Crowder County Park

We always hit Crowder Park whenever we need a relaxing place to play safely and to take a short walk with a lot of natural reward. Just off of Ten-Ten Road in Apex, Crowder offers a great main playground with high, fun slides, some excellent climbing apparatus, and a lot of fun, twirly things to ride.  There is also a wonderful birdwatching deck and a fun walk with bridges around a pond.  We always bring our binoculars with us as we always see awesome wildlife at this park.  In addtion, there are two other playgrounds located at other picnic shelters. It’s a great little park to spend time in, with the perfect mix of wild and fun.  I hope you get to check it out with your family soon!

With Love,

Turtle Dove

Know Before You Go:  Restrooms are located at the office and near the playground at the wooded deck.

There are several awesome picnic shelters to choose from at this park.  Each has its own playground, which makes birthday party rentals extra fun!

The playground slides on the older children’s play equipment are really high, and younger children may require adult help, especially if you have one of those determined- to-climb-everything-big-sister can type kids like mine!

Parrish Womble Park

Holly Springs suburb is growing incredibly fast, and as such, the town is constantly improving its municipal departments and services.  Parrish Womble Park, for instance, has seen several improvements over the past few years, including updates to their multi-level playground, a synthetic turf field, and a covered outdoor stage.  This town park has a few miles of paved walking trails, baseball fields, beach volleyball court, and tennis courts to boot.  There is a small pond near the playground that my children love to explore as it is always full of tadpoles and turtles in the spring.  There are several great shady areas to play here, and some lovely old trees to climb.  I hope you get to spend some time at Womble Park soon!

With Love,

Turtle Dove

Know Before You Go:  There are restrooms near the playground with changing tables.  Water fountains are located near the tennis courts.

There is a small creek and pond near the playground, we always bring nets and water shoes. Not appropriate for swimming, but great for exploring.

The fenced synthetic field has designated open playtimes, check the website for availability.

There is only food for sale at Womble Park during movie and sporting events.  The concession stand is otherwise closed.

Bass Lake Park

The Town of Holly Springs operates a great little nature center at Bass Lake Park, with live animals, small exhibits, viewing decks, and a little Natural History reading nook.  My children love visiting the long time animal residents there: a soft-shelled turtle, milk, king, and pine snakes, and even a little albino hedgehog.  There are always park staff members on hand to answer questions, and sometimes they even have the animals out for cage cleaning or education programs so you get to meet them up close.  Of course, Bass Lake also has animals living outdoors in their natural habitats, such as the fish for which the lake is named, as well as frogs, turtles and all types of waterfowl and songbirds.  Fishing is encouraged, and there are boats for rent and poles to check out for kids. The trail around the lake provides mulch-covered trails for comfortable strolling, and lots of places to stop and look around along the way.  I hope your family gets to see the cool creatures and beautiful flora at Bass Lake soon.

With Love, Turtle Dove

Know Before You Go:  The Nature Center has restrooms, water for sale, ice cream for sale, picnic areas, and nature backpacks to check out with your license or some other id.

The trails are all mulch and not really stroller friendly unless it is an all terrain stroller.

The main trail loops around the lake, returning to the center.

Snakes are along the trail, especially near the water.