Lake Johnson Pool and Sprayground

What it is:  My boys have been loving all things to do with water this summer.  So, we've been trying to check out everything we can think of that lets them splash around and get wet.  After splashing around in our yard and at the Durham spraygrounds we decided to go a little further afield and check out one that we had heard about in Raleigh.

Lake Johnson Sprayground and Pool is a great place to go if you want to have some watery fun.  It took us about half an hour to drive to from our location in S Durham, but for us, it was worth it.  The pool complex has three distinct sections.  Each one is fenced off and contained which is fabulous for the parents.  We walked in and headed straight to the wading pool.  It only is only 18 inches deep at it's deepest, so it is a great place for the little ones to play in the water.  It also has a fountain spraying into the pool for the kids to run through.

After we tired of the wading pool we headed over to another fenced area where the sprayground was.  This sprayground was bigger than any we had been to before, and tons of fun!  There were spray guns we could turn on each other, fountains, and even buckets that would fill up and pour on us from above.  The boys had a great time, and mom even had a good time joining in on the splashing fun!

The pool complex also has a large regular pool, but it doesn't open to public play until noon, so we didn't check it out.  That's okay because we had plenty of toddler age-appropriate fun while we were there.

What we liked: We loved how there was so much in one place.  The kids couldn't get bored with both the wading pool and the sprayground.  In addition, each area was fenced so the kids were nicely contained.  Plus, each area had a lifeguard to put your mind at ease, even the sprayground.


What we would change: The day that we went the water was VERY cold.  While I expected it to be chilly, the wading pool was a bit colder than I would have thought.  One of the other people there said that the wading pool was usually a little chilly.  However, my boys had a great time anyway.


Website and other important information:

Website: http://www.raleighnc.gov/home/content/PRecRecreation/Articles/AquaticsHoursOfOperation.html

Address: 1416 Athens Dr. Raleigh, NC 27606

Hours:

*Wading and Sprayground: M-F 9am-8pm, Sa 10am-8pm, Su 1pm-6pm
*Public Pool Open Swim: M-F 12pm-8pm, Sa 10am-8pm, Su 1pm-6pm
*Adult Lap Swim: M-F 8am-8pm, Sa 9am-8pm, Su 1pm-6pm

Fees: For non-Raleigh residents like us it was $2 per child and $6 per adult

Photos: 

 (enjoying the wading pool)

 (the main pool)

 (splashing in the sprayground)

(another view)