We love spending time in Garner! Okay, so a lot of that has to do with some awesome friends and family who live there, but also, we love the parks! Lake Benson Park is one of our Garner favorites, with lovely walking trails, a great multi-age level SHADED playground, and, of course, the lake. The town of Garner was brilliant for installing the shades over the playground equipment here, and it makes the whole experience so much more friendly for little bare hands, legs and feet in the summer! Also, we could spend hours hanging by the tranquil lake catching tadpoles and skipping stones. With large open fields, an exercise path and covered picnic shelters, this park has a lot to offer a family like ours, with lots of ages to entertain. I hope your family gets to spend some time here soon, and be sure to check out White Deer Park, just across the street, when you do!
With Love,
Turtle Dove
Know Before You Go: Bathrooms are located at the playground area.
There are 2 playground areas at this park, the shaded equipment is at the playground to the left as you enter.
No food is for sale, or in walking distance from this park. There are water fountains in the picnic area near the bathroom.
There is no swimming at Lake Benson Park.
Just off Airport Boulevard near Raleigh-Durham International, there is a fabulous wilderness park with playgrounds, boating, and an awesome wildlife observation tower. You can rent boats or bring your own canoes and kayaks to launch off of the accessible and public boat launch for an amazing day on the lake, where you can view heron and all sorts of fish up close. There is a lovely open play area in a field near the lake, great for frisbee and other sports. A sand Volleyball court is also located near the boat launch. 
The thing that makes Crabtree Park memorable for us, though, is the 4-story observation tower overlooking the lake. The kids love running up the stairs to the top and gazing out to watch birds or planes fly by. I hope you and your family get a chance to spend a sunny day there soon!
This place is great if you have a little aircraft enthusiast or for anyone who wants to see a few planes take off and land up close. A little jungle gym and a mini mock runway make great additions, but the real draw is the observation deck overlooking the small aircraft hangars and the western runway near the control tower. My children love leaning against the deck rails watching planes come in, especially when we are waiting for someone traveling or waving goodbye as someone heads out. (They wave goodbye to every plane for good measure). They also love running the little runway, pretending to race the big planes. Hope you get to check it out next time you’re dropping someone off for a flight or just for fun on a clear day!
With Love, Turtle Dove 