Wake County approves Crowder County Park expansion design plan

Wake County moved its Crowder County Park expansion from planning into design on Wednesday, approving a schematic plan that adds a signalized crossing on Ten-Ten Road, a bridge over Dutchman’s Branch and a new park center to one of the county’s busiest parks. The project is meant to relieve pressure at the 33-acre Apex park while giving nearby neighborhoods more trails, more access and more room to spread out.

Crowder’s popularity helps explain the push. The park opened in 1998 on land donated by Doris Pierce Crowder in 1992, and Wake County added 96 acres in 2019 with money from the voter-approved 2018 Parks, Greenways, Recreation and Open Space bond, a $120 million package. County figures show more than 200,000 people visited Crowder County Park in the last year, up from more than 178,000 visitors cited when the expansion planning began and well above the more than 155,000 visitors recorded in fiscal 2017-18.

The existing park already serves as a major outdoor destination in southwest Wake County. At 4709 Ten-Ten Road in the Cary-Apex area, Crowder currently offers paved and natural-surface trails, a boardwalk over a 2.7-acre pond, an open play field, a sand volleyball court, an outdoor amphitheater and three picnic shelters with adjacent playgrounds. The new Phase I design is set to add natural-surface trails, additional parking, public art and a park center with an indoor classroom and restrooms, along with the pedestrian crossing intended to make the site safer and easier to reach.

County leaders have said the expansion is about more than adding acreage. Wake County says the design reflects community priorities around environmental education, play and conservation, and the greenway segment is intended to connect eventually to Cary’s trail system. The county also says the new layout is meant to improve access for people of different ages and abilities, a practical response to a park that has grown into a regional draw.

The schematic approval follows a master plan the Wake County Board of Commissioners approved on Sept. 15, 2025, after 14 months of planning and public input. That earlier step opened the door to the 96 acres acquired in 2019, and the county now says construction is projected to begin in early 2027, with completion expected by the end of that year. Wake County’s open-space acquisition program has purchased 1,330 acres since 2019, placing Crowder’s expansion within a larger effort to keep pace with growth while preserving land for public use.