Orange County NC Website
1—3 <br />Orange County Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan <br />CHAPTER 1 - Summary of the Plan 1 <br />Recreation Programs/Services <br />Orange County has provided local recreatfon <br />programs long before the County owned and <br />operated any parks, datfng back to the 1960’s. <br />Current areas of program offerings include: <br /> Instructfonal programs <br /> Youth Athletfc programs <br /> Adult Athletfc programs <br /> Summer Enrichment programs <br /> Special Populatfons programs, and Special <br /> Events <br />The special events include traditfonal community <br />events such as the annual Egg Hunt, Halloween <br />Spook-tacular, Daddy-Daughter Dance and Fishing <br />Rodeo as well as newer actfvitfes such as Movies in <br />the Park and Earth Evening. <br />maintains the Jones Creek Greenway (which is also <br />Phase I of Twin Creeks Park), and two recreatfon/ <br />community centers in Hillsborough and Efland (the <br />Central Recreatfon Center in Hillsborough also <br />includes a playing field and playground). Orange <br />County further owns an indoor sports facility in <br />Hillsborough, the Orange County Sportsplex, which <br />includes ice rink, swimming pools and a fitness <br />center and is operated contractually by a <br />management firm. <br />In 2013, there were over 4,800 partfcipants in <br />Orange County recreatfon programs and events. <br />Most of the programs at present are targeted to <br />children and youth (ages 5-17), as has been <br />historically the case, although there are some adult <br />programs and actfvitfes. <br /> <br />The County also offers a variety of recreatfon and <br />leisure facilitfes that are available for reservatfon by <br />the public, including community centers, picnic <br />shelters, gymnasiums and sports playing fields. In <br />2013, over 2,000 reservatfons were scheduled for <br />County facilitfes. <br /> <br />It is important to note that recreatfon offerings for <br />seniors is not a part of this plan, and is coordinated <br />by the Orange County Department on Aging through <br />two existfng senior centers. Orange County <br />Sportsplex also offers a wide variety of recreatfon <br />opportunitfes, including many optfons not otherwise <br />available in the County. <br />There are additfonal future park sites that have been <br />acquired for future use. Two of these have had park <br />master plans prepared (Blackwood Farm Park and <br />Twin Creeks Park) and a master plan has also been <br />adopted for the Hollow Rock Access Area (another <br />joint multf-jurisdictfonal venture) within the larger <br />New Hope Preserve. Another nature preserve, the <br />Upper Eno Preserve, has substantfal land acquired <br />and informal plans for two Access Areas. <br /> <br />Finally, there are two additfonal park sites <br />(Northeast Park and Millhouse Road Park) where <br />parkland has been acquired, pending master plans <br />and future constructfon. <br /> <br />As noted in the inventory, several of the existfng <br />parks also have future phases, or will need facility <br />improvements, in the coming years. <br /> <br />17