Recreation links | Dogs | Exercise

Recreation links

Duke Graduate and Professional Student Council (GPSC)

Things To Do When You're Not Studying

NC Museum of Life and Science

In North Durham off of Murray Ave, the NC Museum of Life and Science is a great place to spend a fun day, with a butterfly house, science exhibit center, and animal exhibits including red wolves and black bears. A great place to take visitors.

Durham Bulls Baseball

The Durham Bulls is a minor league baseball team, and plays in the Durham Athletic Park. There isn’t a bad seat in the stadium. Even if you’re not a baseball fan, the atmosphere and tasty concessions are reason enough to go to at least one game each season.

Durham County libraries

The Durham County library system includes multiple locations with selections of fiction, non-fiction, and audio books.

Annual Beer Festival

Click on the link to the world beer festival to find information on this annual event held in Durham each fall. The festival is held in the Durham Athletic park, and includes food and live music as well as a fabulous ‘beer lineup!’

Triangle Swing Dance Society

Take lessons and go dancing!

NC State Fair

Each October, the State Fair takes place in Raleigh. Where else can you people watch, pet baby goats and eat a deep-fried oreo all at once?

Farmer’s Market

Located in Raleigh. Open 8am to 6pm.

NC State Zoo

Even though the drive takes a little over an hour, the trip to the Zoo in Asheboro is well worth it. There are two large sections where you can see animals from North America and Africa, as well as an Australian walkabout exhibit.

Volunteer

Matches you up with your favorite cause, whether it be animals, the arts, the environment, or fighting homelessness.

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Dogs

Pet Behavior Help (dog training)

Pet Behavior Help is located in Chapel Hill, and offers obedience classes, agility classes, and individual behavior consultations.

Teamworks Dog Training

Teamworks has multiple locations in and around Raleigh. They offer many agility classes as well as classes in tracking, flyball, and becoming a certified therapy dog team.

Durham APS (shelter)

The Durham shelter is located on Club Blvd and houses cats and dogs. A great place to find your new buddy, or volunteer to help homeless pets.

Wake County shelter

Camp Canine: boarding and day care in Cary

Camp Canine is a deluxe kennel that takes care of your dog in a home-like (no chain link pens) setting and offers services including extra playtimes, group playtimes, and nature walks for your pooch while you’re away.

Bed and Bone: boarding and day care in Mebane

Bed and Bone is another deluxe kennel located west of Durham in Mebane.

Creature Comforts Inn: (919) 489-1490.

Creature Comforts is an excellent, lower cost boarding facility that is clean and pleasant, located adjacent to Cornwallis Road Animal Hospital on Cornwallis Rd.

Durham area veterinarians (includes links to pet sitters)

Durham Dog Park

Located in South Durham off of Woodcroft Parkway, the Durham dog Park offers your dog a chance to run off leash over either their ~2 acre large dog area or their ~1 acre small dog area. Other area dog parks are located in Mebane at the Orange county APS and in Carrborro.

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Exercise

Group classes at Wilson

Wilson Recreation center is the West campus gym, and access to it is offered to all grad students, and to their spouses for a minimal fee. Group classes are offered, and include yoga, kickboxing, pilates, and step. Parking in the Card lot in front of the rec center opens to grad students by 5pm each day.

Live for life program

The Live for life program is organized through Duke human resources, and offers reduced gym memberships to participating area fitness centers.

Running club

Carolina Godiva track club offers several running events each year, and organizes long runs each day of the week, as well as marathon and half marathon training groups.

NC roadrunners

Covering a broader geographic area than the Godiva track club, this website contains links to other running clubs in our area, as well as an area race schedule.

Triathlon/duathlons

This site contains a race schedule for triathlons an duathlons in NC and nearby states, with registration links.

Durham parks and recreation (includes athletics)

This is a great site for getting involved in the Durham community. Some grad students belong to the Parks and Rec baseball league, some to the soccer league, and some to the volleyball league. Also included on this site are pdf’s of Durham city parks and greenways, as well as community swimming pool locations and schedules.

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