The past couple of weeks have been fairly snowy and cold. However, today’s weather was forecasted to be in the 50s and I decided we needed to take advantage of the weather and go to a park. After speech therapy, I took Calvin to Harlow Platts Community Park which is very close to Fairview, the high school Jaeger went to. This morning our backyard still had several inches of snow so I brought along a towel in case I needed to wipe off the slides. Viele Lake, adjacent to the park, was covered in ice. However, the playground itself was completely snow free and the slides were even dry!
The playground at the Harlow Platts park is pretty traditional and perhaps a bit on the old side. However, I don’t know if it really was old or if it was just so traditional it felt old. The equipment itself was in good shape. Calvin’s favorite feature by far was the tire swing. I probably spent 20 minutes pushing him on it and earned the honor of him telling me I made him go even faster than Kyle1 I did have some minor qualms about how fast I was spinning him but he survived without falling off :)
The park also had a traditional play structure which the safety experts will tell us is for kids ages 5-12. Calvin climbed up the corkscrew and slid down the covered slide once but other than that ignored it.
They also had a play structure for 2-5 year olds. Calvin wandered around this a bit more because it was windy and this structure was sheltered better.
The tunnel made a nice escape from the wind.
Calvin tried the overhead glider but it’s still a bit tall for him. I lifted him up and pushed him to the other side but it was too awkward for him to really enjoy it.
The park has both bucket swings for smaller children and decent sized swings for older kids. However, Calvin didn’t stay on them long because it was uncomfortable with the blowing wind.
Calvin did enjoy playing a little bit with the pull-up bar.
There was also a decently sized sand pit which looks like it could be interesting closer to summer. There’s no provided sand toys but it’s a big enough area he could bring his shovel and bucket and spread out a bit.
Overall, this was an ok park. I expected more from it since it’s close to the recreation center but it didn’t really overwhelm me. It looks like there are some nice paths around the lake that might be nice for Calvin to ride his bike around.
Summary:
| Features | 5-12 year old equipment, 2-5 year old equipment, covered slide, track ride, tic-tac-toe panel, corkscrew climber, swings, bucket swings, sand area, tire swing, spring riders |
| Surface Material | Mostly pea gravel/coarse sand |
| Restrooms | No |
| Water fountain | No |
| Shade | Shaded structure right next to the playground but the equipment itself isn’t shaded. |
| Picnic area | One small, two-person picnic table and then a couple more closer to the lake |
| Parking | Yes |
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- Calvin’s preschool has a tire swing and Kyle is one of Calvin’s preschool teachers. ↩
Could you see Fairview in several of the pictures past the fence and over the lake? You are quite good if you are better then Kyle :) You are great at finding parks all over town, I don’t remember ever going to this park.
Yes, Jaeger told me what to look for. It’s more obvious in real life. The pictures make Fairview look smaller than it does when you’re there in person. It’s pretty hard to miss :)