Mt. Tabor

One of my favorite parks in Portland is Mt Tabor. It is a park that is fun for the whole family. You can ride bikes, climb stairs, bring your dog, have a picnic, play basketball, take a walk and of course play at the playground! In addition, although the restroom is a normal park bathroom on the inside, the outside looks like a quaint little cottage.  It is photo worthy – check out below. The actual playground structure is average, but it has some unique features. For instance, I haven’t seen a cool jeep structure at any other park, and it has fun classics like teeter totters and old fashion monkey bars. Mixed in with the classics is also the latest merry-go-round from Landscape Structures called Omnispin Spinner which is also at one of my favorite parks Harper’s Playground in North Portland. Lastly, it has a fun track sliding bar like at Happy Valley and other various parks. Overall, the beauty of this park is majestic. It is great park to go to on a sunny day because the trees provide wonderful shade, and if you want to add some education to your visit you could stop by the water reservoir and talk about our water supply and then Salt and Straw is just 3.2 miles away on Division which makes for a terrific treat.  All in one outing you can play, eat and educate. So get out and have fun Playing in Portland by experiencing the wonderful taste and beauty this great city has to offer.

Click on maps for directions to Mt. Tabor.

Click on Portland Park Parks & Recreation to see their description of Mt. Tabor.

OmniSpin Spinner

These are the bathrooms

The Park is closed to vehicles on Wednesday. You will have to park in the residential neighborhood and walk if you want to get to the playground.

 

Reservoir

A.M. Kennedy Park

There are a quite a few new or remodeled parks in the Beaverton/Aloha/Hillsboro area, which makes it hard to decide which park to blog about first. Since my family and I enjoyed playing at A.M. Kennedy Park because of a friend’s recommendation, I thought I’d start with this beauty. First it’s in an amazing location off of Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy (a.k.a OR 10, near Target) and tucked in a neighborhood off of 107^th. Although this park is near a heavy commuted area, the park is remarkably placed in a natural beautiful environment! For instance, you might instantly forget you were stuck in traffic on OR 10 once you get to A.M. Kennedy. Your kids will also enjoy getting wrapped in nature, as they climb over logs, walk amongst trees, pick treasures and play on a brand new structure from Landscape Structures. Although the play structure itself is rather small, the park’s total fun is over 8 acres!  Amongst that acreage there is a community garden, soccer field, Porta Potty, drinking fountains, basketball court, a covered picnic shelter, and both a gravel and paved path.  One thing I like most about this park is the architecture and set up along the soccer field. It is the perfect park for one child to be having soccer practice, while another child plays basketball, and possibly your third or a friend is happily playing at the playground and all fairly visible. For instance, the amazing structural cement seating allows you to see one kid at the playground and another one playing soccer and possibly another playing basketball in the distance. While watching your children enjoy the latest spinners, the fun O-Zone climber (like at 53^rd Avenue Community Park), a fun twist slide, great side panels, and my favorite new feature the RingTangle (specifically b/c younger kids such as 5-6 can use it as monkey barks  and any kid can enter then RingleTangle and climb through) you may also be gazing the beautiful scenery. So stop and enjoy the sights, sound, and adventure at A.M. Kennedy Park

Click on directions to locate A.M. Kennedy Park via Goggle Maps.

Click on THPRD to see their description of A.M. Kennedy Park.

Metzger Park

Metzger Park is a lovely park tucked in a beautiful forest area two minutes away from Washington Square Mall. The playground consists of classic older structures such as monkey-bars, swings and a fun merry-go-round, as well as newer equipment which includes a big slide, overhead spinners and more.  One of the best things about this park is there is a large open space for kids to run around and play on the grass.  There is actually so much space this parks is available and used for weddings and other various events.  It is also a great park to go to in when it is hot outside because there is shade!   Lastly, this park also has some unique attributes for younger kids with the unique baby swing structure and the cute old caterpillar.  Overall this is park that suits any age.  So check it out and have fun playing in Portland! 

