5857 Barwell Park Dr, Raleigh, NC
Barwell Road Park has just undergone some amazing renovations, so if you haven’t been in a while you will definitely want to make the trip to check it out! It’s now a new Carolina Panthers themed playground, and it comes with it’s own challenge course so you can time yourself and race your friends!
Playground
The new playground is pretty amazing in my opinion! It’s huge and blue to keep in the Carolina Panthers theme. The platforms are pretty high up, but there are stairs to make it accessible for little ones and everything is completely closed in for safety. The stairs are pretty steep so younger kids might have some trouble, but my 3 year old was able to maneuver everything on his own.
There is also a separate little kids playground that may be better suited for the younger ones. There are bucket swings, a mommy and me swing, and an accessible swing, so all your swinging needs should be covered!
Panthers Challenge Course
The Panthers Challenge Course is the highlight of this park! Similar to the Elevate Fitness Obstacle Course at Apex Community Park, there are a series of obstacles with varying level of difficulties to make the course fun for both kids and adults. It’s a great way to make your athletic training fun again!
challenge course obstacles 
sponsored by Carolina Panthers Play60 initiative 
race your friends and time yourself 
map of the course so you can run it in order
The exciting difference between this course and the one in Apex is that there is start-and-stop timer at each end so you can time yourself and race your friends! There is also a two-lane, 40-yard sprint track that provides yet another area for training or challenging a friend to a race. That extra challenge really adds the encouragement to keep the kids active! They were all running through the course multiple times to try and beat their previous record!
By the Panthers Challenge course you’ll also find a photo booth opportunity and a push-button pep talk station. Unfortunately the pep talk station wasn’t working while we were there, but we used the photo booth! It has a stand for you to put your phone and if you use the time your whole group can get in the photo!
No Shade & Limited Parking
One complaint is that there isn’t any shade at this park. The picnic tables have shade sails over them for the adults, but the rest of the playground is in direct sun. We were there at the hottest part of the day, so keep that in mind when you visit!
Parking is also a little bit of an issue. The playground is up the hill from the Barwell Road community center, which is also where the bathrooms are, but it’s quite a hike up a long set of stairs if you park there. Most people just parked along the road in front of the playground since it’s much more convenient for those with strollers. This is making the ground very muddy, so hopefully they can figure something out for this space soon!
If you’re looking for an indoor obstacle course, check out Warrior Tech with locations in North Raleigh and Morrisville!