Walnut Street Park in Cary - ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!

This park is FANTASTIC! It makes me wish I lived in Cary. Walnut Street Park, as the view from Walnut Street would falsely indicate, doesn't look like much other than a little walking park and some open spaces and picnic tables.

After a busy morning checking out another park, heading to the Farmer's Market for blueberry day and then stopping at Cook-Out for a lunch tray, we wanted to have a little picnic in the shade before heading home. So we stopped here - and I couldn't be more happy I did.

There was plenty of shade for picnicing, sandboxes, several climbing/slide jungle gyms, a rock climbing wall and so much more. I took tons of pictures, knowing I'd never be able to describe all the great options this park has for kids.

It was a bit hot outside, although nowhere near as hot as it can get in North Carolina, so I am not sure how often we will get to this park - but there were shade casters over some of the jungle gym areas, baby swings and regular swings right next to each other - which was always a big issue for me when Dani (2) was younger and Jordan (3) wanted to be on the big-girl swings. A lot of parks have the baby and big-kid swings separated.

I also loved the open spaces where you could throw down a blanket for a picnic or kick a soccer ball around, and I am a big fan of walking trails for much-enjoyed exploring. Of course, my kids had so much fun on the playground equipment there was no exploring this area for us today.

AND I love the padded playground flooring versus the playground mulch. We screwed up and left the house with flip flops on, and it was a relief that there was no playground mulch here because nobody likes mulch in their shoes.

The biggest negative here was the bathrooms. They weren't terribly clean, smelled kind of nasty and had no soap or hand sanitizer. If you can, have your kids go to the bathroom before you head out to this park. It's worth the battle to avoid this bathroom (although it's not as bad as some).

All in all, this is a fantastic park, and I will certainly go back - especially to meet up with some of a wonderful women I met this morning - always a huge perk to meet nice people!

1420 Walnut Street
Cary, NC

HIGHLIGHTS: Shaded and sunny areas, love the soft playground flooring, lots of options for bigger and little kids to climb around, spin around and play in the sandbox, swing and work on their balance/coordination, open spaces for playing ball or relaxing, walking trails and great pepole - one of the nicest groups of women at a park I've met yet.

LOW LIGHTS: The bathrooms are a little ishy, need work, and on really hot days the equipment that's not in the shade will be brutally hot - but there are lots of options to chose from, some of which are shaded.

COST:  FREE!
HELPFUL HINT: I heard there are wild blueberries growing in this park that are OK to eat! We didn't find them, but we also didn't look. (Don't quote me on this! I heard it from a mom who visits the park a lot)

R.S. Dunham "DAD" Park in Cary - Nice Traditional Park, nothing special though

R.S. Dunham Park in Cary is a park I've passed a dozen times but never stopped to play, so I made a special trip with the kids to check it out.  

This is a well-shaded park, and the equipment stayed much cooler when the hot sun hit it than most parks with full sun. It has big equipment for the bigger kids, a see-saw, swings, a large sandbox, basketball courts, tennis courts and this cool little spinny thing that was being dominated by big kids having an absolute blast - so I steered the little ones away to keep them safe.

I didn't see the bathrooms nearby, but the website says there are restrooms there. The tennis courts are lighted at night, too, for the "big" kids enjoyment.

There wasn't anything really special about this park, except for the merri-go-round that the big kids were enjoying so thoroughly. And I am not a fan of the playground mulch because my kids are constantly complaining about the mulch in their shoes. But I did enjoy the nice shaded areas and the great big sandbox, which my kids could play in for hours.

It's an average park, to be honest, so I wouldn't go out of my way to visit but if you're nearby it's certainly worth a pit stop for the little ones. My kids lasted less than 30 minutes before getting bored.

519 Walnut St

Cary, NC

 

HIGHLIGHTS: This park is pretty well shaded, with gorgeous mature trees surrounding the playground and basketball courts, great big sandbox and a fun little merri-go-round like none I've ever seen before.

LOW LIGHTS: Not a big fan of the playground much they have here, and there's not much to it.

COST:  FREE!

Jordan Lake - A Beach Visit That's Not 3 Hours Away!