Click on Washington County to see their description of the Metzger Park.

Click on maps to find directions to Metzger  Park.

Frances Street Park

There are quite a few play structures that are ships and my kids favorite is Pirate Park in Bethany (previously named Bethany Meadows Park, now referred to as Rock Creek Greenway), but there are a few others worth mentioning.  Frances Street Park is an Adventure Ship that will get your kids exploring into the deep blue ocean. There are fun periscope panels to look out toward the sea, as well as talk tubes to call out to your other mates. There are also slides, climbers, and various other panels. Surprisingly you can come to shore rather quickly and play on the grass, walk over bridges, or even play basketball. My only reservation for this park is if you have a kid allergic to acorns this might not be a place where you want to play. On the other hand, if you aren’t allergic, your kids can run wild and the acorns could be their booty. The last thing to mention is this park would be a nice place for your littles ones to ride trikes or bikes around the ship while other kids are still playing on ship. Overall, this is a nice park where many adventures await. Ahoy!

Click on City of Hillsboro Parks & Recreation to see their discription of Frances Street Park.

Click on maps or Frances Street Park for directions to this park.

Tualatin Community Park

Tualatin Community Park is one of my favorite parks. It is not an overwhelming park, yet it has a lot to offer. The Spacenet climber is always a hit from the leading global playground equipment maker – KOMPAN. The park also uniquely incorporates the Southern Pacific Railroad through play. In addition, an actual train bridge crosses the Tualatin River, which is visible from the playground. The sand/water feature seems to mimic the river, and often my family and I end up walking to the Tualatin River while visiting this park. We also play basketball and could play checkers or enjoy the skate park! Overall, there is a lot to do, but it is not a stressful park. Your kids may get dirty from the sand/water feature, but in all in all, it is a relaxing park. Plus it is near Bridgeport Village so if you have shopping, or want to stop at Tully’s and get coffee or Joe’s Hamburgers to get something to eat  – it makes a great day!

Click on City of Tualatin Oregon to see their description of Tualatin Community Park.

Click on maps or Tualatin Community Park for directions to this park.

Couch Park

Couch Park is a fun Portland park with a mixture of modern and classic wooden play structures. Since it is in the midst of downtown you will find a wide variety of people who walk through the park like doctors, homeless men and women, mothers, fathers, businessmen and women, grandma’s and grandpa’s and more. One thing that makes me feel comfortable at this park is the playground is nicely fenced in by a railing. It basically helps keep children at the playground and strangers away from the playground. One thing to note is the railing isn’t completely fenced around the entire playground as there is a wide opening at the front stairs of the wooden structure. I was also pleased and felt very safe at this park because the police patrol this park. When we visited Couch Park the police were on their horses and we got to pet them. That was definitely a highlight of the visit, but the park also has some amenities like none other. In the back corner there is a fun chain tight rope and steel swoosh slide. This park is also a fun park to play tag at because kids can run all around the wooden structure. Overall, this park is a fun place to stop and play. The best thing about this park for parents maybe that NW 23rd is just a few blocks away. So grab a coffee, Moonstruck, Pizzicato or some yummy ice-cream at Salt and Straw and enjoy Playing in Portland!

Click on Portland Parks & Recreation to see their description of Couch Park.

Click on maps or Couch Park for directions to this park.

