Godbold is a small but well-appointed park near the intersection of Maynard and Chapel Hill Rd. It has lighted tennis and basketball courts, a playground, skate park, dog park, and a few trails and greenways. Acre for acre, it is probably one of the most useful parks in the Triangle.
I will devote the rest of this review to setting the record straight about the dog park. Dan C. reports that "one basically has to buy an annual pass so that one can use this dog park." Not true. Day passes are available for only $10 ($5 for Cary residents), and can be purchased at the Bond Park Community Center, which is about a five-minute drive away. If only he and his wife had put as much thought and effort into their visit to the dog park as they put into their lunch at Bella Mia, their visit to Cary would have gone off without a hitch.
The dog park at Godbold is the nicest I've ever seen. It is relatively large by dog park standards, and always well-maintained. There are separate areas for large and small dogs, several benches, a covered picnic table, an information kiosk, bag dispensers, and two self-regulating water bowls for the dogs. Also, it is lighted throughout, so the park can be enjoyed even after the sun goes down. (It's open till 10pm year-round.) Best of all, the secure entry ensures that not just anyone can enter the dog park--keeping the park safer after dark--and that all the dogs there have been vetted by the town of Cary (rabies vaccinations, etc.).
Charging people to use the dog park actually makes good sense. A dog park this nice isn't cheap to maintain. It requires new mulch periodically, the trash must be emptied, poop bag dispensers must be re-filled, and then there's the water and electric bills. Charging admission means that those who actually use the park bear a greater part of the burden of paying to maintain it than those who don't use it. That makes sense to me. Why should someone who never uses the dog park have to pay as much for it as those who use it regularly? Additionally, since some tax money probably does go toward maintaining the park, it makes sense to charge those who don't pay taxes in Cary a little more.
If you've ever been to dog parks that are open to anyone, you probably know that they are usually not very well-appointed and sometimes have dogs who aren't safe to play with. Since I joined the Cary dog park about six months ago, I have probably been 40-50 times. That comes to less than 50 cents per visit. Quite a good deal if you ask me, considering how nice the park is and the fact that the dogs there have all been vetted by the town of Cary.
If you want to go to a dog park and you are unwilling to pay $5-$10 a day or $40-$80 a year to help maintain it, then there are many options for you around the Triangle. But if you want to go to a really first-rate dog park like the one at Godbold Park, then don't freak out when you are asked to pay a few bucks and prove that your dog has been vaccinated against rabies. read more