For those overly fond of beautiful open spaces and healthy exercise, the Town of Wake Forest has just the place for you to hang out, E. Carroll Joyner Park.
With it’s 2,000 linear feet of stone ribbon wall to the clean bathrooms, there is something for everyone, except for couch potatoes. Nope, the couch potatoes will hate the three miles of walking trails, “are we there yet”? And let’s not forget the babbling brooks, fantastic foliage, beautiful views, restored buildings, and a pecan grove.
Whoever thought the pecan grove was a good idea was clearly nuts.
The park has 117 acres to play hide and seek in and I wish to believe there are nary a chigger in the woods. Chiggers bad.
Wake Forest stuck it in the eye of Wake County when they opened the park. You see, Joyner Park is the largest park in the entire county the gauntlet has been thrown down for Wake County to not cross that line.
Entertainment is welcome in Joyner Park with it’s 1,000 lawn seat amphitheater. However there is no assigned seating on the grass. No row D to find. The Town of Wake Forest says, “The amphitheater is an excellent venue for the popular Six Sundays in Spring concert series.” Apparently the rest of the year it’s totally up for grabs.
My favorite part of the park is the magical power pole garden. In fact, here’s a map of the park.
- A: Power pole garden. Quite modern and avant-garde.
- B: A place I’ve never been.
- C: Damn Dam.
- D: Wheeee.
- E: Wossie shortcut for when you get tired.
- F: A grayish line.
The land for the park is known to be very fertile. The Walker family ran an active farm in this location and raised produce to sell to local merchants.
Willie (Will) Lee and Mamie Tee Walker owned the farm for 36 years before selling it to Mr. Joyner in 1982.
E. Carroll Joyner, not to be confused with his friend, a boy named Sue, raised cattle on the land the park now occupies. Cattle were pooping there as recently as the 1990s.
Joyner Park is now one of our communities treasured resources. We’d have to agree.
Disappointedly, for us couch potatoes, the park plans to add more recreational options in the future including a playground, soccer fields, and other sports played with balls, fields.
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