Lots to do at Staring Lake. There's also three unique entrances with their own parking lots, one at…read morethe south end, one at the north end, and one on the west side. Depending on where you enter from, you can enjoy different activities.
The south entrance has a very extensive playground, as well as basketball courts, bocce ball courts, a volleyball court, and disc golf. There's lots of benches and tables to sit at or eat at, as well as a full amphitheater. There is a building with indoor restrooms (well kept), a water fountain and water bottle refill station, and a couple of rentable rooms and a rentable gazebo with BBQs, as well as an office (though that was closed when I was there midday on a Monday). There's plenty of parking spaces at this entrance.
The north entrance has a smaller playground as well as a garden, a couple of cabins that serve as a place for community events, a firepit, canoe rentals, a pier, a red tail hawk enclosure, an observation station (for their stargazing activities), a minimal wildlife blind, and a nature trail. There is limited parking at this entrance.
The west entrance was lamest by far. It had a sizeable parking lot, but the only amenities were a port-a-potty, a pier, and access to the paved trail that goes all the way around Staring Lake.
Speaking of the trail, which is what I hiked while exploring here, it is entirely paved and has a line down the middle to delineate directionality. The east side is quite lovely, taking you through shaded secluded-feeling forest; the west side is not as nice, with less shade and a loud road right next to the trail as well as lots of residential housing. Yuck. It also connects with the nearby lake north of it, Purgatory Creek Wildlife Area.
