Fun Junktion Gets Rolling With Skateboard Park
fun junktion, jeff simpson, park, recreation, skateboard track,
A public park that made headlines for its innovative use of surplus property will be taking another leap next year with development of a new skateboard track on the former landfill.
The skateboard park at Fun Junktion will be the only one of its kind in the area‚ park manager Jeff Simpson says.
“ We took some kids to Hopewell‚ Va.‚ to look at a similar park there and let them skateboard on it‚” Simpson says. “They thought it was great‚ so we are patterning ours after that one.”
Fun Junktion received a warm welcome from the community when it was opened in May 1999.
“ From Memorial Day through Labor Day [1999]‚ we had between 200 and 300 people a day on the weekdays out here‚” Simpson says.
“We will do between 400 and 500 people daily on the weekends. We used to try to keep attendance figures‚ but it just got to be too much.”
In the coming year‚ the 133-acre park can expect even larger crowds with the addition of the skateboard park‚ a golf driving range‚ an 18-hole Frisbee golf course and a multi-use field for softball and soccer.
The improvements are being funded in part with a $125‚000 grant from the North Carolina Parks & Recreation Trust Fund.
Simpson says the park got its start when the North Carolina Forestry Service planted 10 species of trees on the old landfill site and developed two miles of nature trails through the trees. From there‚ Pasquotank County spent $193‚000 to add two lakes‚ a paved trail‚ a pavilion‚ picnic tables and campsites. The money was a combination of local funding and an initial grant from the state Parks & Recreation Trust Fund.
A one-acre‚ sandy-bottomed lake has been set aside for swimming and has a beach for volleyball. The second lake covers 25 acres and is used for recreational skiing‚ ski competitions and model boat races. A third lake‚ which was already on the property‚ is five acres in size and has three piers for catch-and-release fishing. It also accommodates paddleboat and canoe rentals.
A fitness trail and a paved trail also were built. The pavilion has four grills and 25 picnic tables nearby.
The park has 10 primitive campsites along with other amenities‚ including concession stands‚ bathroom facilities and showers.
For more information‚ call 337-6600.
Story by Pam Sherborne
Photo by Martin Bennett
