Facilities

Forest Hills Park

Forest Hills Park is a 45.86 acre park located in East Central Durham.

Sprayground

Forest Hills Park offers a free sprayground where area residents can cool off during warm weather. The sprayground is open May through October.

Pool

Forest Hills is also home to one of Durham Parks and Recreation's seasonal outdoor pools. Additional information can be found on the Forest Hills Pool page.

Picnic Shelter

Visit the picnic shelter rentals page for complete details on renting the shelter at Forest Hills Park.

Athletic Rentals

Visit the athletic rentals page for complete details on renting a court at Forest Hills Park.

Tennis Courts

• Court Numbers 1, 2, and 3 - Include lines for Adult Tennis, 10 and Under, & 8 and Under
• Court Number 4 - This is the first outdoor DPR site to offer Pickleball lines

Park History

What is now the Forest Hills neighborhood was created out of the farmland along Third Fork Creek in the 1920s by businessman James O. Cob and Fuller Glass, founders of the New Hope Realty Company. Its curving streets, large trees, and spacious lots were designated to appeal to the number of professionals in Durham who wanted to move out of the city and could afford this prestigious new neighborhood. For the area of the creek's flood plain, they laid out a nine-hole golf course, clubhouse, and pool.

The current colonial revival-style clubhouse was build in 1928, as a replacement for the original clubhouse that burned down. In 1929, the New Hope Realty Company fell victim to the Great Depression and went bankrupt, allowing John Sprunt Hill to buy the golf course and clubhouse, turning the building into the first home of Annie Hill's Calvert Method School. In 1938, Hill deeded the land and the building to the City, stipulating that it serve as a public library. Sometime in the early 1950s, the County removed the library function from the building, and it began its service as a community center.