3200 Pleasant Union Church Rd, Raleigh, NC 27614
Blue Jay Point County Park is a 236-acre park located North of 540 off Six Forks Rd. The playground was just recently remodeled into a modern rubber surface with two separate play structures. The park also contains a center for environmental education, Go Ape Treetop Adventure, hiking trails, shoreline fishing, picnic areas, and a nature play area. There’s even an overnight lodge where organized groups like Scout Troops can stay and participate in environmental education studies during their stay. This park is also part of the Wake County Junior Naturalist Program once it starts back up!
Playground
The playground at Blue Jay Point County Park is separated into a big kid playground, younger kid playground, swings, and the giant sandbox. The whole area is set down into a hill so it’s partially enclosed but not fully gated. The restrooms are also adjacent to the space, which makes it very convenient.
The playground has the nice rubber surface, but it does not get a lot of shade. Shade sails have been installed over the picnic tables and there is pretty good shade coverage over the sandbox, but the rest of the time you’ll be in direct sun.
The sandbox had some toys available and there is an interactive table where you can funnel the sand through to the bottom. It’s a little tall for younger toddlers, so there may be some parent participation involved here. There’s also some animal bouncers installed throughout the space, although my kids were so busy playing in the sand they didn’t even notice!
picnic tables with shade sandbox
Nature Play Area
Once you’ve had your fill of the playground, don’t forget to the check out the nearby nature play area. This is a lot like the Nature Sensory Play Area at Durant Nature Preserve, but it’s available all of the time!
Nature Play Day at Blue Jay is a free, walk-up activity from 10 a.m. to noon and requires no preregistration. If the weather seems uncertain, check the park Facebook page or call 919-870-4330 before coming to make sure the Nature Play Day is still happening.
Hiking Trails
If you’re up for taking a walk, be sure to check out the hiking trails at Blue Jay Point County Park. There’s a trail entrance right next to the playground, and you can see the map of the trails below.
entrance to the Laurel Hills trail
Go Ape Tree Top Adventure
Blue Jay Point County Park is unique in that it also houses Go Ape Tree Top Adventure onsite. Go Ape is a high ropes obstacle course that you can participate in for a fee. You will be safely harnessed into a system that allows you to explore the trees from a new perspective and fly around on multiple ziplines from exciting heights.
Unlike TreeRunner Adventure course, there is no age limit to participate in a Treetop Journey. Children 5 and under will need a parent to participate with them, but the only restrictions are minimum height of 3ft 3in and max weight of 285lbs. We haven’t participated in the course yet, but we’ll update here as soon as we do!