Capp Smith Park — Attraction in Watauga

Not too bad, plenty of places to sit and hang out, there are excercise stations and poop bags for pets, the trail itself is super nice with small hills for a nice bike riding/ running experience, the path is wide, so multiple people can walk together and the 'wildlife' is nice, many ducks, birds, and fish. There not-so-recent edition was the little stage area that is covered, it gives the option of sitting and chilling by the fountain and the ability to climb the stairs-if that exercise is what your into. The park is located behind the police station, so it is generally safe and everyone I've met is extremely nice.

However, the reason I am giving the park 3 stars is because of their playground. The playground used to be a place where my friends would go to hang out, drink monsters, and eat icecream while chilling with the little kids and just having an overall good time. A few years back they remodeled the playground so that only children under the age of 8 could have fun. The playground I used to love as a kid, where I not only grew up playing with teenagers, younger kids, and my friends, a place where my parents could enjoy the experience and play with me, or sit back and watch us have fun, has been reduced to a place where the slides are shabby, the bars are short, the see-saw was taken away from us, the old-style wheel which people would spin and jump off of was replaced with a safe, new-age, infant friendly plastic seats where everyone has to push the center for it to turn. The entire main structure is unsafe, as me and my friends- 3 teenagers- standing on it made the structure feel uneasy, if we all rocked back and forth the entire thing would shake. Everything is made for people under 4 foot, meaning I never see teenagers, parents, or really anyone there anymore. What a way to ruin a nice day with my best friend than to realize our spot was changed for the worse. It's not just nostalgia that I'm mad about, but the fact that they replaced it with something that not...

I came here (North entrance off Starnes) only to fish and from that standpoint it's disappointing. Saw a lot of folks walking and enjoying the other features of this park, so it gets credit for that as well as having a clean indoor restroom. Overall appearance: parking lot, park maintanence and otherwise, I rate as just average. Lots of ducks and turtles in the pond, but can't really say if there's fish here. 2 days later: I visited using the South entrance off Whitley behind the Watauga library: very nice landscaped areas for sitting, etc with a covered pavilion and restrooms. Pond bank won't be accessable until work in progress is finished sometime Spring/Summer 2020. Should be excellent here once...

There’s something almost otherworldly about Capp Smith Park, where secrets seem to linger in the air. Treasure hunters will find delight in the hidden geocaches scattered throughout, while the lake holds its own mysteries—if you peer into its depths, you might catch a glimpse of the giant freshwater snails gliding silently across the bottom. Ducks drift like sentinels on the water, their calm presence adding to the park’s tranquil spell. And just when the atmosphere feels too serene, the splash pad bursts with laughter and light, grounding you in the moment. It’s a place where the mundane meets the mystical, waiting for you to...