Philips Memorial Park

9.9 mi

We love this splash pad- hello SHADE! Fun, cool, and free…read moreactivity for summer. There are plenty of picnic tables scattered around the water, and playground equipment is close by. The splash pad concrete is slippery, so no running and water shoes are a good idea. If your kids are like mine, they will go from the water to the park and back a 100 times, so be prepared for dirty kids. Have fun!

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Reservoir Park

4.9

(31 reviews)

11.6 mi

Nice little park with a walking/running trail surround the Reservoir. About a 2 mile loop which was…read moreperfect for my evening run. Not too busy during the weekdays

Excellent park with a superb 2 mile loop around the lake. Benches, a dock, bathrooms, picnic…read moretables. Very scenic, peaceful & clean. I hope it stays this way :)

Great place to relax.

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Mushroom

Raven Rock State Park

4.7

(91 reviews)

21.8 mi

We came here for a weekend girls trip. We stayed in one of the cabins at the campground. On…read moreSaturday we came to the park to hike the trails. We chose the 2.5 mile Raven Rock Trail. It was a great hike both easy and slightly challenging. Raven Rock was beautiful and many photo opportunities were available. There are several stairs that you will walk down and remember you will have to come back up. Walking at a steady pace going up and down the stairs will definitely raise your heart rate but isnt to challenging. The Visitor Center is nice with a short history display to walk through, t-shirts for sale, bathrooms, park maps and the attendant was most helpful in letting us know which trails have the best views. There are benches strategically placed on the trail as well as containers to dispose your trash and recycleables. There are no restrooms on the trails. There is no cost to walk the trails. There are a few shelters located within the park. We will definitely go back again.

beautiful place, with a handful of trails to choose from or do all.. highly recommend, kid friendly.read more

Part of me and hubby's engagement photo session

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Carvers Creek State Park

4.4

(18 reviews)

17.3 mi

Nice place to take the Grand kiddos for a walk...run down the trails. Throw rocks (pinecones) in…read morethe pond, look for tad poles. Have a pic nic. Great for a few hours of killing boredom with littles.

Not the most exciting trail, but worth doing if you have some down time and want to see some…read moreRockefeller History. The Carver Creek State Park is broken into two different sections: Long Valley Farm Access (with the historic Rockefeller Retreat House) and the Sandhill Access (just flat trails for hikers/horses). They are about 20 minutes apart. Between the two, I'd go to the Long Valley Farm Access since the history component whereas the other is just trails. Overall, there is really not much else here and you can complete it within an hour an a half or so. The loop is 2 miles long, but if you go straight back then it's about 1.5 miles total.

Small pier near the pond behind the visitors center.

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San-Lee Recreation & Educational Park

(4 reviews)

12.9 mi

Today was our first time visiting and I'm so glad we took a couple hours to visit. I wish we…read morewould've brought our dog. My 5 year old handled the shorter walking trail very well. Tent camping is available for $15 per night. The nature center, park, pavilion, and paddle boat/kayak rentals are closed right now due to COVID but the mountain bike and walking trails are open.

Nice nature center, birds of prey outside, plenty of parking, lovely outdoor chapel with wooden…read morebenches and a wooden cross with view of the lake. I believe they have canoe/kayak rentals here too, but we didn't take advantage of them. Small playground. Several pavilions. Shaded, quiet through woods and around lake. Easy for school-age kids of mine. Saw heron and turtles in the wild.

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Map

Kiwanis Children's Parkplace Shelter

4.0

11.0 mi

Great new pickle ball courts. 2 good tennis courts. Nice little playground for kids. Bathrooms…read morestink...no path to them either.

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Southern Pines Park

(3 reviews)

13.3 mi

A big spacious park in downtown Southern Pines. There are swings, tall slides, play structures,…read morerestrooms and plenty of shade. Separate areas for small, medium and big kids including lighted tennis courts and a basketball court. The perfect, well kept neighborhood park!

Excellent park for many activities. I enjoyed a walk around the pond and sitting on the benches…read moreoverlooking the pond.

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Cannon Park

(5 reviews)

14.8 mi

A skillfully constructed wooden playground that stimulates the imagination…read more This park has everything a kid needs to have an awesome day! Lots of places to sit and relax too. Surrounded by gorgeous trees in a nice neighborhood... and it's near the hospital just in case your kids get a little too "spirited" with their jousting. Ha! Adjacent to a soccer field, swimming pool and public restrooms. A gorgeous, spacious park the kids love. Can't wait to spend more time here.