My husband teases me, as I am from Minnesota originally, that I call any area with sand by a body of water a beach. Dictionary.com, by the way, defines a beach as "the part of the shore of an ocean, sea, large river, lake, etc., washed by the tide or waves." So I was right! (Na na-nah boo-boo!)

 "Let's go to the beach, mom!" my little one woke and immediately demanded a trip to the ocean on the nicest day so far this spring. While it was supposed to be gorgeous here in the Triangle, it was pouring rain on the coast.



So we skipped the 3-hour drive and drove the 20 minutes to Jordan Lake's Ebenezer Church swimming area. The beach was nearly empty. It was clean, close to the bathrooms, very near a playground (which my kids totally ignored because they were having so much fun) and not far from a volleyball court.

Of course, the water was frigid. But that didn't stop my kids or any other kids that were there that day. We played in the sand and were up to knee deep in the water for the better part of 3 hours. It was a fantastic day, and the one cost I thought we would incur was the parking permit (which I believe is $6) but nobody was there to take our money. So it was free on Monday. Maybe it's just a weekend charge?

Anyway, we will certainly be back. My only regret is that I didn't check to see if there was a grill at the shelter, because I totally want to go back and grill out next week when it's supposed to be in the 70s!

Also, there are 3 other swimming areas open to the public (non-campers) - Seaforth, Parker's Creek and White Oak Recreation areas. I plan to visit all of those and report back. Hopefully this spring will be perfect for it!

Ebenezer Road
Apex, NC

HIGHLIGHTS: Clean water, nice sand, close to restrooms and shelter, "beach" is close to playground, lots of parking very shallow swimming area, inside the "ropes" was 5 feet deep or less.

LOW LIGHTS: No changing table in the bathroom, which was a little stinky but not terrible. their website is not particularly user friendly, the link for entrance fees is not working, and in my experience the NC Division of Parks and Recreation staff that answers the phones is somewhat unfriendly.

COST: Free plus parking charge on weekends is $6 for cars (I believe. The site was not working when I checked).

North Cary Park- What a Wonderful Place To Play!

So officially I am a park mom. My kids love them more than chocolate milk!

We drove all the way to North Cary, got lost too, I might add, so check out a park I heard about -- North Cary Park.

This place was beautiful, much like most of Cary's parks. They just take such beautiful care of their parks. The first thing we saw brought me to tears: four, pristine volleyball courts with perfect sand and nets almost at the right height. I am a volleyball player (or was a decade ago) and I was pretty geeked out about them. And my kids loved the second biggest sandbox they'd ever seen. (2nd only to the beach)

 After the courts excursion, we took a walk on a little trail to find a climbing wall. They are too young to climb it, but they played a little game or running peak-a-boo for about 20 minutes. I got to sit and watch and loved every minute. Then we found the playground, or at least part of it. It had a real sandbox, jungle gym, great slide and a little "house" to play in.

The moms were wonderful, bathrooms close and we played well into lunch hour. It was a total success. My only complaint was the slide & stairs leading up to it were really steep for my little one (2). She did fine but I was a wreck thinking she'd fall. She didn't! This park was worth the drive, and I will certainly go there again.

1100 Norwell Blvd
Cary, NC

HIGHLIGHTS: Clean park, great sandbox, climbing wall (for older kids to climb and younger kids to run around), friendly people, restrooms close by, two slides, balance toys on the jungle gym, and lots of space to run around away from the playground.

LOW LIGHTS: The slides were a bit "fast" for my littlest one and the stairs headed up were pretty steep. I held my breath most of the time she was on the stairs. My GPS also did not pick this up and I got lost (probably user error more than anything, but I had to share just in case).

COST: Free!

Davis Drive Park in Cary

I love this park! Davis Drive Park in Cary was really just a playground with a shelter and walking trail. But for a couple of reasons this one was particularly fun.

 First of all, the sandbox was wonderful. Even though everything else was pretty wet, the sand stayed dry, and dead center was a metal sculptured "Chooooo Train!" - which is what my youngest, Dani, screamed as she ran up to the playground. The jungle gym itself was in pretty nice shape, and seemed to keep my kids climbing, sliding, balancing and peaking.

