Elmira Avenue Park — Attraction in Durham

I was visiting family near this park and was a little early, so I typed in "parks near me" and Elmira Avenue Park showed up, so I navigated there. The entrance is poorly marked with a skinny road that at first I thought was an alley, and had to stop quickly because my GPS said I was there. As I pulled in, I still wasn't sure at first I was in the right place, but then I saw the tennis courts, so I knew I was on the right track. There were many people there including a school some taking lessons, and others practicing for their school, and all courts were full. The courts were very nice, maintained, lined, actually very, very nice courts. I came to walk my dogs, so before I did that, I went to use the restroom... oh boy... The side facing the courts and parking area were either closed, or storage, oddly arranged and unmarked, the back side was marked as neither men or women, but common use, which is fine except... I'm a man trying to use the restroom around a bunch of kids, and I quickly found out that the door latches were taped over and broken, so anyone could walk in on you! So I opted to just hold it, and not use the jail inspired utilities that are all stainless steel, like 100% jail house construction. Ok, so walking the dogs was ok, I walked toward the playground area where nobody was, again, it was actually a very nice playground with limited grassy area and even a dog bag dispenser for anyone who forgot theirs. Overall, the tennis courts and playground would get an A, but the "feel" of the park is weird, tucked in whatever random shape property surrounded by trees, and unsettling paths that pass by the playground and tennis courts that obviously aren't a park path (and if they are, this retired veteran isn't going down them!), all make for a weird experience, to say the least. Also on pulling out; I have a Honda Fit, by no means a low rider, and went VERY slow exiting onto the street, and my car bottomed out. So tennis courts A+, playground A, atmosphere D+, restrooms F, Parking C, dog friendliness D (due to very limited area), general...

I’m just here to talk about the playground. It’s a very colorful play structure for ages 5-12. My 2 year old was able to play on it supervised and with assistance. The step to get onto the play set is rather high and the only other ways up are a various ladders that I spotted my almost 5 year old on. There are 3 slides. If you go on a day after rain, the slide that turns holds water so be careful. The play structure is over wood chucks. If you have a climber, they’ll love this park. There’s one bench and an umbrella over part of the structure for shade. There’s lots of open space around it. There are no swings and no toddler play structure. My boys rated it a 7/10.

There are trails surrounding the park, tennis courts and a basketball court. There’s also a bathroom but I didn’t actually go in. There’s a nice sized parking lot and a...

Great place for pickup basketball or leisurely tennis. Several tennis courts and 3 basketball courts, as well as a playground for families with childre. Full access for a nice walk or bike ride on the American Tobacco Trail. This park is set off in a neighborhood close to NCCU, with little exposure from busy Fayetteville St., only 2...