From skylights in the pavilions to stone corners adorning the walkways, Fowler Park has a distinct look from other Forsyth County parks.That’s what Jerry Kinsey, director of parks and recreation, said with pride as he toured the county’s newest park, set to open in mid-February.“As we built each one of them, we added a little bit more flare and dressed it up a little,” Kinsey said.Fowler Park, on Hwy. 9 near Castleberry Road, was scheduled to open this month. Wet weather at the start of the project had other ideas, making it difficult to meet that deadline.The park’s design and construction were funded by the county’s $100 million parks, recreation and green space bond, which is money set aside for those purposes.The 85-acre property, comparable to Central Park in size, boasts new features and amenities not available at other county recreation sites.A skate park, designed by the renowned Wally Hollyday, will be the county’s first.The bowls, rails and ramps are ready for wheels to roll, but skaters will have to wait for the park’s opening day.Kinsey said he expects the skate park to stay busy, like others in the region.On a recent trip to Athens, he said he saw about 15 children using a skate park “and it was freezing outside.”Alongside the skate area will be the newest trailhead to the county’s Big Creek Greenway multi-use trail, which Kinsey said has been incredibly popular.This new access point will provide additional parking spaces near the trail and allow people to walk to Fowler.That path will open shortly after the park. The construction, having started later, will take additional time, Kinsey said.
New park makes debut next month