I want to start off by saying that this review was originally intended for Broyhill Park only, not…read morethe pool. That said, I've been to the pool a few times, so I will touch on that, as well. I first learned of Broyhill Park through the Town of Blowing Rock's recent Instagram post highlighting the place. It looked beautiful on pictures, and it prompted me to want to want to take my dog on a walk there this beautiful, sunny, summer Monday morning. We have lived in Boone for 3 years and have found that we are still continuously finding new places to venture to and take walks. I Googled the address for Broyhill Park, I think it was 1504 Laurel Ln., and my GPS took me to the Blowing Rock equestrian center. I drove in circles looking for the park and even stopped off to ask several folks on the side of the road. No one happened to be from the area and therefore couldn't direct me to the location. Finally, just as I was about to leave, stumbled upon the park. It is right next to the Robbins Pool and across the street from the Glenn Burney trail access. Phew! This little park was cute and sweet and provided a calming, inviting atmosphere this morning for me to walk my dog and rest on the park bench. I would certainly recommend others consider take a stroll here. Regarding the pool: I think I went a total of 3 times last summer. Once for a child's birthday party and the other times with my own nieces and nephews. Anyone can use this pool, provided they pay the small fee required before entering. This fee varies for Blowing Rock residents vs. those who are not. Regardless, it isn't expensive. To me, too, it's certainly worth it given it is the only outdoor pool I am aware of in this area. I grew up in a town where outdoor pools are rampant and available in many neighborhoods, so this was my first experience attending a true community pool that required payment. That said, I really liked it. The kids love it, too! I believe the pool is heated, since the outdoor weather in the mountains is really scorching hot. 10/10 would recommend visiting the pool, the park, the nearby trail, and the town!

This is a beautiful park that is perfect for enjoying a picnic or a good book. I took my dog there…read morefor walks and it was perfect for that as well. (I was kind of confused by the signs that indicated that no pets were allowed that were posted right beside the doggie bags for waste disposal?) There is a relatively short path around the small lake, more of a pond really. That makes it a perfect destination for people who want to enjoy the outdoors, but aren't sure of the weather or may have physical limitations to the more challenging hikes. There is also a community pool located across the street from the park and it looked fantastic. Not only did they have full lanes for swimming, but they had water slides and other splash park water features.

Hominy Valley Pool is a large, clean public pool facility in Candler, NC right off of Sand Hill…read moreRoad. I usually go to Malvern Hill pool in Asheville but wanted to try something new. This pool costs $3 per person for each visit or you can buy some season passes but I'm not sure the cost of those. This pool is quite large and spacious. It is shaped kinda like an L with a sloped shallow entrance. I noticed that the really young children really enjoyed this part as a lot of them were hanging out in this area jumping around and splish-splashing (so cute!) as you turn the corner, the pool slowly gets deeper and in the most deep area, it is 10 feet. I don't know if I was there on an off day but at a 80 degree, cloudy day, the pool was pretty empty at 4pm with tons of room to swim around and have my own space. Plus, everyone that I interacted with in the pool was really friendly. Most people just tend to keep to themselves. I really enjoyed that. From the pool, there is a nice view-very green and mountains in the background. Always a nice plus! My issue with this pool is that it is completely surrounded by concrete with no shade. There is one small covered area with enough room for one table and a few chairs. As I don't imagine they'll be pulling out the concrete and putting in grass anytime soon, I'd love to see some more covered areas...

Yesterday, #NoCopAcademy brought a group of almost 30 young Black and Brown people to Carter…read moreSwimming pool, a public pool outside of Knoxville, Tennessee. We paid money for our entrance and were immediately greeted with blatant disrespect, dehumanization, and racism. Many of the white folks started getting out of the pool when we got in. One child wanted to have fun with us, and his guardian quickly gathered him in fake concern for our folks, saying "I hope he isn't bothering you" when we were all clearly welcoming him. When a white woman started to swim with us, the lifeguard told her to stop. The pool staff continuously came over to us and gave us rules that they were not enforcing on the white swimmers. They began with telling us we could not swim in the deep end, and yet when white folks got in the deep end they said nothing. They then continued to criminalize our activities by telling us we couldn't splash each other, or horse around. A staff member higher up kept monitoring us coming back and forth and even set up a chair to sit. They would only engage with the white adult present, refusing to recognize or speak to the youth or adults of color. We noticed this behavior and began singing "what side are you on my people? What side are you on? We on the freedom side." This chant was met with extreme responses from many people at the pool. One lifeguard called the police on us- she is pictured here and is currently training to become a cop. The officer who arrived is her uncle. They later informed us that the police were called because we were "singing racist songs." Some of the responses we heard from the pool staff were: "We aren't racist, and I wont shoot you, but they (the police) will." "It doesn't do any good to stir the pot." "These songs could get you killed." "It's good that the youth learn their heritage, but the civil rights movement was 50 years ago." Once the police arrived and we attempted to leave, a cop told a young person in our group "keep walking nigger," and threatened other young people in our group with arrest and physical harms. While the Civil Rights Movement was 50 years ago, anti-blackness (in the south AND the north) is alive and well. We paid to go there to have fun, and were met with racism and threats of violence of our people.. some as young as 12. This is unnacceptable, and we implore the pool in question to fire the lifeguard who called the cops unprovoked, and seriously interrogate their practices as a safe space for young people. Life guards should guard life.

This pool is community based and supported. It has been a…read morepopular summer hangout in the Carter community for many years. Proud of the families and people who have worked over the past few years to get this pool back up and functioning. Thank you for your hard work!

Pretty big pool! Relatively pricey at $18 a person, cash only. Very limited seating but lots of…read morearea to set up your own chairs. Bad choice of music playing on a holiday, not sure if it was just someone there playing music or the place itself but Nickelback and Travis Scott would not be my music choice for a day out. They do search your bags at the door and have quite a bit of warnings about their "dress code" both on the website and outside the building. I understand it is a family park but seems a little overkill. Also made me question the music choice more lol.

Me and my family arrived two hours after they were supposed to open but when we got there the gate…read morewas closed. We had checked their website before we left and it said they were open. We tried calling them multiple times and nobody picked up. After checking their facebook we saw a post that they had made 45 minutes ago that said they were closed and they didn't even leave an explanation as to why they were closed. We checked their website and it still said they were open. We had driven over an hour and a half to come here. Three hours of our day wasted.

Great company to work with! I have used them for a couple of years now and Dustin and his team…read morehave always gone above and beyond to do the job the right way. I appreciate their honesty to let me know that not all pool repairs need to cost $1,000. My last repair quote from another company was over $1,200. Dustin sent his team out and had me back up and running for $150. Would definitely recommend them to anybody in the Knoxville area!

From the owner: Honest local company, dedicated to value our customers and insure quality and trustworthy…read moreperformance

Best community center in the county! Spent alot of my highschool and time playing basketball ball…read morehere as well other recreational​ activities.