St. Stephens Park
St. Stephens Park is located adjacent to the City of Hickory, the park design and natural features of this 9-acre park provide the visitor with a respite from the pressures of today’s fast paced world.
Location
2247 36th Ave NE
Hickory, NC 28601
Office: (828) 256-9157
Recreational Opportunities
A 1/3 mile hiking trail loop starts at the picnic area, leads through a garden, and then into a wooded area which allows you to experience nature, as if miles away from a city.
The LITeracy Trail (LIT = literature, information, and technology) at St. Stephens Park offers an innovative, delightful way to enjoy reading and the outdoors at the same time. Its paved path winds through a garden planted with native bushes that attract butterflies and hummingbirds.
Since children learn to talk, read, and write through social experiences, these skills often develop in real-life settings through positive interactions with engaging materials. LITeracy stations bring reading, technology, and fitness activities to the forefront as people connect to the stories in their own ways.
The trail consists of 18 individual stations that trace the storyline of different children’s books while also offering opportunities for exercise and further exploration. Featured books are changed on a quarterly basis.
Learn more on our Library’s LITeracy Trails page.
Children can benefit from physical activity on the playground while older “kids” play a game of cornhole.
An open picnic shelter with grills is available for family or group functions.
A fenced 1-acre dog park will allow your dog to run and play with other dogs without wearing a leash. There is also a section just for dogs under 30 lbs. that owners can take advantage of. Many owners visit the park each day of park operations, creating a social experience for themselves while providing necessary exercise for their pets. Leashed dogs are allowed on trails throughout the park.
A variety butterflies and birds can be seen gathering nectar from garden plantings or eating at one of the bird feeding stations.The park's creek bottom habitat is frequented by red foxes, wild turkeys, spotted salamanders, raccoons, opossums and an occasional white squirrel.
The park hosts educational events periodically. Watch for them on this website or on Facebook.
Please ask about ways you can volunteer to help maintain/improve our parks or sponsor a public event.