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North Cary Park & Black Creek Greenway

March 25, 2014 by Kris Montgomery

This past winter has been one of the longest I’ve seen since moving to Raleigh over 11 years ago so when the temps hovered above 45 degrees in January we headed to North Cary Park with a friend and her girls for a short run and playground time. North Cary Park is located at 1100 Norwell Blvd in Cary off of Cary Pkwy. It’s a very large park situated along the northern end of Black Creek Greenway. Before having kids we used to bike through Umstead Park on the Reedy Creek Trail and connect to Black Creek Greenway at Lake Crabtree. This was a fun way to extend our mileage and explore the Town of Cary greenway system.

But, back to our recent trip. After arriving at North Cary Park we winded through the park’s slightly confusing trails and eventually met up with Black Creek Greenway where we headed south. The trail itself is a paved 7.1 total miles and winds between various neighborhoods and the creek. We passed several bikers and runners along the way so we felt very safe. We ran until the 2.25 mile mark of the greenway and then headed back. The creek will make for some fun water playtime in the warm summer months.

After running, we had some sweet, patient toddlers who needed to get exercise on the playground. This playground area has a large sandbox area, several slides built into the small hills, a rock climbing area, tot swings, regular swings, a jungle gym for ages 5-12, and a small rubberized area great for the crawlers and early walkers. With the dense landscaping and so many park features that are spread out, it made it harder for us to keep track of the toddlers while also tending to the babies. After lots of toddler wrangling we were able to enjoy some time in the sandbox area, which has several benches along the perimeter. Claire even enjoyed her first tot swing and Ashley was able to practice her potty training at the nearby restrooms, complete with a toddler-height sink.

Other than the playground and greenway, this park also has a large pavilion with a dozen tables overlooking 4 sand volleyball courts named after Julie Robison, 2 basketball courts, and a soccer field. Benches and picnic tables are scattered throughout the playground area and before heading down to the greenway. With so many friends with kiddos who train for running races, this is a great place to run solo or with kids combined with a playground visit!

More resources:

Thumbs up: variety of park features, safety of greenway, rubberized option for infants/early walkers, running/playground combo for those with strollers and kids

Thumbs down: confusing signage leading down to greenway trails, playground features being so spread out making it harder to keep an eye on independent toddlers

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Knightdale Station Park

February 20, 2014 by Kris Montgomery

We are fortunate to have a great group of moms and kiddos through Stroller Strides of Midtown Raleigh to explore local parks with and a trip Knightdale Station Park last fall is no exception. Knightdale Station Park is located at 810 North 1st Ave just outside 540 and south of US-64 business in Knightdale.

This park has a bit of everything – walking trails, large playground areas for kiddos under 2, ages 2-5 and ages 5-12, a dog park, and athletic fields. We spent most of our time exploring the various playground areas, where all boast a farming/barn theme. The playground area designed for ages 5-12 has a large play silo with a steep enclosed slide. A spiral staircase is enclosed in the play silo, so if you have adventurous younger children, make sure they use extra caution. Other than the play silo, this large playground has monkey bars, wide wheelchair-accessible ramps, smaller slides, and other climbing structures. The nearby tot playground for ages 2-5 is a train with tunnels, slides and climbing structures. It’s rather small for a tot playground, but the adjacent corral with bouncy horses and spinning cups provides some more activities for the young ones.

Ashley’s favorite play structure at this park was the play chicken coop designed for ages under 2. She loved throwing mulch down the egg shoot for her friend to catch at the bottom. This play area is covered and great for early walkers as kids can access it by a small ramp or short steps.

Scattered around the playground areas are benches, tot swings, regular swings, a large faux tire swing, mushroom stools, twirling structures, and sandbox with large tractor tire. The different playground areas are joined by concrete sidewalk paths and covered with shredded bark. A large pavilion with picnic tables and separate restroom building are also near the playground as is a walking/running trail. Finally this park also has several athletic fields and an off-leash dog park with separate small and large dog areas.

