It's nice out! We figured that we better get out and play quickly before it is snowing again. Today we met a friend who lives in Chesapeake out at Great Bridge Lock Park. I actually remember taking a field trip to the locks as a kid and have driven over them lots of times, but I didn't realize that they were federal property. The park is located off of Battlefield Blvd, not too far from the mall. The canal is where the waters of Albemarle from North Carolina meet up with the Elizabeth River and separates salt from fresh water. (My teacher brain is going here, fourth grade SOLs!) The waterway actually runs from Maine to Key West. The locks deal with lunar tides and wind driven ones, it's actually a lot more in depth than I thought.
The park is 19 acres. Coming in the first thing you see is a little overlook of the locks with signs explaining different things. This is actually where I learned they were federal property. Then there is a playground, bathrooms, a walking trail through the woods, picnic shelters, and a boat ramp. You can launch bigger boats and kayaks and canoes. If you don't have a boat they do have a spot for fishing and crabbing also. I've heard people can go from here to Waterside for a nice day trip. People can also head to Elizabeth City. Parking is free and plentiful, so that's always a plus.
They had a larger playground, but also a small toddler sized one, which I loved. I haven't seen that much so we were excited. They also had several dinosaurs and an alligator to climb or run your trucks on. There were toddler and big kid swings also.
A fun trip. It will be nice to return here in the summer when we can pack a picnic lunch and enjoy the sunshine. Kids who are super into dinosaurs and alligators will love playing in this area, but R isn't there yet. Everything in his life is trucks, trucks, trucks! Hope you're out enjoying this weather!
