade trees near the tot swings, but little shade around the ages 2-5 playground. A few benches surround the perimeter of the play area and several moms with small babes had the right idea by bringing a breakfast picnic to the park!
Blue Jay Point County Park is an outdoor mecca for people of all ages! We visited Blue Jay Point County Park about a month ago after hearing so much great news about the new 
After some playground time, we headed towards the covered pavilion where the Laurel Loop nature trail begins. This was such an ideal walk for young kids – it is a well maintained unpaved trail with lots of shade, has several benches and picnic tables throughout, is only 0.2 miles, allows for a short walk by adjacent Falls Lake, and loops you back to the playground area. All of the girls from ages 18 months to 4 years old loved exploring this trail, especially finding the dozens of caterpillars along the trail.
We then headed outside to the nearby fenced-in garden area for a much deserved picnic lunch. After our lunch we walked all throughout the gardens learning about the different herbs, flowers and vegetables they’ve planted. The biggest highlight for me was the “pizza garden” where they planted lots of basil and tomatoes. The biggest highlight for the girls was spotting butterflies and checking out the resident turtles and water snake in the small pond area.
Back in June I headed home for two celebrations: what would’ve been my mom’s 58th birthday and the 40th Anniversary of Curtis Park. As mentioned in my 
After a lot of time in the baby pool we headed to the big pool where Ashley got to show off her swimming skills to my aunt, who also came in from CA for the big celebrations. I’m happy to report that the diving boards were available to use so several of us (even my brother) showcased our diving talents. Several friends from Stafford also joined us and commented several times about how weird it felt to be back at Curtis Park after over a decade had passed. Off in the grassy areas they set up several craft areas and had a huge water bounce house. Near the concession area they set up a large grill and offered free meals to the first 100 people through the door. The whole area was a bustling hub of kids and parents having a great time.
This summer we explored Eno River State Park in Durham over Memorial Day weekend. Despite a 40 minute drive and a lot of preschooler crying when we first arrived because there was no playground in sight, we enjoyed the short hike across the swaying footbridge and to the river.
After we reached the bank of the river, we followed the trail over a narrow suspension footbridge that seemed like a much, much less dramatic version of the foot bridge Indiana Jones crossed in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. It’s less than a 15ft drop to the river, but with large openings in the sides of the bridge I walked Ashley slowly across the bridge, trying to reiterate the importance of no jumping on the bridge.
On our hike back we stopped in one of the several swimming holes to splash around a bit, promising to bring the girls back again soon with bathing suits in tow. Other than over 25 miles of hiking, Eno River State Park offers fishing, camping, canoeing, educational programs, the annual 
