Few places have as many spring wonders as Duke Gardens in Durham! Gorgeous beds bursting with Tulips, Irises, and other blossoms make for awesome pretend fairy tale lands for littles, and keep grown ups busy wandering through mazes of flowers for literally hours! 
Part of the 55 acre park is the Culberson Asiatic Arboretum with fun water features, a stream, and a towering bamboo forest. Just beyond the Visitors Center, there is a relatively new Discovery Garden with a hen house and several activities especially for small guests, like a sensory garden, storybook area, and several pint-sized tunnels and trellises. 
My children are also especially enamored of the seven or eight types of ducks and waterfowl that spend their time hanging around the ponds. There are so many little bridges, paths, sculptures and fountains, you could visit often and still make new discoveries each time! I hope you and your family get to spend the day here soon!!
With Love, Turtle Dove
Know Before You Go: Parking is public but you must pay hourly or daily. You need to know your Tag number to purchase parking from the meter. The turn around rate is quick, there are always spaces opening up, especially on the weekdays.
There are a lot of open, ungated water features here.
Ducks, turtles and college students abound at this park. Some of all of these groups can be moody about kids walking up on them when they’re just hanging out.
Restrooms with changing tables are located at the visitor’s center and the Terrace Garden.
There is a gift shop that offers water for sale, but there is no other food for purchase at the park.
With Love, Turtle Dove 