History and Beauty Unite at Rocky Mount Parks
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From a miniature train ride at Sunset Park to island weddings at City Lake Park‚ Rocky Mount offers a diverse range of outdoor activities.
“ We try to have something for everyone from kids to seniors‚” says Marlene Payne‚ superintendent of the Rocky Mount Parks and Recreation Department.
With 46 city parks in Rocky Mount‚ it’s almost impossible not to find an activity for every taste. Battle Park‚ covering nearly 56 acres‚ is the largest of the city’s parks and is the original site of the founding of the city of Rocky Mount.
“ Battle Park is a very beautiful place with a lot of history‚” Payne says. “Battle Park has picnic facilities and scenic overlooks. You can also enjoy a walk along the Tar River.”
The oldest of the city’s parks is the 25-acre Sunset Park. It’s very popular with kids because of a miniature train‚ carousel and water spray park‚ which features 10 spouts that shoot water in different configurations.
“ Kids love it‚ but so do adults‚” Payne says. “The train is painted in the colors of the original Atlantic Coast Line trains that used to come through Rocky Mount. The carousel was built in 1920 and restored following the flood in 1999.”
One of the most unusual parks is City Lake Park‚ site of a former reservoir. The park is centered on a lake with an island in the center that is accessible by a footbridge.
“ There’s a gazebo on the island where two or three weddings a year are held‚” Payne says. “And each Sunday after Thanksgiving‚ we have the official opening of the Christmas holiday season with the Lighting of the Lake.”
Martin Luther King Jr. Park is the newest addition to the park system. It includes walking paths‚ picnic shelters and a 7-foot bronze statue of the civil rights leader for which the park is named.
The newly opened 3.1-mile Tar River Greenway‚ which connects five parks in Rocky Mount‚ is growing in popularity with bike riders and walkers. One of the highlights of the trail is a new 220-foot arch suspension bridge over the Tar River‚ the longest clear-span greenway bridge in North Carolina.
Now in the planning stages is a $13 million multifield sports complex‚ which will include four adult baseball fields‚ five youth fields and eight soccer fields. Also on the drawing board is a ropes course set to open this summer on the grounds of the old Arts Center site.
Story by George Stone
Photo by Ronald L. Sowers Photography
