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.

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

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.

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.

My kids love to play here! They have updated it fairly recently and there's a plethora of areas for…read morekids of all ages and abilities to play! They also added a splash pad which is fun in the summer.

This is a great park with a lot for everyone. Great walk/run path, basketball courts, tennis…read morecourts, splash pad and playground, baseball fields and even a skate park! There are even two small dog park areas. Unfortunately, I took my dog there on a Saturday and we found A LOT of broken glass throughout the dog parks. That's probably why we were the only dog in there.

Just a thought about the 2023 4th of July festival @ Festival Park. The event was good, but... my…read moreissue is with the food trucks @ the event. There weren't nearly enough! We arrived at the venue ready to eat some good food, listen to some music and see some amazing fireworks. When we arrived at the park, we went immediately to a food truck we selected. We waited over an hour in line for our food, only to find out the vendor was out of the food we wanted. After selecting something, waiting on that, we found a spot to "set up shop." By the time we did that, the fireworks started. They only lasted about 15 minutes . Everyone stared to leave after that. And the lines at some of the food trucks were still long!! There just weren't enough food trucks & fireworks!! You guys need to do better with this experience if you expect to continue to draw crowds at this event in Fayetteville in the future.

There is always something going on here if you're bored or need some kind of distraction from life…read more The activities include: * Concerts * Festivals * Hobo's fighting and/or talking to trees and bushes. Or if you just wanna walk around and check out the area itself. Just don't make eye contact with the hobo's fighting with the bushes. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life;)

It was pretty, great lights for the holiday season. 20 per…read moreadult wasn't a bad price, felt it was reasonable. However, it was rather disappointing. The Grinch sat there ringing a bell. Not at all what the kids thought the Grinch would be. Added costs with the pictures with Santa, after you realized you can't take your own, having to go through and pay again with shipping. Overpriced candy and small gifts But they had small little things for kids to do like snowball fights and a little baggy of smelly goods

This was a cute botanical garden. They decorated nicely for the holidays. Would have been nice to…read moresee the lights at night but regardless, nice grounds to walk around.

It seems obvious that such a military town should have a memorial like this, but it is fairly…read morerecent. I imagine there are other things on base, but for those of us in the civilian world, a trip to downtown Fayetteville reveals this small park adjacent to the Special Ops Museum. Even on a beautiful Memorial Day evening, there was hardly anyone there. It probably says more about the downtown here than about the quality of the memorials. The park incorporates some interesting designs and water features and pays respect to all branches of the armed forces. I suppose I'm biased in that I would normally spend my Memorial Days walking across the bridge to Arlington Memorial Cemetery. This isn't that, but it is a good place to stop and reflect for a moment.

North Carolina proudly refers to itself as "the most military friendly state" and that is easy to…read moresee when you come across wonderful little gems like Veterans Park in Fayetteville. ..... THE EXPERIENCE The park is an extension of the Airborne & Special Operations Museum and construction was completed in July of 2011. The design is meant to honor all branches of the US Military and consists of several water features, walking paths, public art and a visitors center. It is one of the most unique looking parks of its kind that I personally have ever seen. What might not be so obvious are the different "plazas" within the park. Each is meant to symbolize different stages of military life. As you come across the lovely garden path from the Museum you will first be greeted by the COMMUNITY PLAZA just to the left of the visitors center. This will surely catch your eye with 50 bold black glass columns engraved with the names of the states 100 counties and cast iron hand prints of veterans from those counties and their family. I personally found that to be powerful and touching. Surrounding the Community Plaza is the Oath Service wall which incorporates soil from each of the 100 counties. All of this symbolizes life before the military. The SERVICE PLAZA contains a Patriot Wall, a GORGEOUS glass reflection wall and a granite Pride & Purpose tower with a light cannon that shoots directly towards the sky on special occasions to welcome home troops. What a beautiful sight that must be, not only for the nearby residents, but for troops at nearby Fort Bragg returning home. It gives me chills just thinking about it! This plaza, of course, symbolizes life while in the military. Throughout the plaza are different artistic sculptures with a keystone word engraved at their base such as honor, courage, strength and the like. When transitioning to the final CAMARADERIE PLAZA , you will use one of five arching gateways. Each is adorned with the name of one of the five Military Branches. This plaza symbolizes the transition of military life back to civilian life. A beautifully colorful reflection garden that uses plants all native to North Carolina must be an inspiring and contemplative sight in the spring and summer. We however arrived in the winter when nothing was in bloom. It was beautiful nonetheless because the garden is meant to be a celebration of the lives of service men and women (past & present) who have and continue to protect our nation. You will see a second walking circle with comfortable benches which, according to the website: "serves as a gathering space to welcome home and to celebrate our veterans wherever they may be in their respective journeys of service." Also within the park is a 150 seat grass & concrete amphitheater, a community lawn, a wall made of indigenous stone & plants, and one of the parks 7 water features. The Visitors Center was also closed the day of our visit, but it no doubt was an attractive building with a beautiful granite state seal. ..... FINAL THOUGHTS I'm proud to be a military father. I don't know how much longer my son will continue his journey as an airborne serviceman. I don't know what lies ahead for him in terms of battle or promotion or family life with the two grandchildren he has gifted me. What I do know is how hard we all cried the day he left for basic training @ 17 years of age (I included a picture) and how hard we have prayed for his safety. So places like North Carolina Veterans Park are especially meaningful to our family and I hope it will be for yours too. Even if you don't have family active in the military, it is wonderful place to pay respects to those who fight for your freedom and the security of our nation. 2017/27