w.o. riley park

We were staying with friends in the great little town and they took us too see this park. It is terrific. It is all that one would want in a park. Very unique. I want to stay just to hear a summer concert!

Great for kids of all ages! It was a bot chilly when we went but we still had a blast! We Will definitely be back when the weather is warmer :)

They just redid this children's park and it is great! My daughter loves the big climbing "contraption" and the extra large swing that holds like 5 kids at once. This park is great for all ages. I wish our town would update our park like this one.

We stumbled across the W.O. Riley Park as we were traveling along I-81. We had made pit stops in Woodstock several times over the years for food along our travels. So, we knew there were several food options in town. This trip I checked the map to see if there were any parks close enough to the interstate to allow the kids to stretch their legs for a little while before dinner. That is when I found W.O. Riley Park located about 1 mile off exit 283.We got off the exit and literally made ONE turn to find the park. When we arrived we saw a gazebo, picnic pavilions and lots of green space. Up the hill we saw the soccer field, swimming pool, tennis courts, clean restrooms and kids play grounds. They have slides built into the side of a hill, that you use tree stumps and rocks as a staircase to get back up to the top. It is really neat. They also have a huge climbing dome and a swing that you stand up on to swing. They have a bigger kids playground with slides and then a toddler playground with a double slide. Both playgrounds had soft mat like material under it to help break any falls. There is a wooden foot bridge with a crawl tunnel underneath it. There is a pergola with a kids sink and water table underneath it. There is a bigger swing set regular swings with what appeared to be at least one handicap swing. They have a HUGE chalkboard there with chalk inside a box. You are supposed to write on it why you "love this park", but most people just signed their names to it. There seemed to be several shade trees and park benches to rest on.While we were there, September 12, 2014, they just so happened to be having an event in the park. One of the locals told me that it was "Shentel Under The Stars" and that it was FREE to everyone who visited the park. They had a big blow up movie screen set up in the park & they were presenting "Muppets Most Wanted" at 7:30pm. They were also providing snacks at no charge. They had popcorn and cotton candy. We did not stay for the movie or eat any of the snacks, as we were going to be getting dinner at a local restaurant before getting back on the interstate, but it was really great to see such a great community event going on while we were there.Before we left we stopped in the Jean Minton Fogle Memorial Garden that is adjacent to the lower picnic pavilion in the park. It is a nice small shaded path with a bench to rest, reflect and relax.Overall, a great park with so much to offer. Our kids had a great time on the toddler slides, slides built into the hill and writing on the giant chalkboard. We were only planning on spending 15-20 minutes here since we were just passing through town & looking for a place to stretch the kids legs, but we ended up spending close to an hour here. It was such a beautiful park & so well maintained. I was told by one of the locals that the park was just redone in the Spring of 2014. You could tell because everything was SO nice. We could have easily spent even more time here. I can imagine that it is a great place to spend an afternoon in the summer when the pool is open (Memorial Day through Labor Day, pool fee $3-$5 depending on age). You could easily spend the day in the pool, on the playgrounds and having a picnic in one of the pavilions. I would recommend it to travelers and locals alike. I know we are going to use this as a stop during our travels in the future. The kids loved it and so did we! Hands down one of the nicest parks we have seen anywhere!