Somerset Park

It's the middle of winter and this past week we had two 72 degree days in Maryland. What a great opportunity to resurrect my playground blog and to visit a local Bowie favorite: Somerset Park.

My kids actually had wanted to go to the Nature Climb Playground instead, but since I think it's sometimes used as a school playground, I didn't want to risk going there with the shortened winter daylight. We've been visiting this playground since 2010. Even before it was renovated in 2014, I've enjoyed taking the kids there as they've grown up. For the most part, they like going, too.

There are technically two entrances to the park because there's a walking path straight through from Stonybrook Drive to Stonehaven Lane. I've only driven to the Stonehaven entrance, because there's parking there, near the condos for senior housing. According to Google Earth, there doesn't seem to be a sign on the Stonybrook sign, so it's probably mostly used by those in the neighborhood who want to walk to or through the park.

There are two play structures: one for kids ages 5-12 and one for kids ages 2-5. My older kids will play on both, but I really only want my youngest playing on the smaller one. I'm impressed by the structure for ages 5-12. It's tall and two of the slides are up really high. There's a short rope to walk across with hand-ropes for balance. There are 4 swings for kids or adults.

02.08.17 - Looking at the 5-12 area from the age 2-5 swings

from summer 2015, a little blurry but shows the age 5-12 slides

The ages 5-12 structure can work for kids as young as 3 if they are on the more adventurous side; however, I've found it to be too young for 2-year-olds. Younger children could be content walking around or playing in the mulch, as my youngest children have done before, but otherwise, the ages 2-5 structure is perfect for the smaller kids.

02.08.17 - Side view of the ages 2-5 playground

All of my kids played here the majority of this trip. The older two visited us during our time using the swings to use the stand-up spinner and the saddle spinners. They took turns using the seesaw, too.

02.08.17 - the 4 year old ready to spin!

02.08.17 - Three kids spinning together
(for a few short minutes)

My almost two-year-old stayed on the swings for a half hour until I convinced her to get off and go play on the actual play structure. She liked climbing up the stairs, walking over the sturdy bridge, and sliding over and over again. A few other times she ventured to the other side with the crawl-through tunnel, which she and my others have liked in the past.

02.08.17 - Swings are a favorite

My older kids like creating a race out of the front side of the structure, with hanging pieces to climb through (or on), small balance beams, and the short rope bridge. Every single one of my four kids liked the low bar to hang from or spin around. The older two liked hanging from the taller bar.

02.08.17 - almost 2-year-old hanging

02.08.17 - Oldest spinning around

02.08.17 - 5 and a half year old hanging

Amenities

Bathroom: None.
Seating: There are about 3 benches near the 5-12 play structure and another 2 or so benches near the 2-5 play structure.
Shade: This is a perfect summertime playground. There's a lot of shade at all times during the day. It's actually a pretty nice winter playground, too; With the leaves all gone, the sun can shine through.
Sports: Tennis courts.
Water Fountain: None.
Other: There's a wide stretch of dirt, leaves, and branches between the two playgrounds, which for kids can be fun to run through or explore. For parents, it makes it a little more difficult to supervise children of different age levels.

Return Potential

Definitely. See our past fun?

06.16.16 - my youngest this past summer at one and a half

08.18.15 - my oldest racing through

08.18.15 - my middle boy when he was two and a half years old

in 2010 with my oldest; before the renovation

Nature Climb Playground at Meadowbrook Park

Back in the spring, a friend recommended a playground in her neighborhood that we'd never visited. So when my husband was working late in June and my kids needed to run around somewhere that wasn't in my house, the kids and I made our first trip.

Although I was familiar with the road, the entrance came up abruptly. There's a brown sign labeling the entrance to the park and since there's not a parking lot, it's necessary to park on the street. Upon getting out of the car, I reminded my kids several times to stay on the sidewalk and told them more firmly not to climb on the metal car barrier. Beyond that, there's a path that goes back into the park area which passes tennis courts and rocks before arriving at the playground. It seemed a lot further than it actually was because the park itself is surrounded by trees and my older three didn't want to wait for me and the stroller.

09.02.16 - arriving to the park on our second visit

09.02.16 - walking up from the entrance of the park 

We were the only ones there. After initially investigating the play equipment which is nature-themed with tree logs and branches, my kids spent very little time on the play equipment. Instead, the older three spent their time climbing on the large rocks and pretending to be pirates on an adventure.

09.02.16 - the playground

06.27.16 - one group of rocks

06.27.16 - other rocks

My 1-year-old loved the swings as usual, but she also briefly explored the smaller piece of play equipment and slid down the side a few times. However, she really wanted to play on the larger equipment. I was nervous about her being up there at first because there were so many places to fall off. She had a blast, even with getting mulch in her sandals.

09.02.16 - the smaller kids area

06.27.16 - for some reason kids just want to climb up slides

06.27.16 - the 1-year-old adventuring

09.02.16 - she's so high! I held her hand...

Amenities

Bathroom: None.
Seating: There are two hexagonal benches near the rocks (the 1-year-old and I enjoyed these seats). There's also a bench and a kids picnic table near the playground.
Shade: There's a lot of shade around the rocks, but I'm not sure how the trees surrounding the playground work in the morning or daytime. We were there on an evening which threatened thunderstorms that never came.
Sports: Tennis courts and a large open field.
Water Fountain: None.
Other: My 1-year-old found numerous cigarette butts and some other trash throughout the grass and mulch. When we arrived and throughout the time we were there, there was a group of five to eight people sitting somewhat under the trees near the field. I'm not sure what they were doing. They were far enough away that my kids didn't even notice them there and so we stayed, but it seemed a little sketchy.

