Category Archives: Parks and Playgrounds

Arapahoe Ridge Park, Boulder, CO a.k.a. Rock Park

We haven’t gone to the park recently because it’s been beastly hot (i.e. above 80 degrees). Last week wasn’t too bad but I spent much of the week wandering around to various libraries looking at their ILS (catalog system). Fortunately, mom was around to watch Calvin since preschool had their summer conference and was closed Wednesday-Friday. This morning I took mom back to the airport. When I arrived back home I was shocked to see it was still in the 70s. I had planned to do USEFUL THINGS but decided we needed to grab the opportunity to go to the park while the weather was bearable.

Today I decided we’d go to Arapahoe Ridge Park. I saw a post about it on 8Z Real Estate that sounded interesting¹

In some ways, the park is very traditional. It actually has a real merry-go-round which I didn’t realize still existed in any Boulder parks.

What really makes this park stand out though is the rock cave and tunnel system. It’s a man-made structure that has numerous tunnels kids can wiggle through as well as a large cave area that can fit quite a few children. Most parks we’ve visited have one or two mothers with their young kids. However, when we arrived at this one there was a swath of older neighborhood kids who were hanging out in the cool cave area.

The tunnels were fun looking but definitely sized for children, not adults. One father was playing tag with his kids. He did manage to wiggle through the tunnels without getting stuck but his kids had a definite advantage.

Calvin enjoyed clambering on top of the rocks.

Calvin called the little cave a house.

The park also has an older-style playground which apparently use to have a slide but, according to the 8z site, was removed because it allowed the kids to go too fast. What remains is a tic-tac-toe feature, which Calvin got me to play with him, and 3 steering wheels.

Summary:

Features	Rock cave and tunnels, bucket swings, tennis court, ball field, tic-tac-toe feature, steering wheels, spring riders merry-go-round, grill, shaded picnic table, shaded benches
Surface Material	Pea Gravel
Restrooms	No restrooms :(
Water fountain	None
Shade	Shaded shelter with picnic table. There are also several shaded benches. However, most of the play equipment, except in the rock cave, is out under the sun
Picnic area	There is one covered shelter with a picnic table
Parking	Parking was a little odd. There doesn’t appear to be any official parking lot so we ended up parking in one of the cul-de-sacs that were close to the park.
Pros	Rock cave/tunnel Merry-go-round
Cons	No bathrooms of any kind.

View Random Parks and Playgrounds in a larger map

The 8z post says there is a baby bucket swing as well as a regular swing. All I saw were 2 bucket swings, no regular ones. ↩

Herbert Park, Lincoln, NE, USA

We’ve been in Lincoln for the past couple of days visiting friends. We’ve spent most of this time playing board games that are way above Calvin’s current abilities. While we do this he watches an excessive amount of videos or plays with Legos. However, I’ve been trying to make sure he has at least one active thing to do each day.

Yesterday I took Calvin to Herbert Park which is relatively near our friends’ house. I forgot my phone to take pictures. However, the visit didn’t last as long as I was expecting. The park has a wonderful old-fashioned merry-go-round. Anya and I pushed Calvin on it for a pretty long time. Then, he went over to the swings. I gave him one big push on the swing and Calvin regurgitated supper. So, we decided that was enough park for the day.

Today, Jaeger and I took Calvin back to the park, before supper, and this time I remembered my phone. This park is hidden away, Anya didn’t even realize it was there before I found it on the city’s list of parks with playgrounds. It wasn’t clear where the park entrace was so the first time I went there I went south on 81st and turned left on Trail Ridge Rd. I found a place to park but it required hiking through a field to get down to the playground. This time I turned right and was able to park close to the playground on Apache Trail.

Calvin remembered the merry-go-round fondly from our last visit and immediately headed to it. I did agree to push him on the merry-go-round again but limited it to shorter pushes with more breaks in between.

Calvin briefly played with the spring rider but didn’t find it nearly as novel as the merry-go-round.

The playground also had some traditional playground equipment that is technically rated for ages 5-12. It had both a curved slide and a straight one. Calvin pretended the equipment was a ship and slid down the slide to get to a life raft, which was a rubber square.

The park has a digger but it’s a little too big for Calvin and also isn’t in top condition (though still workable).

Jaeger pushed Calvin a bit on the swings without any unfortunate incidences this time.

All-in-all, it’s a nice little park. We’ll probably visit it again next time we’re in Lincoln.