But what really makes a park is the people that go there. My friend, Amanda, and I met so many great moms there. Apparently we lucked out and found ourselves with women who are part of the Cary Mom's Group (meetup.com). I will be writing about that soon, too. These moms were so friendly, attentive to their kids and really just "my kinda people." I am not one to join groups or do things according to someone else's schedule, so I'm probably not going to join. But it's really tempting.
One of the moms was playing in the sand with my oldest (3). Another mom struck up a conversation with my friend and quickly shared she was the mother of 3, 2-year-old twins and a 6 month old! *And I thought I was crazy.
The kids shared snacks, played well together and left absolutely worn out. Um, yeah, we will be going back. The sandbox alone kept my 3-year-old busy for nearly an hour.

We actually had such a nice time, we left later than we thought we would and didn't walk the trail (which is part of the park and is 1/2 mile around). The shelter looked pretty clean, and the parks and recreation department had someone there with a leaf blower. I was stunned, as I didn't see a single leaf out of place or piece of trash, for that matter.

This is a winner! I don't know if it's a hidden gem, but it's certainly a gem.

1610 Davis Drive
Cary, NC

HIGHLIGHTS: Clean park, great sandbox with very cool Train sculpture where the kids can climb and play, well-maintained jungle gym, clean facilities, bathroom nearby, shelter and walking trail.

LOW LIGHTS: There were a few "drop off" places in this jungle gym where really little ones can fall off and the backdrop for the trail wasn't spectacular. I actually am having a hard time finding fault in this place - really reaching here.  

COST: Free!

Bond Park - Lazy Daze Playground is Wonderful

Shhhhh ... don't tell. We fed the duckies! I've been meaning to go to Bond Park in Cary for months but finally made it to play.

I took two toddlers and headed straight to the Lazy Daze Playground. What a great playground! There were two swing sets- one for babies and the other for big kids, two jungle gyms (one for big, and one for smaller kids) and two sandboxes. It was a lot of fun, and the parents and grandparents were so nice.

Then the girls and I headed for the boat dock. There is a trail, docks and even a little beach where we fed the ducks some bread. The hardest part was the parking situation. To park close to the playground meant you were a longer walk from the dock. I wish I had brought my double stroller because it was just a little too far of a walk for my rapidly tiring toddlers to hoof it on the way back. So we drove.

With older kids, no problem...  with the really small ones it's a bit more challenging.

Bond Park is wonderful, but the facilities are pretty spread out. Below is a list of features at Fred G. Bond Metro Park from the webpage on the Town of Cary website.

• Bond Lake
• Bond Park Boathouse
• Challenge Ropes Course
• Sertoma Amphitheatre
• Kiwanis Picnic Shelter
• Lazy Daze Playground
• Buehler Picnic Shelter
• Athletic fields
• Multi-use field
• 4.2 miles of trails
• Compost Education Center
• Screened Porch

801 High House Road
Cary, NC

HIGHLIGHTS: Beautiful park, lots of options for kids big and small, nice playground, great dock area and beach-like area to feed duckies, lots of sitting areas, very well maintained.

LOW LIGHTS: This park is really spread out, so you have to park and walk if you're going to visit more than one hot spot, bathrooms were not close to the playground.

COST: Free!

Green Acres Was the Place to Be! For Pumpkin Patch Activities, that is

Green Acres Farm in Cary was a fantastic fall activity. Admittedly, though, the pumpkins at this "pumpkin patch" were not! Although, I'm pretty sure they don't claim to be a pumpkin patch, for some reason I was under the impression it was. If you're looking for a great deal on pumpkins, this is not the place to go. They didn't look great, nor were they priced very reasonably. But we didn't care; we didn't go to buy pumpkins. We went to have fun, and we did just that!

It was a wonderful time! There were three bounce houses for the kids, a petting area with goats, pony rides (for $5 in addition to the $10 admission fee per person for 4 & older), hayrides, tractors to climb, a sand area for the little ones to dig and play, a corn maze, wagon rides (I believe these were also $5 per person) and so much more. They had food, drinks and picnic areas for birthday parties. I will do this again and again! It was not inexpensive, but it was worth every penny. Our whole family had a great time, as well as my best friend and her family.

