Craven County Recreation and Parks Information

Note from David Santiago: 

David Santiago is an eight year resident of Fairfield Harbour.  He was appointed to the 2024 voluntary advisory board of the Craven County Recreation and Parks Department.  The Latham Whitehurst Nature Park on Broad Creek Road has multi-purpose trails and kayak ramps for visitor enjoyment.  It is the closest County Park to Fairfield Harbour.  

The following is from the Director of Craven County Recreation and Parks Department highlighting their multiple parks, services, activities, and programs.  Please reach out to David Santiago or the Recreation and Parks Department with any questions, comments, or ideas that can be used for further consideration.

Craven County currently has four parks in their system and they are: Rocky Run Park, West Craven Park, Latham Whitehurst Nature Park, and Creekside Park.  Below is a short description of each. Also coming soon, a new nature park east of New Bern with 173 acres of walking trails, biking trails and water access.  For more information visit: https://cravencounty.recdesk.com/Community/Page?pageId=2159 or like us Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cravencoparksandrec.  Our office is located at 1821 Old Airport Road and our phone number is 252-636-6606.  

Rocky Run Park - 411 Rocky Run Road, New Bern

Rocky Run Park is located at 411 Rocky Run Road, New Bern and is a 5-acre neighborhood park located just off Hwy 17 south on Rocky Run Road. This park offers playground equipment, a picnic shelter with 4 tables (seats 25-30), a basketball court & open space. This park opened to the public in 1982. Reservations can be made for a nominal fee. The Shelter Reservation Form can be accessed on our Forms page.

West Craven Park - 2791 Street Ferry Road, Vanceboro

West Craven Park is located at 2791 Street Ferry Road, Vanceboro. West Craven Park was developed with assistance from a $500,000 State Parks and Recreation Trust Fund Grant and was dedicated on April 25, 2009. It is comprised of 90 acres and is located across the street from West Craven High School, making it a great addition for recreation opportunities to the citizens of western Craven County. The park has four full size football/lacrosse fields, 3 youth baseball/softball fields with a batting cage, 1 older adult baseball field, 6 tennis courts, 2 beach volleyball courts, updated playground equipment, picnic shelter and restroom facilities.  

Latham Whitehurst Nature Park - 1095 Broad Creek Road, New Bern

Latham Whitehurst Nature Park is located at 1095 Broad Creek Road, New Bern, NC 28560.  Craven County's Latham Whitehurst Nature Park opened in 2011 and is comprised of 133 acres of preserved pristine coastal land. This was Craven County's first nature park, which is geared toward the natural environment and offers hiking, nature observation, bird watching and access to Broad Creek by way of a boardwalk. It is located approximately one mile north from Lee's Landing. If you would like more information to reserve the picnic shelter, click on the Shelter Reservations tab.

Creekside Park - 1821 Old Airport Road, New Bern

Creekside Park is located at 1821 Old Airport Road, New Bern, NC. 28560.  Creekside Park is the largest athletic park in Craven County with youth soccer, football, baseball, and softball fields open for play.  Court play is available for all ages in tennis, beach volleyball, bocce & Pickleball.  An 18-hole disc golf course is also available and free to the public.  Walking trails with natural, paved, and hard gravel run throughout the park.  Water access for kayaking, fishing or just enjoying is found along Brices Creek.  Three playgrounds including an inclusive playground located near the entrance, four picnic shelters for events of different sizes and three batting cages which are first come, first serve.  Parking areas and restroom facilities can be found throughout the park. 

Programs

Our department offers a variety of programs to include league play, instructional classes, camps, clinics and we facilitate numerous youth sport programs. Two of our core programs that we lead are Special Olympics Craven County and Neuse River Senior Games and Silver Arts.  Below is an overview of our department’s offerings and the organizations we work with to provide programming throughout Craven County. 

Special Olympics Craven County offers opportunities year round for athletes in Craven County.  Team practices in Bocce, Swimming & Equestrian are held throughout the year.  Competitions in Bocce, Basketball shooting, swimming and track & field are a part of this program as well.  Fundraising is held each year to provide our Special Olympic Athletes access to these opportunities at no cost.   Neuse River Senior Games and Silver Arts is a 6-county competition held each spring in Craven County.  Competition is held in Olympic type sports and the arts with chances to advance to state and national level competitions.  For the first time in 2023 Neuse River Senior Games hosted a Pickleball tournament in the fall with over 70 participants.  

Foreground: Fairfield Harbour residents competing in the Neuse River Fall Senior Games

Youth sports leagues offered through our department are basketball in the winter, beach volleyball in the spring, and indoor volleyball in the fall.  Our department also works with organizations to provide youth baseball, softball, soccer, and football throughout the county.  In addition, we work with travel teams and senior softball as they practice on our fields to participate in tournaments throughout the state.  

Adult sports leagues offered through our department are beach volleyball in the spring and fall, kickball in the spring and fall and softball in the spring and fall.  In addition, our department works with the Craven Chains Disc Golf group to provide league play throughout the year.  

Instructional classes are held throughout the year in tennis, golf, kayaking, and we will add Pickleball in 2024.  Camps for youth are held in the summer that include basketball, baseball, tennis, outdoor adventure, volleyball & PE.  Clinics are held throughout the year for both indoor and beach volleyball.  

Our department is involved in special events including a pitch, hit & run competition, Trail to Tryon race, and several clean sweep events each year.  We work with an area elementary school on a bicycle rodeo event in the spring.  We are also involved with state organizations that affect our profession including NCRPA, North Carolina Senior Games & Special Olympics North Carolina.  

We are constantly looking for new program and event opportunities and would welcome your feedback at recreation@cravencountync.gov.  Please also visit our website at https://cravencounty.recdesk.com/Community/Page?pageId=2159 or like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cravencoparksandrec  Our office is located at 1821 Old Airport Road, New Bern, NC, 28562 or you can call us at 252-636-6606.