Take the Kids: With gym, pool, new playground, Optimist Park has lots to offer for families

Not only will you find the brand new playground, but there also is a community center and year-round pool that offers free swim daily.

Let's start with the playground ...

It's not huge, but tucked in front of the community and right near the pool, kids will easily find a way to blow off some steam here.

Let's start with my favorite part - those so-called Expression Swings, which are designed so an adult and small child can swing together. (Or, in the case of this family, two 10-month-old twins and a three-year-old brother.)

You'll also find a climbing boulder, a tunnel with a few creatures to find inside, a swing seat that's big enough for several kids and a piece that spins kids around. Take a look ...

And then there is the large play set with several slides and lots of ways to climb.

The nine-year-olds I took with me had a blast running from piece to piece. That spinning contraction was, especially, a hit with them. We stayed about 45 minutes, and they weren't quite ready to leave when it was time to go.

But Optimist has much more than this new playground.

There's the indoor pool, which, heads up parents of non-swimmers, is 3 foot, 6 inches deep at its shallowest point.

With everything there is to offer at Optimist, you could easily spend most of the day here - attending a program, playing on the playground and swimming in the pool. The kids will certainly be exhausted by the time it's time to go home.

Get a closer look of the park in this image gallery >

Optimist Park is at 5900 Whittier Dr., Raleigh, not far from North Hills.