Oakwood Park

We love the fact that we're seeing new playground equipment going up at several local parks!  We already told you about Old Chapel Hill Road Park in Durham, and now Chapel Hill following suit with a great renovation at Oakwood Park.  We headed over last week to check it out, and here's our report.

What it is: Oakwood Park is really pretty close to Durham, just a quick jaunt down Hwy. 54, turn right before you get to the intersection with 15-501, and there you are!  We were a little thrown off because google maps directed us to turn right on Oakwood Dr off of Hwy 54, but that is a one way street going the wrong way. So, if you are coming from that direction on 54, go past Oakwood Dr. to Hamilton instead and you can backtrack to the park with a right turn from Hamilton onto Berkley Rd.

Now, to the fun part.  Once we did find the park it was awesome!  One of the greatest parts was that there was a fence all the way around.  So, even though it was right next to the street, the fences kept our little ones contained.  Our three year-olds favorite part was definitely the see-saw.  That's right, it was a modern see-saw, and the kids spent most of their time riding on it, going up and down.  They also had a large play structure with slides and bars, and some swings  There was a nice sandbox in the middle where my youngest son spent most of his time.  It was right next to the picnic tables.

They had a little play structure with rings to climb through on the other end of the playground which both my little and bigger kids enjoyed.    While not part of the playground itself, just on the other side of the fence at the back of the playground in someone's backyard was a little chicken coop.  It was far enough away that the kids couldn't get their fingers pecked, but close enough that the kids got a real kick out of watching them.

What we liked:  We loved the fence.  It was great that the kids could just run around and play without fears of them running out in the street.  In addition, the see saw was a great unique feature that we haven't really seen at any other local playgrounds.  The kids just loved it!

What we would change: They did have a lot of different playground surfaces in one playground: mulch, gravel, sand, etc.  We thought they might get mixed up after lots of kids running through the playground.  Not a big deal, but it was the only negative we could think of!

Website and other important information:

Website: http://www.ci.chapel-hill.nc.us/index.aspx?page=1588

Address: 20 Oakwood Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27517 

 **We weren't the only ones checking out this great new park.  Mom in Chapel Hill also checked it out recently and posted her review on Friday.  She also let us know that the park is having its grand re-opening celebration today, November 5 at 10am. Thanks, Mom in Chapel Hill!

Photos:  

 (The smaller play area)

 (a view of the larger play area)

(Another view from the back of the playground)