OUTDOORS
Open Spaces
Whether you want to commune with nature or just spend some downtime with family, there are plenty of places for sport or and relaxation.
City parks
Arnette Park: Elizabethtown Road. Picnic areas, playground equipment, river trails, tennis courts, horseshoes, volleyball, softball, disc golf.
Arsenal Park: Branson and Myrover streets. Green space, walking trails.
J. Bayard Clark Park: 631 Sherman Drive. Boat launching, fishing, recreation center, picnic tables, hiking trails.
College Lakes Park: 4846 Rosehill Road. Ball fields, playground equipment.
Cross Creek Park: Green and Ann streets. Walking trails.
Cumberland Heights: Annarine and McKimmon roads. Ball fields, picnic tables, playground, walking trails.
Eastside Park: 1367 Shadbush Lane. Basketball courts, picnic tables, playground, swimming, walking trails.
Edgewood Park: 2517 Ramsey St. Ball fields, basketball courts, playground equipment, picnic tables.
Festival Park: Ray Avenue and Rowan Street. A $7.6million public-private partnership that recently made its debut. earlier this year. Covered amphitheater.
Fire Station Park: Person Street and Eastern Boulevard. Basketball courts, picnic tables, playground, walking trails.
Freedom Memorial Park: Hay Street at Bragg Boulevard. War monuments.
General Lee Park: General Lee Avenue and in Haymount. Picnic tables, playground.
Dorothy D. Gilmore Park: 1600 Purdue Drive. Park and recreation center.
Glendale Elementary School/Park: 2915 Skycrest Drive. Walking trails.
Who We Are
Staff photo by Cindy Burnham
Robert Grover is a fly-fishing instructor at the John E. Pechmann Fishing Education Center.
Robert Grover How long have you lived in the area? 18 years What makes this a fun place to live? "Fly-fishing is my passion. I live on a golf course, so I play golf. I got the best of both worlds," says the Embarq public relations manager. He enjoys working in his yard and serving on different committees that stem from his work at Embarq. He also serves on several business and community boards. Tip: Grover is one of the fly-fishing instructors at the John E. Pechmann Fishing Education Center at 7489 Raeford Road, adjacent to Lake Rim Park. Classes begin in January. For more information, call 868-5003. |
Grannis Park: E&W East and West Park s Street drives and Rush Road. Green space.
Greenwood Park: McGougan Road and Stamper Road. Picnic tables, playground.
Honeycutt Park: Fort Bragg Road and Devers Street. Ball fields, playground equipment, walking trail, picnic tables, recreation center.
Lake Rim Park: U.S. 401 Off Old Raeford Road in western Cumberland County. Ball fields, tennis courts, volleyball courts, nature trails, playground equipment.
Linear Park: Along Cross Creek. The $1.4 million public- private partnership features walking trails, fountain, benches.
Mary McDonald Park: Essex Place and Bridger Street. Picnic tables, playground. Massey Hill Park: 1612 Camden Road. Ball fields, recreation center, picnic tables, playground equipment, walking trails.
Milton E. Mazarick Park: 1612 Belevedere Ave. and 1368 Belevedere Ave. Ball fields, boat rentals, fishing areas, picnic tables, playground equipment, tennis courts, hiking trails.
Geraldine B. Myers Park: 1018 Rochester St. Ball fields, basketball courts, recreation center, picnic tables, playground equipment.
North Street Park: North and Brinkley streets. Ball fields, picnic tables, playground equipment. Rowan Park: 725 W. Rowan St. Recreation center, picnic tables, playground equipment, amphitheater.
J.W. Seabrook Park: 706 and 708 Langdon St. Ball fields, basketball courts, recreation center, picnic tables, playground equipment, pool.
Senior Citizens Service Center: 739 Blue St. Horseshoes, recreation center, picnic tables.
Christina S. Smith Park: 500 Fisher Drive. Playground equipment, ball fields, basketball courts, recreation center, volleyball, picnic tables.
Tokay Park: 328 Hamilton St. Ball fields, recreation center, picnic tables, playground equipment, tennis courts.
