501 Weaver Dairy Rd, Chapel Hill, NC

During our Chapel Hill adventure to explore Franklin Street and the Planetarium, we also stopped by Cedar Falls Park to burn off a little energy outdoors! The park contains a 1.5 mile natural surface walking trail, athletic fields, baseball fields, and tennis courts, as well as a great playground adjacent to the picnic shelter and restrooms. It was a great shady spot to play, although the playground is in need of a little maintenance.

Playground

The playground had a great rubber surface with a modern play structure. The area is not fenced in, but it is fully shaded due to the surrounding trees. It appears someone had broken one of the plastic activity boards at the top of the playground so maintenance had replaced it with plywood. I’m glad they had put something there, since it’s a pretty tall drop off to the ground below. Hopefully they can get it fixed soon!

There was a smaller playground for the younger kids that contained a sort of climbing wall, slide, and another interesting climbing structure. There were some toddler swings and regular swings available, which my kids always enjoy. The playground is right next to the restrooms and picnic shelter, so I’d say this is a pretty good place to host a birthday party!

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Walking Trail

The playground is right off the walking trail, so lots of people were walking by as we played. If the kids get bored you could always take a lap and come back! At only a 1.5 mile trail I’d say this is a great place to take the kids for a walk, although we didn’t try it out on this visit.

Athletic Fields

Back at the parking lot you will find the athletic fields. We were there on a Saturday and there were a lot of people there for a soccer game. I’m sure it can get a little crowded with all of the activities going on, so this probably isn’t the place to go if you want to avoid crowds. Try our list of nature preserves instead!