A Guide to Durham's Accessible Outdoor Activities
Durham's accessible outdoor activities offer visitors many options to enjoy walking paths, adventures, and the natural beauty of the region.
When the weather is just right, and it’s often “just right” in Durham, North Carolina, most everyone wants to get moving outside.
Alert: Lake Michie and parts of Falls Lake are closed for boating until further notice due to low water level conditions. Hiking and camping facilities are still open at Falls Lake. Check park websites for updates. Under the City of Durham's Stage 2 Water Shortage response, Durham Parks and Recreation spraygrounds are closed until further notice.
Whether you or someone in your family needs assistance, uses a wheelchair to get around or requires sensory friendly activities, there’s an outdoor adventure in Durham to fit your lifestyle.
Our son, Ben, is happiest when he’s outdoors. Ben uses a manual wheelchair to get around and most days, he prefers to be on a nature trail or in a park, watching kids play and people walking their dogs. A perfect day for Ben means enjoying a snack at the end of the outdoor activity – so we are always on the lookout for snacks and drinks along the way.
If you’re looking for information about traveling to Durham and need to know what is accessible, take a look at Discover Durham’s Guide to Accessible Activities.
Note: Check websites directly for detailed information about accessible programs, admission fees and hours of operation.
Accessible Outdoor Attractions
As a mom to a child who uses a wheelchair to get around, I know what I am looking for in a destination: easy parking, ramps, paved pathways, accessible bathrooms and most importantly, a friendly and welcoming environment for our special family. I’ve researched these recommendations to make sure they fit my criteria.
Museum of Life and Science
Head to the Museum of Life and Science's outdoor exhibits: the dinosaur trail, farm animals, playground, pollinator garden, red wolves and more. A ramp leads to one of the treehouses in Hideaway Woods and the train has one car set up for wheelchairs. All walkways and paths are ADA-compliant. Caregivers to people with disabilities receive free admission to the museum.
A large portion of the Museum of Life and Science staff have been trained through the University of North Carolina TEACCH Autism Program. The museum offers cool-down kits with headphones and sensory toys. A photo-driven schedule to introduce the museum to people on the spectrum or with sensory issues may be found here. Twice a year, the museum offers a sensory program: Loud noises are turned down or off, the train turns off the horn or whistle. UNC TEACCH staff are on hand to help.
The Museum of Life and Science shares details about accessibility, cool down room, mobility, sensory friendly kits, and service animals.
Duke Lemur Center
Reserve tickets to the Duke Lemur Center for its General Tour and let the staff know if you will be using a wheelchair. The self-guided tour is on a paved path and wheelchairs are available for guests to use. View the largest collection of lemurs outside of Madagascar and talk with trained educators. Find detailed information about the Duke Lemur Center’s accessibility, service dogs and wheelchairs on their website.
Durham Bulls Athletic Park
Watch a baseball game or attend an event at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Sensory bags are available at the Lowes Foods Guest Services. The sensory bag includes noise-canceling headphones and fidget toys. The Durham Bulls Athletic Park guide to sensory bags, quiet areas, weighted lap pads and a social story is here.
Sarah P. Duke Gardens
Visit Sarah P. Duke Gardens, a 55-acre botanical garden with a paved trail that loops around the pond and through Culberson Asiatic Arboretum. Currently, the gardens are under an extensive construction project that will improve parking and accessibility to a new visitors’ center. During construction (which may last until mid-2026), visitors may enter through Louis Street. During the week, no parking is available. On the weekends, visitors may park in the H Lot where there are handicapped spots. Check the website for up-to-date information about parking.
Stagville State Historic Site
Learn about the history of more than 900 enslaved people living on a North Carolina plantation through descendant engagement, genealogy, interpretation, preservation and research at Stagville State Historic Site. Contact staff for a modified guided tour at stagville@dncr.nc.gov.
Two Sisters Adventure Company
Two Sisters Adventure Company prides itself on making everyone welcome on the water in a kayak. Sisters Natasha and Rainbow Teasley have experience in recreational therapy and can discuss accommodations and consider possibilities for people with mobility needs. Contact them for information about what accommodations may be available.
Durham's Accessible Parks
Whenever our family visits a city, we always seek out the local parks. Durham’s parks give you the opportunity to enjoy nature, explore new playground equipment and play in the water.
Durham Central Park
Enjoy Durham Central Park, a 5-acre urban green space in downtown Durham. Whether you wander through the park’s Garden of Eatin’ and exotic and native gardens, or visit during a concert, farmers market, movie night or a food truck event, the paved paths will lead you to where you want to go.