For more information about this park and future plans visit the Town of Knightdale website.

Thumbs up: unique farming themed play areas, all ages incorporated into play areas, walking trails adjacent to playground

Thumbs down: climbing enclosed staircase in silo is a bit scary for little ones, young landscaping yields little shade

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Millbrook Playground

January 16, 2014 by Kris Montgomery

Millbrook Playground at Millbrook Exchange Park (1905 Spring Forest Rd) was renovated this past summer and we made our way over there to explore the new digs! Within the park, it’s located between the adult center and the community center near the ball fields. There’s so much to do at this new park for everyone – a tot jungle gym for the 2-5 age group and a larger (and very tall) jungle gym for the 5-12 age group. Both jungle gyms have a rubber surface also making this a very crawler-friendly play place for the mobile, but not yet walking littles ones! There is also a small sandbox with two diggers, two tot swings, and four regular swings, one of which is handicap accessible.

The 2-5 age group jungle gym has a few slides, some musical instruments, teeter totters, and climbing structures. It’s on the small side so Ashley quickly got bored of it and ventured over to the 5-12 age group jungle gym. This play place has different height levels for playing that peak at a very tall height. There are a few openings that lead down to climbing structures, but for the most part this jungle gym is well enclosed. Ashley loved the tall slides, but was surprised at how fast she went down them! It also has some smaller slides near the ground, tunnels, monkey bars, swinging bar, a rock climbing wall, and some low height seats. Once you get over the height of the playground, this is a great place for able kids to play!

Scattered around the park are several benches and sidewalk games of hopscotch and four square. We were there in the morning, which didn’t have much shade so plan accordingly based on the time of day and season. I don’t recall seeing a nearby picnic table, but after walking towards the tennis center we found several in the shade. The landscaping immediately around the park was less than desired and the grass was pretty high as if it hadn’t been mowed in weeks.

After visiting the playground, we had a quick snack at the picnic tables and then headed towards the tennis center to explore. It turned out we showed up just in time for the last day of a weekend tennis tournament so we stayed to watch for awhile before heading home. On our way back to the car we spotted some steel art, the Immigrant Gate II by Jim Gallucci. I was amazed at how extensive the tennis center is – there are 23 tennis courts, several backboards, and a large indoor area with observation deck, conference room, pro shop and locker rooms. I look forward to getting back into tennis one day 🙂

Thumbs up: variety of play things on 5-12 age group jungle gym, swings, tennis center

Thumbs down: no picnic tables in immediate playground area, landscaping/field maintenance

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Longstreet Dr Playground

January 2, 2014 by Kris Montgomery

The week after Claire was born we had lots of family helping keep us sane while adjusting to life with two sweet girls. My sweet mother-in-law, Janet (aka Gaga), came to visit for several days and for one outing we explored Longstreet Dr. Playground, which is less than 10 minutes from our house. Longstreet Playground is a neighborhood park located off Six Forks Rd, just north of Lynn Rd at 7334 Stuart Dr.

Longstreet Playground was a pleasant surprise of a nearby park! It’s on the small side, but just perfect when you just want to pull up to the park and be there. This was especially crucial with having a newborn because I had to truck back to the car a few times to get things I had forgot to bring with me. The park is fenced-in 3/4 of the way and has one main picnic table, which was great since we packed our lunch (big surprise, I know). It has two different playground areas – one for the 2-5 ages and one for the 5-12 ages. The 2-5 age playground has several slides, a low bar for hanging from, and a small climbing structure. There are some nearby springy rides and a very small sandbox with diggers.

The 5-12 age playground has a climbing wall up to the main play structure, several slides, monkey bars, many climbing structures, and a play steering wheel and drama scene. At first, I was hesitant to let Ashley climb up the wall to the playground, but she quickly proved to be a pro! There are a few openings in the playground that lead down to more advanced climbing structures, so I really had to caution Ashley on them. Next to this play area are the swings – one tot swing and one regular swing. There are a few benches scattered throughout the playground and the surface is mostly rubber with some concrete sidewalk.

