Go, Park, Play PG: 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.