You don’t have to get on a plane or escape to the shore to get the rest and relaxation we all need to decompress each week. Charlotte has 12 nature preserves encompassing 5,600 acres of natural communities and hundreds of parks. Charlotte is increasingly becoming a bike, fitness, and outdoor activity city. Practically everywhere you look, bike paths sprawl before us and walkways stretch through urban neighborhoods. The parks that populate the Queen City are packed on weekends, during lunch hours and after work, as people respond to the urge to be outside, and spend time communing with nature. Indeed, Charlotte area parks and recreation is thriving. This month, we’re delighted to share some of our favorite parks and recreational opportunities, and give readers the scoop on some exciting news on what’s ahead.
Join in the fun
There’s no better way to get in shape than with others. It’s a proven fact that exercising with other people helps you stay committed to the task, and stick with a fitness routine. Charlotte’s Parks and Recreation department has established leagues for many sports, so everyone is sure to find an active outlet in which to participate. Two on two and four on four leagues are open to men, women and there are also co-recreation teams. Sports makes you comrades in action, so check out CharMeck.com to find out which one is right for you. The eParks section of the web site allows park goers to browse from hundreds of activities.
Nature Preserves
Stewardship Services manages 12 nature preserves protecting over 5,600 acres of natural communities. These nature preserves are crucial to our local environment for many reasons, not the least of which includes providing habitat for rare and common plant life and many animals. Additionally, our nature preserves safeguard the beauty of our county and offer a place to hold educational activities. They also give new generations of children an opportunity to observe wildlife in their natural habitats. Often Charlotte’s nature preserves extend to provide passive recreational activities as long as they are companionable to the protection of the natural area in which they occur.
Charlotte Mecklenburg’s Parks and Recreation nature preserves include:
Latta Plantation
McDowell
Reedy Creek
Cowan's Ford
Evergreen
Ribbon Walk
Rural Hill
Auten
Stephen's Road
Gar Creek
Bracket Bluff
Shuffleton Prairie
Some of our favorites
It’s hard to pick a favorite park, with so many to choose from. In various areas around Charlotte there is practically a park for every type of activity, and every kind of person. Dog owners, cyclists and walkers, as well as tennis buffs and nature lovers have their pick on any given day.
Veteran’s Park – activities on your own, great for kids
This park seems to be one of Charlotte’s best kept secrets. Located in Plaza Midwood on Central Avenue adjacent to Tippah Park, this park is for the active park visitor. Baseball field, tennis courts are usually not busy, and well kept. A playground for the kids is accented by a sprinkler water fountain the little ones will splash through for hours on end. On a hot Saturday you can expect to see upwards of 30 pairs of little feet splashing through the sprinklers.
Freedom Park – beauty, nature, activities galore and culture
Freedom Park is perhaps one of Charlotte’s most beloved parks. The circular route is host of hundreds of joggers and walkers daily. With volleyball, soccer, tennis, playground, outdoor stage and lots more to do there, it’s also one of the busiest parks in the city. The Little Sugar Creek runs parallel straight through the park, and the main section surrounds a large pond – home to geese and the artists who paint them. This picturesque place is a favorite backdrop for many artists, and offers movies in the park and innumerable events which are free to the public.
Edgehill Neighborhood Park – local, small, easy
You’ve probably seen this little gem a hundred times and not even realized it’s there. This tiny park is off Morehead near Carolinas Medical Center at Queens Road. Located at one of those infuriating intersections which have many names and several access points, Edgehill is a charming combination of quiet areas to catch up on reading, perfect playground for the kids and a tennis court. This court even has a backboard. Edgehill is the perfect place for a romantic picnic or just to get some Vitamin D courtesy of the sun at the end of a long day.
Charlotte, finally connected
It’s been in the making for a long while, but now Charlotteans everywhere can see the progress of the Little Sugar Creek Greenway as it will be in 2010 upon completion. This incredible development is an important step in preserving Charlotte history and making the city more mobile for pedestrians and cyclists. The greenway emphasizes the connectivity needed to serve as alternative transportation to retail and uptown destinations. It also provides passive recreation and activity focal points to engage people throughout the day and into the evening hours.
Developments include the Pearl Street Bridge to Morehead Street, currently under construction. In 2010, all of the many sections of the Greenway will be connected as a continuous greenway marked by a public celebration. And in May of 2010, The May 20th Society will celebrate the unveiling of the Spirit of Mecklenburg Statue of Captain James Jack at the corner of 4th Street and Kings Drive.
A large central fountain between the new Pearl Street Bridge and Morehead Street will be the centerpiece of the greenway with casual seating and an overlook to Little Sugar Creek and a lower creekside plaza. Flanked by trees all around, the fountain, at an estimated 70 feet wide, will be a major attraction.
Festival in the Park plans to extend their event all the way from the new CPCC Culinary Arts Facility at 7th Street through the new urban sections and Freedom Park to Park Road Shopping Center. The greenway provides the setting of a linear park for many festivals and events. An event garden with public restrooms will be completed next to the Metropolitan, which could provide movie nights, weddings, parties, and flower shows. A garden area will provide seating places for casual greenway users. Another garden space will be created between Elizabeth Avenue and 4th Street, immediately north of St. Mary's Chapel and west of Little Sugar Creek. This garden will feature native plantings and stream restoration. To the east of the creek, different levels of plazas will rise to the Spirit of Mecklenburg statue at Kings Drive.
You don’t have to wait for an invitation from a friend, neighbor, or sports buddy. Charlotte’s parks are beckoning you now… come, enjoy, and rejoice, because nature is the finest entertainment. And with so many shows to choose right here in your back yard, the next time you have a free hour, day or weekend, make it a point to get to know one of our beautiful parks and participating in the many recreational opportunities they provide.
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