Outdoors & Recreation It’s tranquil, convenient, and the kind of loop people intentionally go back to again and again. Aberdeen’s facilities tell a story of intentional variety. Crocker says when he came in, he wanted to invest not just in sports but also in special events, including fun, accessible, low-or no-cost things meant to pull families out of their routines and into shared space. “We try to offer a wide variety of opportunities. The facilities are broad in use, and we try to do the same with programming,” he says. The logic is simple: if you create meaningful touchpoints, people come back, making going to the park a habit rather than an occasional destination. And There’s Moore Other parks to visit in the county Several specific parks take up a lot of the conversation, but Moore County’s landscape of parks is deeper and broader than what makes the headlines. Across the county, there are additional spaces that residents quietly rely on for everything from morning movement to after-school play. These are the parks that round out the network and the ones that give each town its own taste of outdoor life. Hillcrest Park Splash Pad, Carthage Village of Pinehurst In Pinehurst, Cannon Park on Woods Road and West Pinehurst Community Park on Chicken Plant Road are familiar community green spaces where families gather and kids can enjoy wide open spaces. Sandhills Horticultural Gardens, located on the campus of Sandhills Community College on Airport Road offers a designed landscape, stunning collections, and visual calm. Rassie Wicker Park and James W. Tufts Memorial Park bring their own character to the mix, and the Pinehurst Greenway System quietly ties it all together with its miles of paths that make Pinehurst a walking town in very real terms. Carthage + Vass Lake Luke Marion in Carthage gives the county its own accessible water-based venue. Families and couples alike show up simply because it’s an easy way to get close to the outdoors without driving far, all for a casual, local lake that lends itself to an unhurried and picnic-friendly afternoon. Born Learning Trail at Nancy Kiser Park on Rockingham Street and Hillcrest Park on Hillcrest Park Lane add two more anchor points in Carthage. In Vass, Sandy Ramey Keith Park creates its own local touchpoint featuring a public access space that serves the local community and surrounding neighborhoods. A full look at Moore County’s parks is not a short list; it’s a full landscape. You’ll want to get to know it soon. The Horticultural Gardens, Sandhills Community College Lake Luke Marion, Downtown Carthage moorecountychamber.com Moore County, NC | 25
Moore County Chamber 2026: Page 25
