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!

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!