Best National Park Fayetteville Near Me

4worldlovers:
Nature Center Hours: March-Oct.: Mon.-Fri. 8 am-5 pm, Sat. 10 am-4 pm

Clark Park and its Nature Center join the Cape Fear River Trail (CFRT) and Moses Mathis “Bicycle Man” playground/trailhead to form a complex suited to hours of enjoyment and education. It remains a natural woodland area dedicated to preserving the environment, educating the public on North Carolina plants and wildlife, and providing a place to passively commune with nature. The Nature Center features exhibits and free viewing of live animals. You can walk an outdoor storybook on the trail near the playground.Visitors can picnic overlooking the woods and one of the highest waterfalls in the coastal plain.

For those interested in walking or jogging, the park has its own set of unpaved trails, and also serves as a trailhead for the paved CFRT. The CFRT has dedicated mountain biking trails, accessed near the Rivercliff subdivision at the bottom of Eastwood Avenue. Well behaved, leashed pets are welcome on trails as long you clean up after them.

Clark Park Nature Center offers nature and recreation programming for educators, groups, individuals and families. Programs meet at the Nature Center unless otherwise noted. You must pre-register for all programs. Register early; space is limited in most programs. If enrollment is low, programs are canceled.

Contact the park office at 910-433-1579 if you would like to receive a copy of our monthly newsletter with updated program information or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fcprnature.

CLICK HERE to view the "Call of the Wild," our most recent Nature & Outdoor Programming Newsletter

Alligators chomping, snakes swallowing, and turtles snapping, come see what is for dinner at the nature center.

You and your child are invited to Clark Park for an interactive storytime with the Cumberland County Public Library. The story will be followed by themed crafts and activities. Call or register online.

See how many different species you can find in a 1ft X 1ft square and log them in iNaturalist for the City Nature Challenge. You might be surprised at how many things you can find once you take a closer look! Call or register online.

Plants have developed many defensive strategies to survive. Many are poisonous if eaten or harmful if touched. Go on a guided hike through the woods to discover some of the plants that should be avoided. Call or register online.

Identify different varieties of ferns along the trails at Clark Park. Afterward, make a craft with the ferns that were found for Mother’s Day. Call or register online.

North Carolina is home to a great variety of insects. From beautiful moths to giant stag beetles, thousands of species are found in the Fayetteville area. Learn basic insect anatomy and about the different kinds found here, including other closely related creepy crawlies like spiders. Find out which ones can be harmful and which are beneficial. Call or register online

Discover how wildlife observers use different field guide to identify animals then go on a search in the park to see what you can identify. Call or register online.

Salamanders are the lesser-known amphibian cousins of the frogs. Many people have never encountered one in the wild even though North Carolina has the most species of salamanders of any state. Visit with the Nature Center's live resident tiger salamander and after learning about the fascinating variety of species found in our state, participants will go on a salamander hunt to search for wild salamanders in the park. Call or register online.

Before the age of modern medicine, people had to know how to use different plants to treat their ailments. Native plants also served as a source of food for those who knew how to properly collect and prepare them. Learn about the edible and medicinal plants of N.C. on this ranger-led hike. Call or register online.

What makes lizards unique? Take a look at different types of lizards and what makes them similar and different to other reptiles. Some live animals and models will be on display. Call or register online.

4worldlovers:
High-quality outdoor play and recreation environments are essential to community health and wellness. Research indicates that when stakeholders are engaged in the planning process, evidence-based design best practices are implemented with the built environment, and supplemental programming is offered to further enhance user experiences, then positive outcomes occur.

PlayCore’s Center for Outreach, Research, and Education (CORE) leads the National Demonstration Site (NDS) Network as an important effort to raise national awareness, recognize projects of excellence, and help local communities demonstrate the positive impact they are making on Community Vitality. National Demonstration Sites use comprehensive and validated research to provide a unique way to organize and report the indicators of a vital community.

There are five design best practice programs that help communities turn research into practice. Choose to utilize one or a combination of National Demonstration Site designations to thoughtfully advocate for inclusive play, youth physical activity, adult outdoor fitness, nature play, and playful pathways.

Intentionally aligning to National Demonstration Site design criteria ensures that your community can maximize the value of your investment by implementing scholarly best practice research to activate play and recreation destinations. With evidence-based best practices to design and implement high-quality play and recreation environments, National Demonstration Sites receive recognition, demonstrate impact through data services, and site-specific reports to share and showcase the impact on community health and wellness.

Learn more about the National Demonstration Site Network Designations and Benefits

Check out the map below to locate National Demonstration Sites near you!

Contact us to learn more about the Network and Turning Research Into Practice

Download the brochure to share with your team on the benefits of being a part of the network

Contact our NDS administrator who can get you oriented and share next steps.

4worldlovers: Take a stroll on the one-mile border trail through the wetlands to Bone Creek, play a game of soccer with friends, or have a family picnic. The park has an assortment of outdoor amenities, including picnic areas, horseshoe pits, walking trails, tennis courts, sand volleyball courts, athletic fields, natural areas, a Native American-themed garden, and children’s playgrounds are here for you to enjoy. All facilities are open to the public on a first come, first serve basis, unless they are reserved. Well-behaved, furry family members are welcome to enjoy a walk around the park, but they must be on a leash and under your control at all times.