Also, on the way there was Phillips Farm (Cary), which has a haunted hayride and corn maze. If only my kids were older I could tell you how that was! I don't think you can miss with all the great pumpkin patches in the area. I also heard about Mrs. Ruth's Pumpkin Patch (in Apex, NC), DJ's Berry Patch (Cary), Green Level Gourd Farm (Apex), Hill Ridge Farm (Youngsville, which is a hike but comes highly recommended by my mommy friends),  The Maze at Hector's Creek (Fuquay-Varina), Ganyard Hill Farms (Durham) and Vollmer Farms (Bunn).

Here is a great link for the area's pumpkin patches, hayrides and corn mazes:

http://www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org/NCppumpkins.php 

1132 Morrisville Carpenter Rd
Cary, NC 27519

HIGHLIGHTS:Too many to name them all - but hayrides, bounce houses, pony rides, horses, goats, petting area, sand pile for little ones, swings, mechanical bull, corn maze and more. 

LOW LIGHTS: My allergies went nuts there, as well as my toddler (ha, ha). There were a lot of people, parking was ridiculous and there was a police car just up the road to help direct traffic, it wasn't cheap and the pony ride was $5 extra.

COST: Children 0-3 free, $10 per person otherwise, $8 for seniors, $5 pony rides, $5 mechanical bull, $4 face painting.

Holiday Express at Pullen Park - Christmas comes early in Raleigh!

As I've said before, Pullen Park in Raleigh is my absolute favorite park to take my kids in the Raleigh area.  So when I saw this, I ran straight home to look it up. And I'm so glad I did because you have to buy tickets to attend.

This holiday season they're going to decorate Pullen Park with lights and displays. I am particularly excited about the lighted train ride and the visit with Santa! It's December 5-9 from 4-9 p.m. and tickets are already on sale. (Last year the event sold out early, the website said). Children under 2 are free with a paying adult, all other tickets are $8 per person.

Click here to get your tickets or you can buy them at parks and recreation facilities. It looks like you have to sign up for reclink to buy the tickets online. Armbands will be available for pick up on the night you reserved.

520 Ashe Ave
Raleigh, NC 27606

As of November 13, 2012, Saturday and Sunday has sold out and there are less than 75 tickets available for Sunday. Wednesday and Thursday (December 5 & 6) still have a few hundred remaining.

It's a Park; It's a School - STOP You're Both Right!

I packed up the girls and a small lunch and headed out for a picnic at Middle Creek School/Park, which is in that part of Cary, NC that really could be Holly Springs or Apex, too. I was a little worried that I was driving to a school that wouldn't let you play during school hours. But this was a true park, and it wasn't an issue.

I really liked this park! I cannot believe how many times I've driven past it and never knew it was there. I don't think it's far from Crowder Park, which is Apex but could be Cary or Raleigh, too. As the crow flies, it looks like they're about 1-2 miles apart.

Of course, if it has a sandbox my kids love it, especially the 3-year-old. Also, there were two separate jungle gyms. Both were wonderful. The larger of the two had a bridge, several slides, monkey bars and slides. But I loved the other one because it was shaded by a large, permanent umbrella. The slides on the bigger one got a little hot so we cruised on over to the other one. There are lots of places for parents to sit that are really close to the equipment. There is a nice-size grassy area where you can kick around a ball or just play tag, and some people brought a little airplane and were flying it around behind us on what looked like a field. I wish I'd payed more attention to my surroundings. I think I was a little groggy. It really was a nice park. Also, something I hadn't seen until today, there was an actual rock for climbing. It was a huge draw for the older kids. J (3-year-old) had a little trouble with it but tried anyway, which I love.

I loved the shelter. It was very clean. I will definitely go back when I have more energy!

123 Middle Creek Park Drive
Cary, North Carolina 27539

HIGHLIGHTS: Beautiful play area, grassy spot to run around or kick a ball, shaded jungle gym, very clean sandbox, swings for big and very little kids, clean shelter, rock to climb (VERY COOL).

