TRACK Trails

Kids hugging at tree in the park

The Town of Wake Forest officially introduced the new Kids in Parks TRACK Trails initiative on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2013, during a special ribbon cutting ceremony and guided walk at E. Carroll Joyner Park. The event included brief remarks by Mayor Vivian Jones and was attended by NC Recreation & Park Association (NCRPA) Director Michelle Wells.

Kids in Parks

In 2013 the Wake Forest Parks and Recreation Department was awarded the Kids in Parks TRACK Trails Grant for E. Carroll Joyner Park. Located at 701 Harris Road, Joyner Park is one of only 10 in central North Carolina chosen to receive the grant.

An initiative of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, the Kids in Parks program works with partners throughout the country to promote children's health and the health of our parks by increasing physical activity and engaging families in outdoor adventures that foster a meaningful connection to the natural and cultural world.

Kids in Parks began through a need to combat two common ailments facing today's young people: childhood obesity and nature deficit disorder. Now, through a generous grant by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, the TRACK Trails program is partnering with the NCRPA to spread a network of trails across North Carolina, one region at a time.

Kids in Parks, Track TrailTRACK Trails

Kids in Parks provides a network of self-guided, kid- and family-friendly hiking trails, called TRACK Trails, that connect various public lands in an attempt to get kids "unplugged," outdoors and reconnected with nature for their health and the health of our parks. Each TRACK Trail provides a series of brochure-led adventures designed to turn an ordinary hike into a fun-filled adventure. Each TRACK Trail location is linked through the Kids in Parks website at www.kidsinparks.com. Kids who participate in the program and register their hikes on the website earn incentives designed to keep them motivated to explore nature.

As part of the grant, this model of self-guided brochure-led adventures will be used to enhance each visit to Joyner Park.

TRACK Trails