Nike Park (NP) is a 100-acre park, and in addition to many wonderful amenities, it has historical ties. During the Cold War, the United States feared bombings from the Soviets, and created a Nike surface-to-air missile system. Because of that, Nike-Ajax Missile Base was started due to the large military installations in Hampton Roads. "The Carrollton Nike Missile Battery, N-75, was operational by 1954 and was one of eight bases that made up the Norfolk Defense Area. As with all continental bases, it consisted of two areas: a launch area and a control area. These two sites were connected by an underground cable system that enabled them to communicate" (http://www.historicisleofwight.com/nike-park.html). Here are the wonderful amenities at NP: * Restrooms with water fountains * Large playground * Skate/BMX park * Tennis courts * Picnic Tables with grills * Fishing Pier on Jones Creek * Nature trail * Mountain bike trail (the trail is about 2.5-miles but it's not a loop--you have to either turn around or follow the field out) * Softball/soccer fields * Basketball Courts * Senior Center * Recreation hall and multi-purpose room * Beautiful, old trees especially around the playground I had been to NP a couple of times, but I didn't realize the wonderful mountain bike trail, and the historic ties to the park. I will be taking my boys here soon to use the mountain bike trail, and check out the location of the underground missile magazines. NP is a wonderful park to visit, and so many things to do. For More Information: Here is video about the history of Nike-Ajax Missile Base on Nike Park. It's about 14 minutes long: https://goo.gl/appShO http://nikemissile.org/ http://ed-thelen.org/loc.html http://alpha.fdu.edu/~bender/N-view.html read more