Portland Heights Park

Portland Heights Park is a fairly small, older park, in a friendly neighborhood. There is nothing spectacular about this park, but it is a nice park to stop at Lamb’s a.k.a. Strohecker’s Market, (right next to the park) and get a snack, drink, sandwich, or desert, (I also saw a Beaverton Bakery sign in the window) and have a delightful picnic. The features of this park are both classic, and a bit contemporary. For instance, there is an old merry-go-round, small play structure with a fun triangular track-sliding bar, a Nike basketball court and newer tennis courts. One thing to note about this park is if you have knee trouble, this might not be the park for you! I will do my best to describe why, but it is called Portland HEIGHTS for a reason! If you happen to park your car in the small parking lot you may choose to walk down a very steep hill, or take the side-walk which leads to the parks restrooms, baby swings, and tennis courts. After the short walk, you will find a lengthy staircase, and see the playground toward the bottom left-hand corner of the park. If you decide not to park in the small Portland Heights parking lot, you may park in the Strohecker’s parking lot, and walk down a smaller staircase and walk across the park. Overall, the highlights of this park seem to be the market next door, hiding out in the bushes (like Kaiser Woods Park) or running down the steep hill by the bushes. For the most part Portland Heights is a pretty relaxing park, but there seem to be many off leash dogs and it’s not an off leash park. This was the first time we visited this park, and we didn’t have any problems with any dogs, but if you check it out tell me what you think. Have fun Playing in Portland!

Click on Portland Parks & Recreation to see their description of Portland Heights Park.

Click on maps or Portland Heights Park for directions to this park.

Local School Playground

This week we know friends who are sick, and heard of others that are sick, so instead of going to a park we checked out school playgrounds.  (Less kids = less chance of getting sick.) I’ve known others who have gone to play at school playgrounds, but we never have.  In checking out school playgrounds I found this is a great idea!  There aren’t many kids, and sometimes the structures are larger than the ones at an average size park.  Granted there aren’t restrooms available, but you could possible go to a school near your home or a coffee shop you like.  Obviously most kids won’t want to play at the school they attend, but it is fun to play at a new school with playground equipment they have never played on.  So check out a local school near you, and have fun Playing in Portland!

Westlake Park

Westlake Park is one of our favorites. It is a covered park, which makes extremely hot days, or slightly rainy days a bit nicer. In addition, the swing out overhead structure is always a hit. Westlake also has a unique steep crawl tunnel that your child can slide down or climb up. I think this is a brilliant idea because how many times have you told your kids or heard “Don’t climb up the slide!” This tunnel/slide is meant to be climbed, it even has holes to make it easy!  Another feature at this park which kids enjoy is The Rock Climber. It is hard for preschoolers to climb, but the smaller structure for younger children is full of fun. One quality that I was really looking forward to checking out for the first time was the free WiFi.  Supposedly six parks in Lake Oswego offer free WiFi and Westlake is one of the six. I brought my computer to Westlake and was going catch up on this blog, but I never got a free network to appear. I didn’t go all around the entire park to see if it I could pick up a signal, but I assume it probably works closer to the Fire Station. I was kind of bummed that I didn’t get the WiFi to work because this would be a great free option for parents who work or go to school. One more thing to note is this park does not have swings. It does have a tire swing, but no regular swings. (However, just like Barrows Park I think there is plenty to do even though there isn’t swings.) Overall, Westlake is a great park with restrooms, basketball courts, baseball fields, tennis courts and more.  You won’t regret playing at Westlake!

Click on Lake Oswego Parks & Recreation to see their description of Westlake Park.

Click on maps or Westlake Park for directions to this park.

Irving Park

Irving Park is best for hot summer days when you want to stay directly in Portland. There are unique water structures that kids love, and the newer playground brings a lot of fun climbing adventures.  Speaking of climbing my kids especially like climbing and walking around the cement balance beam like maze (which has dirt, stairs and wood chips inside). There is a fun little entrance that kids can go through and then they can walk around the ledges.  This park does have restrooms, but I’ve never been in the facilities. Irving Park isn’t one of my top favorite parks for my children to play at because of three reasons.  1). I have seen a man drinking a 40oz bottle of beer at 10am. 2). I’ve seen a homeless man taking shelter near the cement like balance beam maze.  3). There have been dogs enter the playground area because of this park at certain times allows dogs to be unleashed.  All that to say, this park is still fun the water structures are great!  The blue fountain is like a giant shower,  the red fountain is like a kid car wash, and the fire hydrant is awesome.  So, if it is a hot day, and you live in Portland check it out!

Click on Portland Parks & Recreation to see their description of Irving Park.

Click on maps or Irving Park for directions to this park.