1774 Glen Laurel Rd, Clayton, NC

The Harmony Playground at East Clayton Community Park was completed and opened at the end of October 2020. It’s a nature and construction-themed fully accessible playground that was designed for kids and parents of all abilities to play together. It consists of a great rubber surface playground, large sandbox with sand table, music garden, picnic shelters, a disc swing, interactive animal sound board, and mommy and me swing. The 66-acre park also has a picnic pavilion, soccer fields, multipurpose playing fields, baseball field, 18-hole disc golf course, and one-mile trail. 

One thing to note is that the Harmony Playground is located at EAST Clayton Community Park, not to be confused with Clayton Community Park. I initially ended up going to the wrong park, so don’t make the same mistake I did! That park also has a playground, but it’s older and not accessible.

Playground

Harmony Playground is such a fun and unique spot. We love playgrounds with a rubber surface, and the ramp to the playground makes it easy to join in on the fun. There was an interactive animal sound board that actually worked great and played animal sounds at the push of a button. The jumping logs were a nice touch, and you’ll find cute construction-themed additions throughout the space, such as work boot tracks, corrugated metal tunnels, and giant tire marks.

One complaint I heard was that the playground is not fully fenced in, and there is a bit of a drop off from the playground down to the grass lot below. It could be a little tricky with young toddlers to keep them from tumbling down the hill, but my kids didn’t go near the edge so we didn’t have any problems. The playground is also mainly in direct sun, although there is some tree shade by the swings and umbrellas over the sandbox. Luckily there are a few picnic shelters adjacent to the playground, so you can easily beat the heat and rest in the shade for a bit.

There is a separate toddler play area with a disc swing and log to hide in. There’s not a whole lot over there though, so I’m sure your toddler won’t stay there and will make their way over to the main playground!

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Sandbox

My kids loved the sandbox the most and we spent most of our time there. There were some umbrellas for shade and sand diggers available. It looks like the space has a water trough feature, but it wasn’t working when we were there. I’m not sure if it was just turned off for the season or due to the pandemic. Hopefully they will turn it on at some point! The kids just played in the trough anyway without water, but some got adventurous and climbed up there, so watch out they don’t fall!

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Music Garden

Similar to the music garden at Durham’s Museum of Life and Science, the space offers lots of various items that you can hit and clang. Unfortunately the wood structure hasn’t held up as well as the rest of the playground and most of the mallets were missing. We used some sticks instead and still had some fun.

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Swings

If you like the mommy and me swing at Knightdale Station Park, you’ll be glad to know there’s one here at at the Harmony Playground as well! There’s also two normal belt swings and the larger toddler swing like at Forest Ridge Park in Wake Forest. If your kid loves the spinning disc at Joyner Park there’s also one here too.

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Disc Golf Course

We’re happy to add another spot to our list of Disc Golf Courses around Raleigh! The East Clayton Disc Golf Course has 18 holes that lead you through woods bordering the park. The course takes full advantage of natural elements, using trees and shrubs as obstacles and elevation changes to make the course challenging. The first tee is located right next to the playground so bring some frisbees and give it a go!

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If you’re looking for indoor play areas in the Clayton area, check out Bungalow Bounce for bouncy inflatable fun for all ages!