Veterans Memorial Park: Lamon and Ann streets. Ball fields, playground equipment, picnic tables.
Windsor Terrace: Hillsboro and Windsor streets. Horseshoes, picnic tables, playground.
Woodland Park: McBain and McRae streets. Seven and a half 7 acres of green space.
Woodrow Park: Woodrow and Wilson streets. Picnic tables, playground.
Hiking and biking
The Cape Fear River Trail covers 4.2 miles through wooded land adjacent to the Cape Fear River. Most of the trail consists of a 10-foot-wide surface appropriate for walking, running and bicycling. The trail is open every day from 8 a.m. to dusk.
Milton E. Mazarick Park at 1612 Belvedere Ave. and 1368 Belvedere Ave. encompasses 80 acres that includes walking and hiking trails.
The land around Smith Lake, off Murchison Road, includes three trails that are open year-round. The beginner trail is 2.5 miles, the intermediate trail is 3 miles, and the advanced trail is 4.5 miles. Day passes are $5. Fort Bragg operates the lake.
Swimming and fishing
A wide array of lakes for swimming and fishing are located in and around the Cape fear region.
Jordan Lake, in Chatham County off U.S. 64, has a lake acreage of 13,900. Boating, fishing, swimming, camping. Information: (919) 362-0586.
Jones Lake, in Bladen County on N.C. 242. 224 acres. Fishing, nature study, small-craft boating, family camping. Information: (910) 588-4550.
Lake Waccamaw, in Columbus County, off Secondary Road 1947 near town of Lake Waccamaw. 8,938 acres. Fishing, boating, hiking, swimming. Information: (910) 646- 3700.
Smith Lake, on Fort Bragg, off N.C. 210 on Murchison Road. 64acres. Picnicking, swimming, basketball courts, grills. Information: 396-5979.
McKellars Lake, on Fort Bragg. 224 acres. Fishing, picnicking, nature study, small-craft boating, family camping. Information: 396-7506 or www.bragg.army.mil/wildlife.
White Lake, near Elizabethtown. 1,065 acres. Fishing, water skiing, boating, picnicking, camping, swimming. Annual water festival each May. Information: (910) 862- 4368.
Lake Rim, in Cumberland County off Raeford Road. 50 acres. Boating, fishing, environmental tours, summer youth camps, tennis and sand volleyball. Information: 424-6134.
Falls Lake, in Wake and Durham counties. Access from N.C.98 or 50. 12,000 acres. Boating, fishing, swimming, camping, hiking, picnics. Information: (919) 676-1027.
Harris Lake, in Wake County on the Shearon Harris Reservoir off U.S.1. 680 acres. Boating, fishing, hiking, nature study, wildlife refuge. Information: (919) 387-4342.
Lake Tillery, in Montgomery County, accessible from N.C. 731, N.C. 73 and N.C. 24-27. More than 5,000 acres. Information: (800) 899- 4435.
Lake Crabtree, in Wake County, off Interstate 40 near Raleigh- Durham International Airport. 735acres. Fishing, boating, hiking, group and individual picnicking, mountain biking and nature study. Information: (919) 460-3390.
Who We Are
Wayne Garner How long have you lived in the area? He's been a resident of Spout Springs, a community north of Spring Lake, all of his life. What makes this a fun place to live? Geocaching. It's a "treasure hunt" game played with hand-held GPS navigators and the Internet. People with GPS units hide things and then publish the latitude and longitude of the hiding place on a Web site dedicated to geocaching. "Then other people go out and try to find it, based on your information, your details and the coordinates, of course." When you find the cache, there often is a small logbook to sign and you can report your success back on the Web site. Tip: Find out more about the hobby at www.geocaching.com. |
Hunting preserves
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission manages about 2 million acres of game lands. A license or special permit is required to hunt, trap, train dogs or participate in field trials on any game land.
Bladen Lakes: Bladen County, on N.C. 242. 33,016 acres. Open three days a week. Camping restricted to Sept. 1-Feb. 28 and April 7-May 14 in designated areas.