LOW LIGHTS: It got a little hot when we were there, and most of the area isn't very shady. Also, for my 1-year-old old, it's too easy to get to the parking lot quickly and since the school is nearby, there was a bit of "lunch break" traffic.

COST: Free!

MacDonald Woods Park in Cary - Very Shady (in a good way)

We ventured to Cary, NC to check out another park today. This time I heard about a park on Seabrook Avenue in Cary off of Cary Parkway from a nanny I met at the Kidstowne Playground in Apex. What a great place for a play date! It's called MacDonald Woods Park.

This is perfect for when it's hot out, as it is very shady from all the beautiful, grown trees that cover the area. I don't know what they call the material they put down, but it's a squishy flooring that's perfect for little trippers! My kids fall all the time, and they fell no less than five times each this morning, and NO BOO BOOS!

There were two separate jungle gyms (one for bigger kids and the other for littler ones), a little sandbox (very clean sand), a merry-go-round (pint sized), swings for both little and big kids and so much more. I'd recommend going on a play date there, as most of the moms seemed to live in the near vicinity and weren't very social with us or our kids. I think, though, it was just an off day. We met a great mom there, of twin 2-year-olds, who was incredibly friendly.

Also very cool, which we had no idea about when we were there: there is a great greenway that bisects the eastern side of the park and leads all the way to the US Hwy 1/64 pedestrian bridge, and that leads to the Kids Together Play Area at Marla Dorrel Park, which I LOVE!

HIGHLIGHTS: Shaded park, good for kids toddler and preschool age due to the variety of playground equipment, love the flooring on the ground. Also, there is apparently a basketball slab and picnic tables.

LOW LIGHTS: Parking was street only, from what we could tell, and we had to walk about a block to get there. The entrance to the playground is a bit steep, so you probably need to hold little one's hands walking down & it's a little bit of a hike for me.

COST: Free!

Pullen Park: A Stay-At-Home Mom's DREAM!

If you are the mom of a toddler or preschooler in the Raleigh area and have not been to Pullen Park, don't put it off any longer. This place is truly wonderful. When I first heard "park," I cringed. I was NOT about to drive into Raleigh from Holly Springs for a park. There are parks ALL over Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina and Apex.

NOPE, I just wasn't going to do it. But, a new friend of mine wanted to go with her daughter. Since I think she's pretty fabulous, I agreed.

We walked up to the gate and my daughters squeeled with delight as the train horn blasted "CHOO CHOO!" right in front of them. I knew I was going to love it at that moment.

I will warn you, this place is not entirely free. It can be. But you won't want it to be. There are swings (including a tire swing, which reminds me of being a kid in the midwest), jungle gyms, sandboxes (huge sandboxes), music stations, mist sprayers for the extra warm days, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. All that is free. But the train, the carousel and the boat rides all cost $1 per rider (including parents and everyone over 1 year). IT'S WORTH IT. I never spend more than $10 as the rides are pretty lengthy for the money and there is so much to do.

Pullen Park is located off of Western Boulevard in Raleigh. There is a carousel, train, a little boat ride (which I find boring but my 2-year-old absolutely loves), swings, a pond with ducks, picnic areas, shelters, food vendors, huge sandboxes, tons of preschoolers and toddlers, trails for walking & the list goes on. I love this place and try to go once a week.

HIGHLIGHTS: The view, the varity of activities available, the picnic areas & shelters

LOW LIGHTS: Parking, VERY busy on the weekends

COST: Entry is Free as well as parking, Amusements are $1 per person over age 1 (that includes ALL riding parents/grandparents/etc)

GAS: I've never calculated this. I will update later but will say TOTALLY WORTH it either way

ADDRESS:

520 Ashe Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27606

HOURS (see website for more details)

Day	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Open	10:00am	10:00am	10:00am	10:00am	10:00am	10:00am	10:00am
Close	9:00pm	9:00pm	9:00pm	9:00pm	9:00pm	9:00pm	9:00pm

Later Crocodile