09.02.16 - kids on the larger structure

09.02.16 - playing with sticks, which were in abundance

Return Potential

We actually made our second trip last week, for the same reason as the first visit. The photos are actually a mix from both visits. Originally, I thought I wouldn't go back unless someone else wanted to go, but I was left with a better impression the second time. The kids really enjoyed the play structures this week and actually used them more than the rocks. The 5-year-old found glass near one set of rocks and the 1-year-old still found a few pieces of trash on the ground, but there were people playing tennis instead of hanging out randomly in the forest. I'd take them back.

Playgrounds at Allen Pond Park

Last week, on my last day of summer before returning to work, the three youngest and I met up with friends via a playgroup at Allen Pond.

Even though it was a hot day, we gathered in the shade by the playground closest to the parking lot. There were another small group or two having playdates and a few other people there so it wasn't crowded. (From past experience, if day camps or school groups come, it easily gets crowded).

1st play area, from the shade

We usually only make it to the first two playgrounds, which are officially known as Opportunity Park. There's the 5-12 structure and the smaller kids area. It was renovated within the past few years so there's a mix of the rubber ground and mulch throughout. Although we enjoyed the original, my kids like the new one. They love swinging, using the dragonfly seesaw, and running through the larger equipment. My 5-year-old loves trying to convince the 1 year old to do something except play in the mulch.

Ages 5-12 Play Area at Opportunity Park

Ages 2-5 Play Area at Opportunity Park

Then there's a more recently renovated Tot Park. I usually skip this one even when my kids beg to go, because there's very little shade. However, while we were on a walk around the pond, the 3-year-old refused to continue. Thankfully, a friend was willing to supervise the 5-year-old, while 3-year-old ran around the other playground pretending to be a dragon. I hadn't realized the Tot Park had been renovated, but the changes were great! There's a patch of shade in the back, where I stood most of the time we were there, but the larger equipment had a long walkway with numerous manageable slides. The smaller, older set was still up, but it's still in fairly good condition. There was a new swing there with a parent or child seat when the baby seat so someone can swing with the baby.

Tot Park from the path around the pond

Half of the older play structure

The new play structure

New play structure from the shade; little play house on left

Swings!

The trip concluded with feeding the ducks and geese, thanks to my friend who remembered to bring bread (as I had walked out of the house without it).

06.03.16 - from an earlier trip this summer

Amenities

Bathroom: Yes, between the parking lot and the Opportunity Park playground.

Seating: Benches within the playground areas; picnic areas throughout the park.

Shade: Opportunity Park is half-shaded by trees while the Tot Playground doesn't have any over the play structures except certain areas of the equipment.

Sports: Soccer and baseball fields as well as an ice arena.

Water Fountain: Yes.

Other: There's an amphitheater which often has concerts on Sunday evenings during the summer and a nice trail for walking around the pond. Again, there are many ducks, geese, and the occasional heron which the kids enjoy.

A (great blue?) heron? My mom would know.

Return Potential

This is one of our go-to places (when I trust that my kids won't run away in the fence-less area near the pond) so we will definitely go back again.

King & Queen Playground at Euclid Street Neighborhood Park

As summer winds too quickly to a close, on Tuesday morning the kids and I went to a uniform exchange in Hyattsville, where my older two kids attend school. I told them that if their behavior was good while I looked through the available uniforms, we could go to a new playground afterwards and have a snack. The three year old kept running around the building, but the older two behaved appropriately. Originally, I had thought about trying Heurich or Magruder Park (the oldest's preference), but I opted to try the Imagination Playground in Cheverly because it was more on the way home.

As soon as we arrived at the Euclid Street Neighborhood Playground (which is also known as the King & Queen Playground), the kids were excited. The three oldest immediately went to the castle. They climbed all over it, including into the top turret level. They especially liked the rope bridge and the drawbridge, though the oldest wished it were real so he could actually raise it. The kids always appreciate the presence of swings and enjoyed those as well. The smaller play structure was nice, but all my 1-year-old did after her nap was sit on the slide eating a snack. Then she ran around on the ground, a rubber-type surface.

Amenities

Bathroom: 1 Portable Toilet, which we did not use so I cannot attest to its cleanliness.

Seating: 2 Picnic tables and several benches

Shade: Even though half of the play area is surrounded by trees, I'm not sure how much shade is actually available since there's nothing directly surrounding the larger play structure. We went on an overcast day.

Sports: Tennis courts, basketball court, soccer field, and a baseball field.

Water Fountain: Yes, though we didn't use it.

Other: There was a metal book container near the small playground. I didn't investigate it but a few of the other kids there were carrying around books.

Kids Review

The 7-year-old said he didn't want to go back because there was no one there to play with. While we were there, there were a few other mothers with their kids, who looked to be 3 or younger; it was not crowded, which was nice. The 5 and 3-year-old were trying to plan a return visit as soon as we headed out and days afterwards. The 5-year-old's favorite part was the Treasure Hunt, which involved searching the large play structure for different shapes throughout. They found all but one.

Return Potential

If we were in the area or if friends wanted to go, I'd definitely go back.

Photo Highlights

Rope bridge with drawbridge on the bottom left

Rope bridge with treasure hunt on the bottom right

Grab at the top and hold on as it goes down;
my 3-year-old loved it but could barely reach

Smaller play structure