Cape Fear River Wetlands: Pender County, 4,876 acres, unrestricted camping. Open six days a week. Turkey hunting is by permit only on the Roan Island tract.
Robeson County: Two miles off N.C. 130 on Secondary Road 2455, 42 acres, no camping.
Suggs Mill Pond: Cumberland and Bladen counties, 9,280 acres, camping in designated areas, restricted to Sept. 1-Feb. 28 and April 7-May 14.
Moore County: Near Carthage on Secondary Road 1261, 1,169 acres.
Sampson County: Take U.S. 421 east toward Newton Crossroads, then left on N.C. 41 to the game land, 2,281 acres, no camping permitted.
Lee County: Game land off N.C.42 at the Cape Fear River, 2,421 acres, no camping permitted. Bullard and Branch Hunting Preserve: Robeson County on Secondary Road 2313 off N.C. 72, 231 acres, no camping permitted.
Sandhills: Richmond, Scotland and Moore counties, 61,225 acres, special handicapped access rule applies, camping in designated areas only.
Green Swamp: Brunswick County, 15,907 acres, no camping permitted. Parking area is five miles north of Supply.
Fort Bragg
To hunt on Fort Bragg you need:
- A certified hunter safety card from any state.
- One hour of instruction on hunting on post.
- A Fort Bragg hunting permit.
- A state hunting license.
For information, call the Fort Bragg Hunting and Fishing Center and Wildlife Enforcement, 396-7506 or visit www.bragg.army.mil/wildlife.
State parks
Here's a listing of some North Carolina state parks. For more information, go to www.ils.unc.edu/parkproject/ncparks.html.
Carolina Beach: Ten miles south of Wilmington on U.S. 421. Includes camping, fishing and hiking. Information: (910) 458-8206.
Fort Fisher area: Two miles south of Carolina Beach off U.S. 421. Includes fishing, hiking and swimming. Information: (910) 458-5798.
Hanging Rock: Four miles northwest of Danbury off SR 2015 in Stokes County. Includes camping, fishing, hiking, nature programs and swimming. Information: (336) 593-8480.
Jones Lake: In Bladen County four miles north of Elizabethtown on N.C. 242. Includes swimming, fishing, picnicking, hiking and camping. Information: (910) 588-4550.
Lake Waccamaw: In Columbus County, 12 miles east of Whiteville. Includes camping and fishing. Information: (910) 646-4748.
Lumber River: Headquartered at the Princess Ann community in Robeson County. Including canoeing, fishing and primitive camping. Information: (910) 628-4654.
Mount Mitchell: In Yancey County off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Includes primitive camping, hiking and nature programs. Information: (828) 675-4611.
Medoc Mountain: Between Rocky Mount and Roanoke Rapids, off N.C. 561. Includes camping, fishing, hiking and nature programs. Information: (252) 586-6588.
Morrow Mountain: Six miles east of Albemarle off N.C. 740. Includes camping, fishing, boat rental, horse trails, hiking, nature programs and swimming. Information: (704) 982-4402.
Pilot Mountain: About 24 miles northwest of Winston-Salem off U.S. 52. River section off of U.S. 52 in Yadkin County. Includes camping, fishing, horse trails and hiking. Information: (336) 325-2355.
Raven Rock: Between Lillington and Sanford on U.S. 421. Includes camping, fishing, hiking and nature programs. Information: (910) 893-4888.
Singletary Lake: In Bladen County off N.C. 53. Includes camping, fishing, hiking and nature programs. Information: (910) 669-2928.
Stone Mountain: In Wilkes and Alleghany counties, about seven miles southwest of Roaring Gap off U.S. 21. Includes camping, fishing, hiking and nature programs. Information: (336) 957-8185.
William B. Umstead: Just northwest of Raleigh on U.S. 70 and Interstate 40. Includes camping, fishing, hiking and nature programs. Information: (919) 571-4170.
Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve: About two miles east of Southern Pines off U.S. 1. Hiking and nature programs. Information: (910) 692-2167.
Updated: August, 2007