Lake Crabtree County Park is arguably the best in-town alternative to a trip to the beach for a quick fix of sand and time on the water.
View of the Observation Tower from the marina
In my opinion, any park where you can take your kids to paddle or even just watch the sun on the water is a big bonus – especially when you don’t have to drive more than 15-20 minutes to get there.
While Bond Lake and Symphony Lake are also centrally located, they don’t have nearly the size or water access afforded by Lake Crabtree.
Ice-sailing on White Bear Lake in Minnesota
I grew up on a large natural lake in Minnesota, with sailboats in the summer and snowmobiles, skis and ice-fishing in the winter.
So lakes make me feel good – and I logged a lot of hours on the Open Play field on the shore of Lake Crabtree when my daughter was little.
These days I spend more time hiking the 6 mile Lake Trail loop than flying kites. But you could do both!
Located in a forested area between Cary, Morrisville, and Raleigh-Durham International Airport, Lake Crabtree County Park offers visitors a 520-acre flood-control lake adjacent to a 215-acre wooded site, with 16-plus miles of trails, picnic areas that are perfect for outdoor games, boating, geocaching and catch-and-release fishing.
A couple of weeks ago, when I was searching for outdoor activities for kids, I saw an event posting for a Fossil Dig at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation.
My initial thought was, “Fossils? Digging? I must go!” 🙂
But first I had to find out more about the Prairie Ridge park.
Bees take advantage of the flowering plants in the Prairie habitat
I learned that the Prairie Ridge Ecostation is the west Raleigh branch of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. The main branch of the Museum was created in 1879, when the State’s agricultural and geological collections were merged.
It’s the largest institution of its kind in the South East and the most visited museum in North Carolina.
The main branch is located in downtown Raleigh and there is a third branch in Whiteville (Columbus County, NC).
Bond Park and Umstead State Park in Cary, NC are a couple of local places that I go to hike, walk and run that are easy to get to and always deliver a really good experience.
Minimum driving, maximum time on the trail is what I’m usually looking for.
Entry sign at Bond Park in Cary, NC
I’ve been using the trails and other park amenities both on my own and with my kids since I first moved to the area in 1996.
Like all of us, the park has changed over time and also – I hope like all of us – has improved with age as well.
Actually, I recently took an afternoon break to walk Bond Park’s Lake Trail, and found significant improvements to all of the the walkways and bridges along the way!
Updated bridge on the Lake Trail in Bond Park.
Read on to learn about the Lake Trail and other trails and combined routes inside Bond Park.
Working remotely doesn’t mean you have to stay indoors – in fact, it’s healthier for you to take breaks and get outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine!
Being stuck indoors by yourself – or with your kids – with no end in sight could make you nuts.
Paved trail beside Big Lake in Umstead State Park
Getting out on the trail on your own, or with 10 or fewer members of your family or friends, could help bring you back from Crazy Town.
If you’re a hiker local to Cary or Raleigh, NC, you know the nearby hiking places, and have been on the trails.
They’re beautiful, have varied terrain and are easily accessible.
When I was planning my Utah hiking trip, I asked for advice from hiker friends who had visited the area before:
Which National Parks should I visit? How much time should I allow for each park? Which trails are a must-do?
Towers in the Fiery Furnace
I was grateful for their insights, and found the advice to be mostly accurate – except for when it came to hiking Arches National Park.
Some feedback I got was that I didn’t need to plan for more than an afternoon at Arches National Park hikes, but we spent a day and a half there and still didn’t get to everything.
Entry to Fiery Furnace are at Arches National Park
While it could be said that Arches isn’t very challenging for expert hikers, there’s no doubt that it is breathtakingly beautiful for everyone!
Recently I did some hiking in Utah, specifically visiting several of the famous Utah National Parks. The trip to southern Utah was primarily to hike, but also to take in the beauty of the desert in the Spring.
Hikers on the Queens Garden Trail in Bryce Canyon
Photos can’t convey the scale of the mountains and desert, or the multitude of colors and rock formations we drove through while crossing southern Utah – but I tried anyway.
A few of my pics are in the text below, and you can see more in my detailed posts about Arches National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park.
Have you suddenly become a home-schooler and/or a remote worker because of the new social distancing requirements?
Hopefully, this won’t last forever.
Meanwhile, you could take the kids outdoors for a hike to make it feel a little less oppressive.
Running a 5k with my five year old.
In spite of my asthma, I’ve always been an active person.
Becoming a mother didn’t change that, or my desire to be outdoors in Nature.
But it did change how I could participate if I wanted (or needed) to include little ones.
Here’s how I did it!
When I first discovered recreational hiking, I was working at a full-time tech job, a single mother of a toddler with few babysitters around, and my closest family was 1500 miles away.
So most of my activities (outside of work) included the company of my little Mini-Me, and hiking was no exception.
Umstead State Parkhas been my go-to hiking place for at least the past ten years. I hike in the forest, or with the forest as a starting place, at least twice per week.
Umstead State Park has a long history: initially a wild hardwood-forested area inhabited with bison, bobcats and elk, it later became the site for indigenous peoples homes and trade, was part of a land grant for farms in 1774.
Finally, in 1934 – through a joint effort of Federal and State agencies – 5,000 acres were purchased to create a public recreation area.
The Civilian Conservation Corp and the Works Progress Administration helped with construction, and the park was open to the public in 1937.
There are so many reasons to love this park, it’s hard to fit them all into a single post. So I’ll just start with my Top 3.
When I first began hiking as a hobby, I was working at a fulltime tech job, was a single mom of a toddler with few babysitters available, and my closest family was 1500 miles away.
Of necessity, most of my activities (outside of work) included the company of my Mini-Me, and hiking was no exception.
Hiking at Hanging Rock State Park with Peanut!
My daughter loved the adventure, seeing new things, and being an intrepid explorer with her Mama!
We explored local parks and greenways, both on foot and on bikes and rollerblades.
Then, when she was old enough, we were able to visit a lot of State Parks, and go on longer unpaved trails with more varied terrain.
Originally from Minnesota, I’ve made my home in North Carolina since 1996.
As a single mom, I started hiking in this area with my daughter when she was small, and have been leading local group hikes since 2009.
Through the years – in between work and school schedules – we spent as much time as we could hiking across the US and around the world.
In my posts, I share my adventures hiking in exotic far-off locations, and also tell you about unique places you could visit just down the street.
Hiking the rocks at historic Yates Mill.
I’ also share tips on good places to hike or just get outdoors with your kids in the Cary/Raleigh area and beyond.
FYI, I only write about places or experiences I’ve actually checked out myself, so you know it’s good information. (I also try to keep the info up to date if things have changed.)
My goal is to inspire you to try some outdoor adventures of your own – both with and without your children in tow.
No matter what your age (or theirs) the best time to start is right now!
