Durham Parks and Recreation: Play More!

Durham Parks and Recreation is celebrating 95 years of connecting the whole community to wellness, the outdoors, and lifelong learning. But what Director Rhonda B. Parker is most proud of is the resident and community partnerships that have been built to make that happen. The Tamia & Grant Hill Foundation, FILA USA recently partnered with DPR to renovate not one, not two, but three outdoor basketball courts at Hillside Park. Anchored by the W.D. Hill Recreation Center, Hillside Park serves as a nucleus of the community and a gathering place for the neighborhood. On Saturday, April 13, The Durham Parks Foundation, Durham Parks and Recreation and Durham City Council Member, Charlie Reece, joined Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, Grant Hill, and FILA North President Jennifer Estabrook to unveil the three newly refurbished basketball courts at Hillside Park. Over one hundred community members joined the celebration and received free t-shirts, mini basketballs, refreshments and...

Summer is coming to an end but with Fall right around the corner, we are excited to announce the official release of our September - December 2019 Play More Guide! We've got 63 pages of fun, interactive and educational programs and activities for all ages, intensity levels and interests. Whether you go on a History Hike at West Point on the Eno or sign up for the Hip Hop and Paint class at Holton Career and Resource Center, there is something for everyone! Registration officially opens up on Thursday, August 1, 2019. If you have an activity in your wish list, such as swim lessons for your kids or Zumba fitness classes for you, make sure to mark your calendar for registration day because activity spots fill up very fast! How do I register for a program? We want to make sure you're ready to go on August 1! We have an online registration portal, called Active Net , that allows participants to register for most programs in the comfort of their own home. You can search for you...

Hopefully you know by now that we have a new mascot that has joined the Durham Parks and Recreation team, and his name is Parkson Rex! Parkson has been exploring our parks, checking out programs at our Recreation Centers and representing DPR at events all around Durham! Here are some fun facts about Parkson... Species: Sciurus carolinensis (The Eastern Gray Squirrel) Birthplace: Durham, NC Adopted Parents: Earl and Pearl Workplace: Durham Parks and Recreation Job Title: Mascot His hobbies includes climbing trees, playing in Durham parks and exercising at DPR Recreation Centers. He has a passion for connecting with the Durham community to wellness, the outdoors and lifelong learning! If you see him around the City, make sure to give him a hug or high five. He also loves dancing and new exercise moves...maybe you can teach him some new ones!? And don't forget, Parkson loves to laugh! Make sure to share 'A-corny' joke with him! To learn more ...

Are you and the family looking for something fun to do this summer? How about take an adventure in Durham and partake in a real-world treasure hunt in the great outdoors! It's called Geocaching and here's how it works! After creating a free account online , you'll navigate your way through our parks using GPS coordinates that have been specifically set to lead you to a certain location (i.e. under a park bench by the playground). Each location has a fun name tied to the geocache, which sometimes help you navigate to the landmark. For example, there is a geocache ready to be found called "EE Pavilion" at West Point on the Eno...this is most likely located somewhere very close to our brand new Environmental Education Pavilion. Once you are near the location, read the clues provided to then locate a hidden container called the 'geocache'. For more in depth instructions and FAQS, visit this website . You can log your progress and let others know if you found...

Get ready to get in the game this July with Durham Parks and Recreation (DPR) and the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA). Since 1985, America has celebrated July as the nation’s official Park and Recreation Month. Created by NRPA. Park and Recreation Month specifically highlights the vital and powerful role local parks and recreation, such as Durham Parks and Recreation, play in conservation, health and wellness, and social equity efforts in communities all across the country. This year, it is all about highlighting the fun, games and exciting offerings at your local parks and recreation centers. From providing special events to exciting sports leagues and everything in between, Durham Parks and Recreation has a wide variety of programs that are not only fun, they also bring the community together. NRPA and DPR are encouraging everyone to get out there and get in the game in their own way at their local parks and recreation centers. How can you celebrate and ...

Did you know that July is Parks and Recreation Month!? In Durham, you can celebrate with us by participating in our Fun Caravan, which will be visiting parks all over the city. Fun Caravan is a mobile recreation program that brings recreation to communities throughout Durham by providing a variety of fun, active, and challenging recreation experiences for children up to 12 years old. The program offers a variety of unstructured activities from arts and crafts to obstacle courses to more traditional games like relay races. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Weather permitting, there will be five Fun Caravans this July- one every Wednesday morning! Unstructured play is critical for the healthy development of children. At Fun Caravan, we provide arts and crafts supplies and outdoor resources for games, and then encourage children and their parents to play freely! Allow your child to lead and create the games. When children are given the time and space to play liberally, the...

School is out and summer boredom will soon kick in...but we've got your teens covered with a full schedule of activities to keep them active and engaged! MyDurham is a free evening program held during the school year for teens 13 to 18 years old at six of our local recreation centers every Monday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. This year, we're excited to announce the program is expanding into the summer months, with more free offerings for teens while they are out of school! Swing by Weaver Street Recreation Center (3000 East Weaver Street) or the Durham Teen Center at Lyon Park (1101 Cornell Street), for free drop-in programming starting at 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Teens must have an active 2019-2020 MyDurham membership, which is free to all teens, and can be obtained upon their first visit to the program. Activities will include gardening, video game tournaments, indoor hockey, arts and crafts, job readiness, and best of all, three off-campus fiel...

Durham Parks and Recreation’s Outdoor Recreation Unit invites you to spend some time in nature with us at the new Environmental Education Pavilion at West Point on the Eno. Last summer, the North Carolina State University School of Design’s Summer Design Studio designed and built a beautiful pavilion overlooking a sprawling meadow on the north side of West Point on the Eno Park. The project, funded by Durham Parks Foundation and various other supporters, was completed in ten short weeks during the heat of the summer and gave us a perfect place to present nature-based programming and to invite our community to explore the outdoors. Prior to the completion of the Environmental Education Pavilion, the Durham Parks and Recreation Outdoor Recreation unit did not have a specific programming area. Programs were led at many of the beautiful parks around the city but there was not a location to have a home base. Beginning in the Fall of 2018, upon the completion of the new pavilion, we were...