Went here with 4 adults and three children. The uniquely designed castles and cars and other…read moredesigns not only allowed for the kids' imaginations to run. All the adults and children role played as if we lived way back in the day and we were able to facilitate this given the awesome playground. There is seating outside and inside the area with benches everywhere. There are restrooms available. Oh and there was a Pokemon gym so that was awesome to have as I do like to play when I can. We didn't utilize these features but we could see a few fields and there was a team practicing baseball. There are also a few areas for hopscotching and four square. Well work the visit for all parties involved.

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White Pines Nature Preserve

(17 reviews)

20.9 mi

People are very gracious on this trail... if you ask the right questions and respectful native…read moreNCers will be very open to tell you about their favorite spots...

Lovely place to hike and be in nature. Just you and the woods and perhaps a few people if the…read moreweather is nice.

Lol my dog literally jumped in all four... living her best life.... (yes I bathed her multiple times after)

Nature

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Kiwanis Family Park

(5 reviews)

10.7 mi

Great park! The splash pad is a blast. They are always making improvements to the park. Great…read morelittle trail that loops around.

Love this splash pad so much, we drive all the way from Raleigh to play here! I wish it opened up…read moreearlier (opens at 10 am). Not much shade if it's crowded but love it anyways.

Small water features for babies (and moms lol)

Walking in the snow

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Splash pad great for babies

Fantasy Lake Adventure Park

4.1

(24 reviews)

61.3 mi

I was nervous at first by the price, but I quickly learned it is money well spent! This place is…read moreawesome if you want to reawaken your inner 12 year old. I could spend all day jumping from the highest points or going down the many slides!

I have been wanting to go to Fantasy Lake since last year and I finally got to go…read more We reserved a 2 hour slot and got there 25mins before our start time to get changed and settled. The obstacle course is really fun for both kids and adults. The slides were my favorite part. They also have scuba diving on the end side of the lake. The only negative I will call out is that they don't have a water fountain or a filling station. I get that they allow outside food and drinks but for an outdoor water park, having a water fountain/filling station is a bare minimum.

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Exchange Swimming Pools

(6 reviews)

42.6 mi

The Exchange Pool saved our Covid Summer! Our family has been going to Exchange Pool for two…read moresummers now. A great family atmosphere. The Exchange Pool went above and beyond during the 2020 summer with Covid precautions. Clean, careful, and professional. I look forward to returning 2021.

It's the little pool that could. Yeah, it's not exactly luxurious and if you are used to…read morehigh-falutin' pools like at the Tennis Club you might not be exactly impressed but it serves a vital purpose for the community and with reasonable memberships you can be okay that there isn't a snack bar and upscale amenities or a baby pool WITH a fountain. It's been home for the Cyclones , a local swim-team for kids preschool-12th grade, which keeps them conditioned, learning and honing their strokes and developing team building skills. This experience has been invaluable to many in the community. They have ample room for adult swimmers during adult swim. The kids all look like they are having a great time whenever I have been there.

Chalmers Pool

4.0

(10 reviews)

26.0 mi

This is the absolute worse pool for anyone that has any strength issues. I know a lot of…read moregrandparents take their grandkids swimming in the summer. This pool doesn't have regular ladders to get out of water. The steps are built into the wall, too far apart, very hard to maneuver, my shins got totally bruised after trying to climb my way out. Someone told me that on Tuesdays they bring out a regular ladder ‍, only Tuesdays! Very strange!

I visited this pool 7 years ago and when back in the area visited again. My 5 star review still…read moreholds! The kiddie pool was large and had some fun water features. There are plenty of chairs. The only thing I would wish for is a little more shade but it made me get in the Water more to cool off. The staff was friendly.

Came back about 8 years later while in town. Stiff a great place !

Family time at the pool.

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Can get full early on a HOT day.

Sandling Beach at Falls Lake

(6 reviews)

58.4 mi

The beach is spotless, with no trash anywhere. You'll see a few hair ties and bottle caps, but…read morenothing major. The sand is coarse because of scattered pebbles and bits of wood, so bring floppers for comfort. The water is clean and safe. Two large buildings are available for changing and showering. Picnic tables sit under the trees, and grills are open for cooking. The park has multiple trails, a children's playground, and it's dog‑friendly for walking. Entrance fees: $10 per vehicle, $5 for seniors.

