picnic

Lake Johnson Pool

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img_2143This post originally appeared on Southwestraleigh.com where you learn more about how to live, work and play in the Creative District.

Are you looking for a fun way to cool off this summer in the Creative District?  Then head to Lake Johnson Pool where you can catch a tan, swim some laps, or let the little ones burn off some energy.

Lake Johnson Pool is located at 1416 Athens Dr, adjacent to Athens Drive High School.  Turn down the side street opposite Athena Woods Dr and continue until you see the pool sign on the left.  There is a smaller parking lot near the pool gate entrance and an overflow parking lot not too far away.  The building with the main entrance contains the locker rooms, vending machines, guard office, and a small shelter area.

After walking through the main building you have your choice of three different swim areas: wading pool, open swim and lap lane pool, and splash garden.  The wading pool is a separately fenced-in area with a water depth of 10-in to 18-in and a large spray fountain at one end.  There is a small canopy for shade near the gate and a large amount of deck space between the pool and fence.  With the pool just opening the weekend before and the lack of summer heat thus far, the water was chilly, but refreshing.

The splash garden is a separately fenced-in area that has a concrete deck with several fun water features.  It has several small fountains, two fire hoses, a spray fountain, and a water bucket feature.  There’s a small grassy area nearby for watching the little ones play.

The large pool area has an open swim area and a few lap lanes.  The water depth starts at 4 ft and goes up to 5 ft 6 in.  There’s a grassy area surrounding most of the pool with piles of plastic deck chairs for patrons to set out as needed.  Picnic tables are sparse, but there’s quite a bit of grassy area to spread out blankets and towels.  Also sprinkled around the pool are flower gardens, trees, and wind chimes.

Here are the operating hours and pool fees for Lake Johnson Pool:

Fees

  • Ages 1-12: Resident – $1/Non-Resident – $2
  • Ages 13-54: Resident – $3/Non-Resident – $6
  • Ages 55+: Resident – $2/Non-Resident – $4

Wading & Spray Pool

  • Mon-Fri: 9am-8pm
  • Sat: 10am-8pm
  • Sun: 1-6pm

Open Swim

  • Mon-Fri: 12pm-8pm
  • Sat: 10am-8pm
  • Sun: 1-6pm

Adult Lap Swim

  • Mon-Fri: 8am-8pm
  • Sat: 9am-8pm
  • Sun: 1-6pm

Lake Johnson Pool is open until September 3.  Visit the City of Raleigh website for more information about admission fees/policies and days of operation.

Thumbs up: landscaping inside pool, grassy picnic spots, fenced-in wading pool and splash garden

Thumbs down: locker room areas, lack of picnic tables

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Halifax Park

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I thought our park visits would cease to exist this winter, but we’ve been so lucky with all the cool, sun-filled days that we’ve been able to keep exploring.  Yesterday we visited Halifax Park near Peace College and Seaboard Station.  It’s located at 1015 Halifax St, just north of Peace St and close to the Raleigh Housing Authority.

Halifax Park is a neighborhood park that has a small playground area, large multipurpose field, outdoor basketball courts, and a community center.  The community center has a weight room, gym, and a few meeting rooms.  The playground has a sandy surface with a few swings and a large jungle gym suitable for children 5yrs+.  The playground and the outdoor basketball courts are in need of some TLC, which is planned to begin later this year.  The large multi-purpose field is fenced and has soccer goals, lacrosse goals, bleachers, and a back stop.

Lucky for us, we visited the park before construction begins later this year on improvements to the community center and playground.  The Raleigh Parks & Rec department will work with the Raleigh Housing Authority and nearby citizens to ensure the recreational needs of the community are met. According to the City of Raleigh’s Planning and Development website, this project is currently in the design stage with construction beginning this year and completing next summer. The improvements to this park are being funded through the approval of the 2007 Bond Referendum.

We’re excited to check back on the status of Halifax Park as it makes its transformation.  Lucky for the residents in the area, Mordecai Mini Park is close by.

Thumbs up: large multi-purpose field, upcoming improvements, shady picnic spots, close proximity to many neighborhoods (Capitol Park, Pilot Mill, Mordecai)

Thumbs down: small playground area limited to mostly older children, old community center

Walnut St Park

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On the ninth day of Raleigh Parks Christmas, we headed out to Cary with my friend, Kristina, and her daughter, Lucy to visit Walnut St Park.  Wow, what a great park for crawlers and cruisers!  Besides the large open spongy surface, there are tot swings, a jungle gym with smaller slides, and an area with balance beams and climbing structures that proved to be so exciting for the non-walkers!