Ashley had a great time exploring this new park while Gaga enjoyed some special time with her girls.

Thumbs up: small park with lots of features

Thumbs down: litter surrounding park

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Lake Wheeler Park

October 29, 2013 by Kris Montgomery

I had never been out to Lake Wheeler Park until this summer and I can’t wait to return. For the most part, Lake Wheeler is similar to Lake Johnson except that it doesn’t have a paved trail surrounding it, but does have much more extensive boating, picnicking and playground areas.

Lake Wheeler Park is located at 6404 Lake Wheeler Rd in southwest Raleigh. Upon entering the park, you’ll notice the 650 acre lake to the south. As you meander through the park on the main road, there are several spots along the way to stop and fish or shelters for picnicking. Continuing on you’ll pass large open fields with larger shelter areas and finally arrive at the large parking lot near the boat house.

We parked in the main parking lot and headed down to explore the boats and docks at the lake. This particular day was extremely windy so the water was pretty void of any boaters. We still managed to walk on the docks and talk about the different boats we saw (presumably for rent) – paddle boats, sunfish sailboats, kayaks, jon boats, etc. For a complete list of boats for rent or launch visit the Lake Wheeler rental website. You can also learn more about the depths of the lake (which get to 25ft in some spots) by visiting the information boards near the boat house. Follow these guidelines for fishing in and on the bank of the lake. Across from the boat ramps is the park’s very impressive boat storage area. In addition to renting various boats and fishing, you can also take several boating classes offered at Lake Wheeler, which start back up in the spring.

Next we explored the boat house area, which consists of a large veranda (covered and uncovered) overlooking the water complete with picnic tables and rocking chairs, indoor rooms for classes and rental, a concession area, restrooms, and beautiful landscaping leading up to the playground area. The veranda, indoor room and deck are all available for rent for special events. Ashley especially loved sitting in the rocking chairs while we talked about the different things we saw near the water (ducks, boats, people, etc).

After visiting the boat house, we explored the nearby t-shaped dock, which offered some great photo ops. It has several fish cleaning spots and is completely fenced in, making it a fun place to explore for toddlers (provided no one else is around trying to fish).

Next we headed back to the playground, where we spent most of our morning. This is a great place for playing and then having a picnic, as there are several picnic tables and even a small shelter and charcoal grill in the vicinity. The playground offers a few areas for early walkers to play on, but is mostly geared towards the more steady walkers. There aren’t too many openings in the playground, making it easier for nervous moms to let toddlers run free in the playground. The playground has big-kid swings and low swings for toddlers who can hold onto the chains, but no bucket tot swings. It has a wood chip base and has several slides, tunnels, and ladders at different levels making it a fun and interesting place to play.

Finally, we made our way over to the large open field to “throw” our frisbee. Being that we visited the park on the hottest day of the summer we didn’t last too much longer, but enjoyed a fun morning with lots to look at, talk about and explore! I can’t wait to visit again and do some boating.

For more info about this park including boating, fishing and rental opportunities visit the City of Raleigh website.

Thumbs up: variety of boating activities, playground area, vicinity of picnic tables near playground, views from the boat house

Thumbs down: signage throughout the park

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Baileywick Park

August 22, 2013 by Kris Montgomery

The playground at Baileywick Park was closed this past winter so we finally made a visit in late May. Baileywick Park is located in Northwest Raleigh at 9501 Baileywick Rd. Upon entering the park you pass access to the Baileywick greenway trail and eventually come to a large parking lot that provides access to all of the park’s amenities. We parked near the bathroom facilities and started with a visit to the playground.