Summary:

Features	Swings, bucket swings, merry-go-round, digger, age 5-12 playground equipment, slide, circular slide, 2 spring riders
Surface Material	Rubber for most of the area with a sand/pea gravel combo for the swing and digger area
Restrooms	Yes! There’s a porta potty across the bridge next to the park entrance
Water fountain	Yes, next to the porta potty
Shade	There are a several mature trees that offer shade for the benches, not as much shade for the playground equipment
Picnic area	Several picnic tables including a covered shelter on the other side of the bridge
Pros	Merry-go-round! (hard to find these days) Bathrooms and water fountain
Cons	Playground equipment is not too old but is showing signs of very minor wear It’s a little hard to find the right place to park on the first visit

View Random Parks and Playgrounds in a larger map

Park East, Boulder, CO, USA

Today we visited a park that Jaeger use to play at when he was a child: Park East.

This park also benefited from the 2011 Capital Improvement Bond. According to Jaeger’s mom it’s a great improvement. Sometimes I wonder about how Boulder spends its money but I love what they’re doing to the playground equipment.

This playground is definitely more traditional than Dakota Ridge Park.

Calvin enjoyed spinning around on their stand-up spinner.

So did Nana.

He also briefly enjoyed the “turtle” spring rider.

However, I think his favorite playground feature was the ring-a-bell panel. I was a little disappointed by it because there weren’t enough tones to play any sort of song. This didn’t seem to bother Calvin.

The playground had several swings. They had a couple regular swings, a couple of toddler bucket swings, and then an odd molded plastic bucket swing. My best guess is it’s for people with disabilities but I’m not entirely sure. Calvin tried it out but didn’t seem very excited by it.

A couple of the older park features still exist such as the shelter, though it has a new wheelchair ramp up to it. Also, there’s a couple of trees that fascinated Calvin because they were surrounded by a foot or two of concrete.

There was also a little climbing wall and rock that Calvin scampered on.

All-in-all, it’s a nice little neighborhood park but probably not one I’ll go out of my way to visit again.

Summary:

Features	Double slide, swings, bucket swings, molded bucket swing, stand-up spinner, small climbing wall and rock, Stationary Monkey Rings, Ring-a-Bell Panel, Basketball court
Surface Material	rubber
Restrooms	No restrooms :(
Water fountain	None
Shade	Shaded shelter with picnic table. There are plenty of trees but only some are close enough to provide shade near the playground
Picnic area	There is one covered shelter with a picnic table
Pros	New equipment
Cons	No bathrooms of any kind.

View Random Parks and Playgrounds in a larger map

Dakota Ridge Park, Boulder, CO, USA

Today was another New Park Day. This time we went to the Dakota Ridge Park. I hadn’t been in this Boulder subdivision before. It’s on the far north west side of the city. The park is surrounded by fancy row houses. The park itself is very new and modern looking.

I miss the old-style playground equipment: real teeter-totters, merry-go-rounds, and tall straight slides. However, after playing at this park, I have to admit there’s something to be said about the newer playground equipment also. This park was full of all sorts of things for Calvin to climb on. Not the traditional playground equipment but ropes, rings, and springs.

O-Zone Climber

Cycler

Blender Spinner

Swiggle Stix Bridge

Helix Net Climber

RingTangle Climber

Hemisphere Climber

In addition to all the fantastic climbing equipment there was also what I think is suppose to be a traditional merry-go-round substitute. Calvin thought it was amusing but I was disappointed with how hard it was to make go a decent speed. (Though Calvin did fall off once since there’s almost nothing to hang on to.)

Supernova Ring

All the fancy equipment is nice. However, Calvin got almost as much kick from running up and down the detention basin.

The park also had a large rock to climb. Calvin was able to climb up by himself but not down.

Technically, all this stuff I’ve been showing you is rated for kids ages 5-12. However, the park does have a small play structure for younger kids.

Underneath the small slide is a section that has rings you can slide back and forth on horizontal poles. Almost like baby’s first abacus. Calvin quickly decided these were donuts and I was given one with chocolate sprinkles and one with vanilla sprinkles. Calvin is a huge fan of sprinkles and insists that his donuts must have them.

After donuts, Calvin drove the bus to take me to the library.

Calvin had a lot of fun at this playground and threw a minor temper tantrum when I decided it was time to go. Too much of a good thing, I guess :)

Summary:

Features	Areas for ages 2-5 and 5-12, small slide, swings, bucket swings, all sorts of rope climbing equipment as well as a rock to climb, spinning ring (kind of a merry-go-round substitute)
Surface Material	rubber
Restrooms	No restrooms :(
Water fountain	None
Shade	Several man-made shade areas. Trees have been planted around the playground so more natural shade may be available in a few years.
Picnic area	There are two covered areas that each have a picnic table.
Pros	New equipment Lots of things to climb on
Cons	No bathrooms of any kind.

View Random Parks and Playgrounds in a larger map

East Palo Park, Boulder, CO, USA

A couple of years ago Calvin, Nana, and I had a little extra time and decided to stop at the East Palo Park. I don’t remember much about it except it had a couple of interesting features but no shade and no bathrooms. Since today was forecasted to be in the mid-seventies, it seemed like a good day to try out a park that wouldn’t be suitable for hotter summer days.