Sandling is a man made beach within Falls Lake State Park. They charged $10 for the holiday…read moreweekend entrance fee. Sandling is accessible to the fire pits for barbecuing and is very small. Perfect for families and small children. You can access the beach on Creedmoor Rd. This was the perfect place for a convenient beach day 4th of July weekend. It saved me the 4 hour trip to Bear Island. I arrived early around 10:30 a.m. and there were no crowds. We camped out near the showers and bathrooms. This park is perfectly lined with trees in abundance. Perfect for barbecuing. We enjoyed our morning picnic and the water was very relaxing. I appreciate how clean the sand area was and the garbage was well organized as well. I brought my mother who is 72 and I had concerns about the proximity of the restrooms and showers and overall access. I was relieved to discover how convenient the beach access was for those with mobility impairment and disabilities. There are no pets allowed and no alcohol permitted. I watched the park rangers escort someone with a pit bull to the parking lot to return home and a woman was asked to dump out several beer cans. You have been warned. They run a tight ship here. I plan to return throughout the remainder of the summer months.

View of the beach from the sand. (Cloudy at this time)

Lake Beach

Beachfront

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Philips Memorial Park - parks - Updated August 2026

People who viewed Philips Memorial Park also viewed

Reservoir Park

4.9

(31 reviews)

Nice little park with a walking/running trail surround the Reservoir. About a 2 mile loop which was…read moreperfect for my evening run. Not too busy during the weekdays

Excellent park with a superb 2 mile loop around the lake. Benches, a dock, bathrooms, picnic…read moretables. Very scenic, peaceful & clean. I hope it stays this way :)

Carvers Creek State Park

4.4

(18 reviews)

Lake Rim Park

4.1

(13 reviews)

This is one of my absolute favorite park to go to. It gives me such a calm feeling. I bring my pets…read morewith me when I visit. They just love the sounds of the birds and squirrels. My chihuahua can walks forever here he just loves it and they have bags please clean up after your pets and yourselves. There's wild animals in the area that could get sick off your trash. I can't say enough about the views. From the woods to the trails to the benches for lunch. There's is a small playground for the lil ones. If you want to get away from the bustle and hustle of the Fayetteville streets even if you only have a few minutes trust me come here and breath and take in the beauty.

This was a cute park to walk around. We got to Fayetteville early and were killing time before we…read morecould go to Cape Fear Botanical Garden so we went for a quick walk, it was pretty extensive.

Cape Fear River Trail

(47 reviews)

Come here with my dad and dog on occasion. Very calming, fun and relaxing! My dog is pictured his…read morename is spot!

The river trail is 5.5 miles in total length, 4 miles between the two parking lots on the trail…read more The best parking/access is on the north side near the Jordan soccer complex. The trail is enclosed by trees so you don't really get much views of the river, but it's a nice trail in the forest. It's paved and wheel chair accessible. Bikes and scooters etc are allowed. There is also access to several mountain biking trails along the path. The trail is mostly shaded, but doesn't get much breeze because of the forest so can be muggy during hot weather. This is one of the best options for walking in the area since the city is not pedestrian friendly. There are emergency beacons along the trail about every 1 mile for safety, and it's a fairly busy trail so I would consider it to be safe to solo joggers or hikers.

Honeycutt Park

4.6

(8 reviews)

Love taking my toddler here! Me and my husband usually jog the perimeter as well, nice big spacious…read morepark.

I brought my kids to the playground, I do not have input on the splash pad, baseball fields or the…read morerecreation center. The playground are great for older kids and toddlers. Bathrooms are available and clean during my visit. My only complaint is that swings could use fixing up. There is only one baby swing and one handicap accessible swing, the other two swings seem to have been removed, but there are plenty of other things for the kids to do. We had a wonderful time!

Mazarick Park

3.9

(13 reviews)

My last day in Spring Lake, my family and I took a walk in this Mazarick Park just to have a…read moreconversation. It was a pretty hot day. I thought it was OK. Nothing too special. It does have a disc golf set up in and around the park and a small dock out on the lake to finish from. Overall, it's very relaxing.

Beautiful park, the July 4 holiday was the perfect time to visit! The pier is so peaceful and great…read moreplace to fish

Robbins Heights Park

3.0

This large park is at the end of East 7th Avenue. There is a large parking lot and that's certainly…read morehelpful for me and my RV. The park has a playground, picnic shelter and a large open baseball field. It is in good condition and there is a fence at the parking lot to keep people from driving into the park. Which is probably a good idea as the road stops for the park on each end and then picks back up again. Not much shade, so this would be tough on a hot and sunny day. [Review 15016 overall, 518 of 2021, number 2877 in North Carolina.]

Clark Park Nature Centre

4.0

The place is really nice, ample parking and bathroom facilities. It has picnic tables near the…read moreparking area and they even have a charging station for electric cars. Beautiful scenery and it connects to the Cape Fear trail. You do not feel like you are in Fayetteville. Nothing really wrong with Fayetteville but this park is really nice. Nice place to park to go for a run or a walk, or to have a picnic. Seems very safe too.

Sandhills Farm Park