Walnut St Park is run by the Town of Cary and is located at 1420 Walnut St, not far from Cary Crossroads shopping center.  Not a surprise, but the main entrance sign is easy to miss when driving on Walnut St, so look for the cross-street of Nottingham Dr.

This park has both a tot play area and an older kid play area that are both very close to each other.  Both playgrounds are covered in the spongy surface with the exception of the small sandbox with diggers in the tot area.  There are swings, jungle gyms, and a small pavilion in each playground area.  The older kid playground also has some amazing climbing structures that were very popular.

If you’re looking to take the dogs on a walk or stroll the kids around, this park has a great paved walking trail.  According to the information sign, 2.5 loops around = 1 mile.  While walking around the trail, you’ll see many birdhouses, an area dubbed the wetlands, a natural mulch walking trail, and a large 1.5 acre open recreational space.  There are many benches scattered throughout the trail and a few picnic tables near the large open field area.  Don’t forget to check out the fancy brick “imaginary garden” promenade that cuts through part of the loop.  Check out the Town of Cary’s website for information about future phases of the park, which include adding a basketball court.

So, I know I can’t say it enough, but the Town of Cary does a great job with creating playgrounds with the spongy surface, which is so nice for the really small crawlers and cruisers!  Ashley and Lucy had a fantastic time roaming through the climbing structures, swinging on the tot swings, crawling from one end of the playground to the other, all the while trying to sneak a taste of the nearby mulch chips!  This would be a great park to bring your lunch followed by a romp around the playground.

Thumbs up: playground, walking trail, tot area, nearby pavilions

Thumbs down: somewhat hard to see entrance sign from Walnut St

Roanoke Park Playground

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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 🙂

Rose Garden

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For my first Mother’s Day we spent the weekend in Nags Head with great friends and the pups for our traditional Yuengling 5K race. When we got home on Sunday we walked down to the Rose Garden, which is just two blocks from our house. We were too late for their annual Mother’s Day brunch celebration (mimosas and yummy food) so we just walked around and enjoyed the fantastic sights, smells, and company.  The Rose Garden can also be rented for weddings and other events (hint: no money needed on decorations).



Wandering through the rows and rows of roses


Lovely shades of peach, hot pink, and light pink roses



The rose garden is located in the circular, below-street level area at 301 Pogue St.  Parking is limited to around the circle and the nearby neighborhood streets.  There are a few different entrances with stairs or you can walk down the paved entrance way near the theater. The grass height in the gardens is kept pretty low so you can easily push a stroller.

There are over 50 varieties of roses to touch (no snipping) and smell. One end of the garden has a beautiful pergola covered in white roses and the water feature and the other end has a gazebo with other varieties of shade-loving plants. There are benches and picnic tables covered with large shade trees for great picnic spots.

The pergola at one end covered with white roses
The other end of the garden
Some of the shade-loving hostas

You can’t visit the Rose Garden without scoping out the latest plays at Raleigh Little Theater, which is adjacent to the garden. RLT is a community theater that produces 11 shows each season. I’ve been to a few shows and know folks who work on the production so be sure to check them out!

Thumbs up: picnic spots, shade, sights/smells, photo ops, gardens, theater

Thumbs down: parking (at times)

Sarah P. Duke Gardens

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We’re not in Raleigh anymore! Yes, we did venture out to Durham in early April to see the Sarah P. Duke gardens on the campus of Duke. My best friend, Kelly, was coming into town to meet Ashley so the timing was perfect for my inaugural visit to the gardens.

We went mid-morning on a Friday and had to circle the hourly pay parking lot for about 15 mins before a spot opened up. We stopped off at the Visitor’s Center first to get a map and use the restrooms. Not knowing much about the gardens (besides it being a great spot for weddings), the folks at the front desk were extremely helpful with explaining the different gardens. We decided to first visit the Terrace Gardens. The walk to the garden is a rocky, dirt path that was partway under construction so it was somewhat difficult to push the stroller. However when we got to the top of the terraces and walked under the gazebo, the breathtaking views were so worth it! It was April which means tulips, tulips, tulips in bloom everywhere! Most of the paths along the terraces are compacted mulch, which made for easy strolling. After walking through the rows of tulips and other flowers we checked out the water lily pond, but nothing was in bloom yet so we walked along the South Lawn.

Tulips and other flowers in the Terrace Gardens


Tulips, tulips, tulips!


More pics of the Terrace Garden and Kelly with Ashley at the top


Views of the South Lawn


After that we made a short trip to the Native Gardens before deciding they were a little too native for the stroller.