The playground consists of an expansive jungle gym for ages 5-12, a smaller jungle gym for ages 2-5, four tot swings, four regular swings, a sand box with diggers, and several teeter totters. The base of the playground is covered in wood chips and there are several benches scattered around the playground. The playground for ages 5-12 has several slides that are of medium height, multiple climbing options, monkey bars, bridges and more. The tot playground has several slides, matching games, and a few different climbing ladders.

Adjacent to the playground is a large open field, restrooms, a large shelter with eight picnic tables, an area shaded with trees (no picnic tables though), a covered bench area, and two lighted baseball fields. A paved walking trail is also nearby, which leads to another shelter with two picnic tables and an open field. This park is also equipped with the Big Belly solar trash and recycling compactors, which has provided great savings for the city. These have been installed in several places throughout Raleigh and it’s great to see them at the parks. Learn more about the Big Belly solar compactors in this N&O article from earlier this year.

Thumbs up: open fields, numerous benches, several swings, climbing options on large playground, nearby walking trail, landscaping around playground (several hardwoods and crape myrtles)

Thumbs down: full-sun playground area is very hot

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Williams Park

May 14, 2013May 14, 2013 by Kris Montgomery

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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Shelley Lake Playground

April 25, 2013 by Kris Montgomery

With our weekly trips (if not more frequent) to Shelley Lake for Stroller Strides classes, I finally took pictures of the playground area. Shelley Park is conveniently located in central North Raleigh at 1400 W Millbrook Rd. There are two entrances on Millbrook Road – one large parking lot near the Sertoma Arts Center/playground and the other just down the street with a smaller parking lot for jumping right on the walking trail around Shelley Lake. To reach the playground, park in the Sertoma Arts Center parking lot and walk down the paved trail where you’ll see the playground on the right.

The playground area is rather large with separate jungle gyms for ages 2-5 and 5-12 that are covered with wood chips. The tot playground has several slides, a few climbing structures, and nearby teeter totters in the sandy area. The youth playground has a climbing wall, steeper slides, a suspension bridge, an enclosed slide, and several climbing structures. There are also four tot swings and four regular swings in the large sandy areas.

Other than the playground the park has picnic tables, basketball courts, a walking/running trail around the lake, and an arts center with lots of programs for people of all ages. Ashley took a Mini Monet art class when she was about 18 months old and had a great time – while there wasn’t a lot of painting, it was a great introductory class to colors, shapes, sensory objects and following directions!

As most parks indicate, please lock and hide all valuables or take them with you – I have a friend whose car was broken into at this park.

Thumbs up: tons of picnic tables, suspension bridge on large jungle gym, shady, variety of slides

Thumbs down: not much for non-walking kids to play on, frequent trash around basketball courts (c’mon folks, throw your trash away in the nearby trashcans)

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Garner Groundhog Day 2013 @ White Deer Park

April 12, 2013 by Kris Montgomery

A few months ago we ventured south to Garner, NC to take in our first Groundhog Day celebration! And, what a unique celebration it was! I don’t think I’d ever seen so many different and unusual things to do at one town park at the same time. We did everything from visit with rescued birds, pet reptiles and amphibians, play on the natural playground, watch local mascots compete in a dance competition, and cheer on the release of rehabilitated hawks. Due to a hungry and restless child and husband we left before Mortimer the Groundhog made his prediction about the spring weather. Based on the actual weather from the past several weeks, we all know the winter weather stuck around far too long this year!

White Deer Park is located at 2400 Aversboro Rd in Garner. This park features a nature center, playground, pavilions, large open field, and paved walking trails. Visit the Town of Garner website for more information about this park.

Thumbs up: unique community event, variety of animals on display, family-friendly event, natural playground area, dancing mascots (best part)

Thumbs down: lack of food/drink vendors

Here are some pictures from our adventures that morning at White Deer Park:

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Cedar Hills Park & Fun News

July 7, 2015February 28, 2013 by Kris Montgomery

A 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.

The 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!