White Deer Park/Garner Parks and Recreation

A friend and I were hitting up yard sales in the area and drove past this park. We decided to stop and walk around for a bit. The park itself was beautiful but the signs denoting trails were SUPER hard to follow. We wanted to do this 2.2 mile trail but could never follow it because the yellow signs were impossible to find.
Also, some people found a copperhead when we were walking around and were standing around it poking it. Interesting.

Love coming here, nice (mostly) shaded trails, not too crowded and wide paved paths… also lots of wildlife

Beautiful park that connects to Lake Benson Park as well. I enjoy running the paved trails here, one complete loop through both parks equals 3.1 miles.

This is a beautiful park that has wonderful park activites and really keeps the naturalistic vibe of the park by using wood and munch as opposed to using all metal in the park. The visitors center is a sleek modern addition to the park but still does very little to disrupt the integraty and beauty of the woods.

Really great park. The trails are peaceful and both playgrounds are very nice. The city seems to keep things up pretty well and there are activities available at the visitors center. Certain times the geothermal thing gets a bit stinky, but not all the time. That’s the only reason I gave 4, not 5, stars.

This is a very nice park and I’m so glad it isn’t too far from home. I had walked my dogs on short stretches of the nicely paved paths here last year (my doggies are old and can’t go far) but today I went solo to get in a serious walk for myself (sorry Oreo and Muscles!).
There is a Nature Center that I’m saving to go into on another occasion but it looked really nice and new. Next to it is a great natural children’s playground and lots of nicely built, clean Shelters are scattered about the park to reserve for big groups or just catch one not in use for a picnic with the kids or even a nice outdoor date (okay, so the romantic in me is coming out!).
I studied the only «You are Here» map of the area to plan my walk, and the only thing I didn’t like is that the paths on the map are not color coded, but the actual paths ARE, so when I did my walk I had no clue as to which path to take to follow the plan I had laid out in my mind. In any case I did okay and didn’t get lost (thankfully!) and probably did a mile walk.
There is a lot to see along the paths, and I was so glad that many of the curious looking trees and flowers had markers indicating what types they are. Now I know what a Catalpa Tree looks like! Also there were signs along the path pointing out interesting facts and historical notes about things you’ll see along the way. I was pleasantly surprised to see there is a Memorial for those lost in the Conagra Foods plant explosion that happened in 2009, which reminded me of the significance of that sad loss.
I managed to sneak out during my lunch break today to do this exploration, and I hope it works out for me to keep coming back more often!

White Deer Park is a true gem hidden in the «wilds» of the town of Garner. The new Nature Center is just lovely with a public display area and a private educational area. On our visit, we enjoyed holding snakes and observing frogs and turtles. The building is surrounded by a wooden deck that is perfect for outdoor wildlife observation.
There are two wonderful playgrounds, several picnic area shelters and plenty of parking. I haven’t been on the trails yet but there are apparently 2 miles of paved pathways.
The town of Garner has some wonderful events at the White Deer Park. Most recently, we enjoyed the Groundhog day celebration and a lumberjack competition!

Today was my first trip out to White Deer with my 3 year old. We went out to watch Mortimer the groundhog declare his position on winter. It was such a great event as well as park!
Everything was very organized. I couldn’t believe the turnout! There were people directing traffic. I was surprised at the amount of reserved parking spaces. There were some for fuel efficient cars, carpooling people, etc. There were 2 great playground areas that were recently added and lots of green space.
There were many activities for the kids. They were able to make headbands with groundhogs on them. Pet the groundhog. Meet the Mayor of Garner. See an owl, falcon, and other types of birds. There were even storytellers from the Southeast Regional Library.
On top of all of the great spots for kids there is also a great green-​way for running.
This is a great spot and I would recommend for anyone.

As far as the kids are concerned the playgrounds «rock». Quite literally, there is all kinds of topsy turvey equipment to keep the younger crowd pleased. There are also plenty of paved trails that keep the bikers in our group content. And can’t forget the dog, she is happy there are empty fields to run in.

Very nice park! Especially for the young at heart! The playgrounds are most ideal for the under 10 crowd, and twisty, topsy, fun jungle gym and swings. My teens especially liked the two seater kind of see saw, but it was a swing.
The paved, winding trails are good for the adventurous!
I saw some skateboarders, scooter, and lots of people walking on this beautiful November day!
So seeing the White Deer in the nature center, of which the park is named, was very informative about the origins of it. As well as the other nature information. I also liked the open, window filled space where I am sure they will be having nature talks, camps, or possibly rent for functions (size good for about 30 – 45 people)! It overlooked the woods, very soothing and tranquil with floor to ceiling windows.