We had worked up a sweat so we stopped by the Terrace Cafe in the Terrace Gardens for a lunch. They sell pre-made sandwiches, chips, drinks, ice cream, fruits, and coffee. All of the shady spots in the garden were taken so we ate in the cafe’s shady courtyard. It was a fun, relaxing lunch after all the walking and stroller pushing.

We ran out of time to visit the other gardens, but we’ll be back soon. Next time we’ll bring the Baby Bjorn instead of the stroller.  Afterwards, we headed back to Raleigh to cool off with ice cream sandwiches from the Cupcake Shoppe on Glenwood Ave.


Thumbs up:  flowers, gardens, views, picnic spots, photo ops

Thumbs down: pathways for strollers

Adventures at Jaycee Park

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Oh the Jaycee Park…something for everyone!  As a member of the Raleigh Jaycees since 2007, I’m proud of this park and what it provides to the community. The Jaycee Park was built in the 1960’s and the Raleigh Jaycees were instrumental in helping raise funds by selling targets at the Turkey Shoot at the NC State Fair. Since then it has provided years of recreation for people of all ages.  There’s such a wide variety of things to do here, it’ll take you half a day to explore them all.

If you’re looking for recreational activities, this is the park!  It has 3 lit baseball fields, a large community center, 6 lit sand volleyball courts, 2 lit tennis courts, and a large sandy playground. Next to the sand volleyball courts there’s even a shower faucet for post-game rinses.  The shade trees and benches next to the playground provide great picnic spots. There is also a large recycling drop-off area, community center, administration building, pavilion with charcoal grill and restrooms, and a hemerocallis (daylily) garden.

This park is located at 2405 Wade Avenue inside the beltline and has two entrances with parking lots, one from Wade Ave and one from Chamberlain St.  From Wade Ave, you can easily get to the community center, administration building, and hemerocallis garden.  To get to the recreational areas you can walk up a hill or drive around to the other parking area.  The hill isn’t very steep, but there’s not a paved path so I don’t recommend it with a stroller.

Views of the baseball fields


Tennis courts and sand volleyball courts


Wade Ave entrance, administration building, and community center


Pavilion with restrooms and charcoal grill and playground


Ashley enjoying a shady spot near the playground


Raleigh Hemerocallis Garden and gazebo within the garden


3 of the 50+ different species of daylilies featured in the garden


Brick path that allows you to meander through the daylily garden


A plaque memorializing the daylily gardens in honor of Charles Benjamin “Ben” Huyett



Enjoy your time at Jaycee Park and don’t forget to appreciate how it came to be!  If you’re interested in learning more about the Raleigh Jaycees come visit us at a meeting or better yet…come out to the Beer & Wine Tasting tomorrow night at Tir Na Nog to benefit the HOBY NC East program.

Thumbs up:  condition of tennis/volleyball courts and baseball fields, landscaping, shady spots for picnics, daylily gardens, playground, parking

Thumbs down: Wade Ave entrance, lack of sidewalks near Wade Ave entrance, lack of signage

Lassiter Mill Park

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Lassiter Mill Park is a hidden gem of a park.  It is located inside the belt line at the intersection of Lassiter Mill Rd & Lassiter Falls Circle and is home to a beautiful dam where Crabtree Creek flows through.  You can see remnants of the old working mill on the far side of the creek. There is also a plaque with information about the mill on the bank of the water.

Ashley sitting near the information plaque for the old mill
View of the dam from the bank of the creek
Old mill on the opposite side of the creek

This is a great spot to bring a picnic lunch and eat in the open fields or on one of the few picnic tables. For the adventurers, shimmy down the rocky stairs for a closer view of the water. I wouldn’t recommend doing this with a baby unless you have a helper (thanks Bill).  There are also plenty of spots for fishing and signs along the water displaying fishing rules and regulations.

Bill with Ashley on the rocks near the dam
Ashley and I looking across the dam
Another view of the dam

Parking is rather limited so come early.

After you’ve finished exploring the park, walk on the paved path towards Lassiter Mill Road and make a left. After the bridge, cross the street where you’ll find access to the Crabtree Creek Trail, which is perfect for biking, walking, or running with the Bob Stroller. We walked for about a mile on this paved section and then had a picnic on one of the many benches along the greenway. There is an open field with picnic tables but we weren’t up to pushing the stroller through medium-height grass. Along the way we also walked over a beautiful bridge that would make for great photo ops!

The open area with a few picnic tables
The bridge we crossed over is great for photo ops
Crabtree Creek Trail is paved and wide – perfect for all adventures!
The entrance to the trail from Lassiter Mill Rd

Thumbs up: beautiful scenery, walking trails, picnic/photo ops

Thumbs down: access to dam