Town Common: Greenville’s Favorite Park

Town Common is a great local park in Greenville NC right on the Tar River with a public boat ramp, river walk, outdoor amphitheater and much more. It also has one of the best public playgrounds we have seen in the area.

If you live in the Greenville Area you probably know where this is an have been there at least once. If you head here during the warm months or an event check out this parking map.

Unique Playground

As the father to a toddler, this was the first thing I noticed.  The playground if fairly new but some of the heavy use from being a local favorite is starting to show. All of the play space is fenced off with only two entrances (no gates). This is helpful for any concerned parents since the different play areas are quite expansive. The play ground has a few distinct areas. Fair warning, this is a very popular park so do not be surprised if you have to park on the street or in another near by parking area. Alternatively, you can also check out these other near by parks: West Meadowbrook Park, River Park North or Wildwood Park

Little Kids

One of our favorite is the young children playground. This has a bunch of things kids under the age of 3 can do and enjoy without risks associated with a larger traditional play area. Madilyn loves this area and usually spends most of here time here when we go. They even have a few different xylophones next to this area so you can enjoy the sounds of aspiring musicians.

Big Kids

The “big kid” part of the playground is very unique in many ways. They have your traditional mix of slides and climbing things but they also have lots of different ropes secured to climb on. These range from bridges to tunnels and more. There is also a slide made out of rollers. The roller slide can take you by surprise. It is at a gentle decline but because it has rollers, you go much faster than you may think. You may want to take it slow the first time you go down this. Kaitlyn went down it while holding Madilyn one of the first times we went and shot right off the bottom of the slide full tilt.

I personally love the spinning platform. This similar to there merry go rounds old play grounds used to have but this seems much safer. This is the first one I have seen in a new generation play ground and you can definitely get it up to speed.Now they also have these rolling rope swings. They are only really good for older kids who usually love them.

Mobility Consideration

I was really impressed the lengths to which this play ground is wheel chair accessible. There is a ramp or reasonable means of getting to most of the play ground with ease. There are even several purpose made features for people in wheel chairs. I have been blessed to not have to consider these features but I can see how needed they could be. Rather than try to describe all of the features, check out the below pictures to see for your self. Hats off to Greenville for making a very inclusive play space at Town Common.

With all the cool new things this playground has,  it took me a while to realize that it completely lacked a basic swing set. I only really noticed after visiting some family and remembering how much Madilyn loved to swing. With everything else this place has to do, it is absolutely forgivable. Maybe they will add them one day and I will have to remove my one critique. If you have younger kids, this is hands down the go-to place for them to get some energy out.

I DON’T HAVE KIDS!

I was just getting to that. Town Common has a great boat launch into the Tar river. It is also fairly common to see a box truck down by the water with some paddle boats for rent. If this boat ramp is too busy, you can go down to Port Terminal Rd (4 Miles). You will not have to worry about park crowds there.

Greenway

The walkway down by the water is very nice. We usually stroll down here to finish off our visits to this park. It seems people have taken to attaching locks to the railing. There is not enough to call it cute yet but it is getting there. You can take the green way from the park around Greenville. It is a nice walk if you have the time but it does go through a large portion of ECU off campus housing. A continued frustration I have with the Town of Greenville/Winterville is the general lack of substantial running/biking trails. The greenway is their attempt at an answer. Once you get away from the park, it is not as great. I will have to do a proper review of it sometime soon.

Amphitheater

One cool part about this park is the gentle slope the ground has towards the water. The designers took advantage of this and built a covered stage near the water which creates a natural amphitheater. There are some festivals and concerts that use this stage and it makes for a really cool set up. During warm months, keep a look out for local events going on. We stumbled onto a heritage festival one day and there were food trucks lining the street.

Overall

Town common is a local staple for family entertainment for good reason. I highly recommend taking your younger kids here for a good time. The local concerts and events are always worth checking out.

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