Upon arriving at the park, I was pleasantly surprised to see it had been newly updated¹.

After getting out of the car, Calvin immediately ran to the older section of the playground which included a curved climber and new-style teeter totter.

The old digger sand area was also still there but was greatly improved with the addition of some shade.

The new playground structure is in the style of a tree house. It even has a little pretend raccoon sticking out from a hole.

The playground has three different surfaces. The area with the swings and teeter totter has pea gravel, the digger area has sand, and the new equipment has the new-style poured rubber. I’m still dubious about rubber. I’ve seen too many playgrounds where it hasn’t worn well and doesn’t get replaced. However, Calvin liked the brightly colored patterns. He jumped in the blue circle and pretended he was playing in a pond.

As a bonus, the playground appears to be in the flight path for planes landing at the Boulder Municipal Airport.

Summary:

Features	Slides, swings, bucket swings, climbing net, new-style teeter totter, diggers and sand, curved climber, horse spring rider, small climbing wall
Surface Material	pea gravel by the swings, sand in the digger area, and rubber for the main playground equipment
Restrooms	No restrooms :(
Water fountain	None
Shade	several man-made shade areas
Picnic area	There is a picnic shelter that provides shade with two picnic tables as well as several open-air picnic tables.
Pros	New equipment that looks nice and is safe. Diggers and sand! Has a large grassy field nearby for sports or just running around. Airplanes overhead!
Cons	No bathrooms of any kind. This would have been a major problem for Calvin a year or two ago. Most of the playground equipment is rated for 5-12 year olds. Calvin had no problem with any of the equipment but, with the exception of the spring horse and bucket swings, there isn’t much for young toddlers.

View Random Parks and Playgrounds in a larger map

Upon returning home, I found this pdf from just last year discussing the playground improvement project. ↩

City Park, Denver, CO, USA

Since Calvin is getting picky about his playgrounds, I decided I might as well play along and post profiles of the various parks we visit.

Calvin didn’t have preschool and I decided against trying to work today. So, inspired by Dr. Mike’s most recent podcast, I decided to plan some sort of outdoor activity. Originally, I was thinking of going up to the mountains but decided a mountain excursion would be better for a time when it was too hot down here.

Several months ago our family visited the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. As we started to drive home I caught a glimpse of an interesting looking playground next to the Duck Pond within City Park. Today, Calvin was interested in visiting a new park so I packed a lunch and we hopped into the car¹.

The playground in City Park is a whimsical wooden structure that has areas for both young and older children. The younger area is partially enclosed by a fence and contains some toddler swings, a jeep, an area to play tic-tac-toe², some structures to clamor on, and a concrete elephant.

Calvin Riding the Jeep

Calvin riding the elephant

The older kid section had several different equipment groupings that look like they’d be perfect for tag. There were also regular swings as well as an odd tire swing. Overall, the structures looked fun but the playground is definitely aging. In some places the bars had gone missing and plywood had been nailed to keep kids from accidentally falling through. At one point Calvin started shaking a railing and I stopped him because I was afraid he might manage to pull it loose.

Calvin Climbing

Summary:

Features	Wooden play structures, slides, swings, bucket swings, tire swing, rope net, jeep spring rider, monkey bars, monkey rings, balance rope
Surface Material	Bark chips
Restrooms	A large porta potty is close to the playground with several smaller ones a little bit further away.
Water fountain	Didn’t see any
Shade	The playground is surrounded by mature trees and there are several shady areas.
Picnic area	There are several picnic tables close to the playground equipment. While I didn’t see any covered picnic tables, several are shaded by dense trees.
Nearby Attractions	Duck pond, Denver Zoo, and Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Pros	Interesting multi-level playground equipment A good amount of shade Restroom nearby which looks like it’s available year-round (though it is a porta potty with no sink)
Cons	The parking is free but may be difficult to find later in the day due to the playground’s proximity to the zoo and museum The entire area is overflowing with geese so don’t plan to picnic on the lawn which is littered with feces from the geese. However, the playground itself seems free. The wooden railings are wearing out

Overall, Calvin seemed to have a good time though it didn’t keep him occupied for as long as I expected. We probably would have stayed longer if there had been more children his age.

View Random Parks and Playgrounds in a larger map

Ok, that makes it sound like it was a quick and easy process. However, nothing is that quick or easy when it involves Calvin. ↩
Is this a game little kids play? ↩

Kiesa's Mutterings

Rarely updated entries on my life

Category Archives: Parks and Playgrounds

Arapahoe Ridge Park, Boulder, CO a.k.a. Rock Park

Herbert Park, Lincoln, NE, USA

Park East, Boulder, CO, USA

Dakota Ridge Park, Boulder, CO, USA

East Palo Park, Boulder, CO, USA

City Park, Denver, CO, USA