You will not believe the size of a snapping turtle! River Park North is a unique opportunity to get in touch with the swampy nature of Eastern North Carolina. Greenville loves to hide its parks.
On The Other Side Of The… River
On the North Side of the Tar River in Greenville lies River Park North. Not far from Town Common, West Meadowbrook and my least favorite Greenville park. The area around River Park North is intermitted developed and mostly flood plains. The swampy lowlands is the main draw the park offers.
Getting there is not hard but it is easy to miss the turn. The road is straight and the entrance is tucked back. Parking is sized fairly. One downside to the park is its isolation. Similar to West Meadowbrook and my least favorite Greenville park, you really have to go out of your way to get to it which cuts down on most of the foot traffic.
We had no issues finding a parking spot when we came on a beautiful Saturday morning and I cannot see a situation where that would be different. Some spots do have some precious shade which is nice on hot summer days.
Is That A Rhino?
The Nature Center
The first thing we did when we got to River Park North was check out the Nature Center. This is the main building near the front entrance that you can not miss. The frustrating thing is there is a cost to enter. Now it is only 3$ for adults and $1.50 for kids but still. Probably 90% of all parks we go to have a free visitor center with a small set of exhibits to check out. The exhibits at Hammocks beach state park and Merchant Millpond State Park were really good and completely free.
Cost aside, the nature center boasts a 10,000 gallon fish tanks, several live exhibits, theater and a teaching classroom. I was interested to see the large tank but when we got there we found that the whole tank was empty and rather dirty. From what I could gather something had broken with the tank and they had removed all the fish. There were still quite a few snakes and turtles out to interact with. Madilyn loved the turtles and wanted nothing else besides to continue to pet their shells.
The Classroom contains a variety of different items to play with. There were some more turtles, live plants, various educational toys and a live topographic sand table. As a map nerd, I loved the sand table. Madilyn was not too interested in anything here
Hit The Trails
One of the main attraction of River Park North is the short albeit beautiful nature trail. The only real trail heads directly south from the parking lot to the Tar River. One day, Greenville plans to connect River Park North, Town Common and Wildwood Parks using the Greenville City greenway. That would make this humble trail quite a bit more impressive.
We were in no hurry to get anywhere when we started out. The views you see along the way are the main attraction. The ponds near the beginning frame some beautiful views and are often filled with fishermen. The woods are quiet and give way to immaculate cypress swamps. I was not expecting to find these trees so close to downtown Greenville.
One down side is that there is nothing much to see at the end of the trail. It feels like a trail to nowhere even though you can see the Tar river. This trail is perfect though for just getting some fresh air if you are in the area.
Lets Look Around
As the father to a toddler, I am always on the hunt for the next playground. River Park North technically has two play…spaces. The first one is right near the entrance. This is specifically made for kids age 5-12 according to the sign. This area contains a boat, a tiny library hutch, and a variety of spaces to run and play on. It is a little odd in terms of most modern playgrounds.
The other playground is really just a large sand pit with a few cement sculptures intended for kids to play on. It might be interesting except it is directly in the sun and really underwhelming. Madilyn was not interested in it either.
One key attraction to the park is the fishing. You will find several stocked ponds on the premises that you can put small boats into. There are boat launch points and even piers for some of them. I saw a few people fishing when I came in early fall. I am not a fisherman but I can see how this convenience and seclusion would be really valuable. It was clear to me that fishing is something many of the regular visitor enjoy when I noticed a that some bait was for sale at the park office.
This Hike Smells Fishy
Jokes aside, River Park North has a enjoyable nature walk through the local wetlands of easter NC. We really enjoyed the opportunity to connect with nature so close to our home at the time. And though I do not fish, I can appreciate how much of a resource this is to the local fishermen community.
Overall
River Park North has a neat little nature trail that is worth adding to your rotation of parks if you live in the area. They try to offer a variety of amenities but many of them miss the mark for one reason or another. Town Common and West Meadow Brook are the gold standard to beat in the area.
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