Durham Parks and Recreation
Durham Parks and Recreation make inclusive playgrounds with elements such as sensory gardens, musical equipment, swings and paved trails available throughout Durham County. Scout out these local parks:
- C.R. Wood Park features an inclusive playground with wheelchair accessible features including unitary surface (a smooth uniform layer), inclusive spinner, musical equipment, a disc swing, roller slide and ramps to play elements
- Durham Central Park is a 5-acre urban green space in downtown Durham. Visit the Garden of Eatin’ and exotic and native gardens on paved paths.
- Merrick-Moore Park is Durham’s newest playground with a unitary surface. Play the chimes and drums on the outdoor musical equipment. A team swing, a large round disc hanging from a bar, is open for everyone to use. Look for a sensory garden with native plants. Roll up to planters made especially for people using wheelchairs.
- Morreene Road Park’s inclusive playground has ramps to access the slides, interactive elements, music equipment and a braille and sign language board. Currently, engineered wood fiber, a wood mulch, provides the surface. A new smooth surface is being planned for this park.
- Whippoorwill Park has parking, restrooms and a newly renovated playground with inclusive features including musical equipment, interactive elements and a ramp to the play areas on a unitary surface (a smooth uniform layer). Connect to the Warrant Creek Trail’s ADA access from Whippoorwill Park.
Cool off at one of Durham Parks and Recreation pools. Hillside Park Pool features zero entry and an assisted entry chair. Its spray ground is open to visitors. Try the Forest Hills Pool and spray ground. The pool is equipped with an assisted entry chair.
Falls Lake
Explore Falls Lake on your boat. The Hickory Hill Boating Ramp provides paved access to a boating pier, designed for easy entry and exit from a wheelchair to a motorboat or a hand-carried boat such as a canoe or kayak.
Lake Michie
Fish on Lake Michie from the ADA-compliant dock. Lake Michie Park offers an ADA accessible boat house, dock and canoe and kayak launch. Visitors can rent a canoe or kayak.
Durham's Accessible Trails
Meandering along a path through the woods, over bridges and across boardwalks may be the best way to learn about a city. Depending on how far you want to go or what you want to see, Durham has a trail suitable for any ability.
The American Tobacco Trail
The American Tobacco Trail (ATT) is an 11-mile paved trail through downtown Durham and the city’s neighborhoods. You could spend an entire day exploring this trail and the stops you can find along it.
Spend time at the American Tobacco Campus: Take photos in front of The Good of the Hive’s mural at Burt’s Bees headquarters and grab a pizza at Mellow Mushroom or an empanada at Boricua Soul. Find a place to relax in this former tobacco factory, now transformed into an urban green space.
Time your walk so you can eat lunch at Chicken Hut at the Fayetteville Street crossing. Follow the trail further south for a meal or snack at Bua Thai or Nantucket Grill and then a sweet treat at Dulce Cafe.
ATT paths lead to C. M. Herndon Park and Solite Park – perfect for picnics and respite (nap). Parking at one of these parks or at the Sutton Station shopping center makes it easy to explore different portions of the trail each time you visit.
Greenways
Several greenways highlight the county’s natural areas and waterways. Most are wide, paved walkways through woods or urban settings.
- North/South Greenway includes many paved trails leading from Durham’s downtown to the Museum of Life and Science. One section, the Ellerbee Creek Trail, is 1.2-miles long and connects Trinity Park in downtown Durham to South Ellerbee Creek Trail and the West Ellerbee Creek Trail. The trail passes by Bronto the Brontosaurus, a 77-ft long fiberglass dinosaur – a fun family photo opp.
- New Hope Creek Greenway follows Sandy Creek and is known for bird watching – 100 species of birds have been sighted. Beavers, deer and turtles make an appearance now and then. The.75-mile trail ends at Sandy Creek Park where you can find picnic tables and restrooms.
- Pearsontown - Rocky Creek Greenway includes three trails. The Pearsontown Trail begins at Elmira Park and ends on the campus of North Carolina Central University. Parts of the two-mile trail are in a natural area while some follow the road. The one-mile Rocky Creek Trail follows Rocky Creek from the American Tobacco Trail to NC 55. R. Kelly Bryant Bridge Trail, a .3-mile paved trail, leads to a photo-worthy bridge named after civil rights and Durham Open Space and Trails member, R. Kelly Bryant Jr.
With so many options for outdoor fun in Durham, you can choose your own adventure, from fishing and kayaking to nature walks and sporting events. Discover Durham’s Guide to Accessible Activities is a resource for art, dining, history, hotels, music, theater and more.
Recommended Stories
