Durham Central Park

What it is: We were downtown today for the Marry Durham celebration, and as we were walking through Central Park, we realized, we had never specifically mentioned it on the blog.  Durham Central Park is a park and pavilion area in downtown area.  While already a great location, their website mentions that they are continuing to add on to the area to make it even better.  The park encompasses the pavilion of the Durham Farmers Market, a creek and bridge area with sculptures and benches, a grassy area, and a brand new skate park!


What we liked: While it is small and there's not a designated playground, there are quite a few areas to keep your child occupied as you head through downtown Durham.  You can easily combine a picnic in the park with a trip to the Durham Farmers Market or an outing to the Scrap Exchange, the downtown YMCA, or the Carolina Theater which are just down the street.  My son loves the bridge.  It's a great place to run across and lean over and watch the water below.  He also loves to climb on the benches and turtle and cardinal sculpture.  The newest fun attraction is the skate park.  When we passed this time it was full of skateboarders.  My son was in awe of all of their skill, and he had a great time watching for a few minutes.

What we would change: Since there is no playground, you can't spend as long as you might like there.  However, it's a great location that can be combined with another stop very nicely.

Website and other important information: There's street parking available, and you can also park in the garage at the corner of Morgan and Foster St. 

Website: http://www.durhamcentralpark.org/

Address: 534 Foster St., Durham, NC 27701



Photos: 

1. One of the benches that are great to climb on

2. The bridge

3. Another view of the park

4. The climbable turtle

5. More climbing fun with the cardinal

6. The skate park