Crowder County (or district) park is a 33 acre park in southwest Raleigh that is a part of the Wake County Junior Naturalist Program. Living in Northeast Raleigh, we hadn’t visited this park before, but it must be a pretty popular park! We were there on a Wednesday morning during school hours and it was packed! Good news is that the county just approved purchasing 96 acres to the north of the park to quadruple it in size, so this popular park is about to get a lot bigger!
The “Tree house” Playground
Upon entering the park, the largest playground is on your right. It’s a fairly unique playground in comparison to some of the others in Raleigh. I immediately noticed all of the musical instruments scattered throughout the play area. My 3 year old started making music almost immediately. It reminded me a little bit of the Marbles musical courtyard, but in addition to bells and xylophones it also had a few drums for the kids to play.
The playground has a mulch surface and has two separate play structures. The largest one is designed for older kids and is shaped like a tree house. I overheard some moms in the park talking about how it didn’t use to look like this, and a quick google search informed me it was completely redone in late 2016. Keep in mind that the playground is not fenced in, but it’s sunken down a bit and has a small retaining wall around a portion of it. I stayed at the side facing the parking lot and was able to monitor everyone pretty easily.
My 3 and 4 year old girls had no issues getting to the top of the tree house, but it has a vertical ladder to get to the top so it may be tricky for some kids. The good news is that the younger kids that probably shouldn’t be up there won’t be able to get up there anyway! 😉
Smaller Playground
Luckily I didn’t have to worry about my one year old trying to climb up to the top of the tree house because he was very content at the smaller playground. He loved going up the stairs and sliding down the curvy slide, which he repeatedly did the whole time we were there. There were also some fun interactive walls that kept his attention as well.
Restroom Facility
There is a nice bathroom facility adjacent to the playground and it connects to the walking trails throughout the park. The Cardinal picnic shelter is right there too. We participated in a kids crafting class at the shelter and it was super convenient to the playground and restroom.
Nature Classes at the Park
If you’re looking for classes and events at Crowder County Park, check their event calendar for upcoming events. We attended a “Kids Get Crafty” class at the Cardinal Shelter and it was perfect for my toddlers. It was very informal and pre-registration was not required. You just show up and there were two different craft stations setup that you could participate in on your own. We made fingerprint leaf trees and leaf people on sticks.
Additional Picnic Shelters and Restrooms at Crowder County Park
After class, we loaded up in the car and drove the rest of the way into the park. There are two other shelters at the park, and each one has a small playground right next to it. The bathroom facility located between those two shelters was currently closed for repairs and port-a-pottys were setup in it’s place, but it was only temporary until the remodel is completed. Across from that bathroom was a sand volleyball court, and I also saw a small boardwalk and pond on our way out.
If you’re over in that part of town, be sure to stop by the following tot spots as well:
Jack Smith Park – great splash pad and playground.
Waverly Place – great spot to shop and grab lunch, with a small splash pad and playground in the courtyard.