Hey, Tacoma, need a great park for kids of all ages? Contributing writer, Tabitha, says she’s found one! Need another reason to try it out? We’re headed for 80 degrees, and it’s got a sprayground!

Franklin Park is a newly renovated, 20 acre park,  located on 12th and South Puget Sound Ave. in Tacoma. It features something for all ages; play equipment, a sprayground, trails, and sports fields.

The playground has fairly new equipment. It’s colorful, and the toys are spread out so everyone’s not so cramped. The park has two big toys. One side is geared towards 2-5 year olds. It’s very colorful and lower to the ground. The other side’s big toy is geared towards 5-12 year olds. It’s taller and has more climbing features. If you have multiple children, especially in different age groups, this park makes it easy to keep an eye on all of them. The park isn’t fenced in, but you can easily view the whole playground from one spot. There is some shade available at the playground.

The park also features walking trails, baseball and football fields and a basketball court. There is a picnic shelter and picnic tables and benches throughout the park. Restrooms are available year round.

Franklin Park’s sprayground is open daily(10AM-8PM) during the summer, and it’s a favorite for all ages. Kids run around and play while keeping cool, and parents can sit back and watch. There is plenty of seating around the water, and you can even use the small concrete wall to sit in a pinch. Admission is free!

Btw, if you’re like me and you’ve been curious about the water quality or usage amounts, you’ll be glad to know I found out that it’s recycled and then sanitized through filtration and UV lights.

If you go: The park is located at 1201 S. Puget Sound Ave. Tacoma, WA 98405 Limited parking spots are available alongside the park.

Sprayground photo is used with permission and courtesy of Metro Parks Tacoma. The other lovely pics and post are from our contributing writer
Tabitha Black- local mom, lifestyle, travel and family blogger at Love, Tabitha  Be sure to check her out! 

Speaking of spraygrounds and playgrounds, don’t forget we’re hosting a reader play date at Les Gove in Auburn Tuesday morning! It’s got a fantastic playground with a sprayground next door, and we’ll have free chocolate milk while supplies last courtesy of Smith Brothers,  and, oh, yeah-the, “Tower princess,” will be there for a FREE meet and greet and the cutest photo ops ever!

I promise it will be worth the trip to make a summer memory your kids will be talking about forever! You can read more here. You can get free tickets here. We’ll be at the picnic shelter behind the playground-look for our banner. We can’t wait to meet you! Bring a friend (or two)!

 

Writer mom Tiffany has another great park report on a fun spot for kids in Renton that she says is worth the trip for playground loving kids all over!

This unique park in Renton is advertised as a playground for all ages and abilities. Barriers to wheelchairs and walkers such as sand, curbs around equipment and wood chips aren’t a part of this park. Instead, artificial turf, wheelchair ramps, and cushy rubber surfaces make it easier for everyone to get around. I visited recently with my 12- year- old daughter and 9- year- old son.

The playground has four distinct play areas, each with a sign posting the recommended ages for that particular structure. A wavy walkway goes around the entire play space and is great for trikes or wheelchairs. While taking this path, kids can fuel up at the pretend gas station, or make music on the oversized drums, chimes, noise makers and xylophone.

All of the usual play structures are present, including interactive panels in each area. There are a few unique additions:

• The  “Sway Fun” has two large bench seats accessible via a ramp. Kids can sit on the seats opposite one another and move to make the structure sway gently back and forth.
• A  25 foot- long caterpillar to climb, which is colorful, detailed and very popular among the kids!
• The swing set in the Active Play area (ages 5-12) is equipped with huge, enclosed seats (like a baby swings, but much bigger) along with a big saucer swing that fits several kids at once.
• One feature my kids loved was a spinner that was like an open circle set at an angle. They walked on it, sat and spun on it, and balanced–or tried to!   
• Another big spinner features high sides for sitting upright inside and fits several kids at once for spinning.
• In the active play area, a long climbing wall which resembles trees and rocks connects to a tube slide.  

Ample seating and two covered areas for adults and babies is a great feature. A central covered area with picnic tables allows parents to sit in the shade and see almost every play area. Benches are also scattered around the periphery. A bathroom was clean and close by.

This park is definitely worth the trip. Bring a picnic, but don’t bring your dog. Dogs (other than service animals) aren’t allowed; we found out the hard way!   

Meadow Crest Park is at : 3000 NE 16th St, Renton, WA 98056

Hours: Mon-Thurs after 4:30 PM (open to Meadow Crest Early Learning Center only during school hours)  All day Fri-Sun and during school holidays and summer break.

Tiffany Doerr Guerzon

For more great places for your summer fun bucket list, be sure to check out our list of Best Playgrounds! 

If you’d like to write a playground review for us, drop a line to soundsfunmom@gmail.com!  Play On!

 

UPDATE:Many additional restaurants have moved into Point Ruston since this was first posted. Readers recommend you get a treat at Dolce Si! There is also now a seasonal splash pad. 

 

The playground at  Point Ruston’s Waterwalk is a little playground with  two big bonuses-an eye popping view and a smooth stretch of pavement perfect for beginning bike riders.

The playground itself is a small, ferryboat themed structure and a nice set of swings. My boys both enjoyed it briefly. Kids who are into imaginative play will want to stay longer. I saw several young cuties who looked like they could easily spend an hour playing, “Captain.”

The best thing about this playground? As the saying goes, “Location, location, location!” If you’ve lived in the Tacoma area as long as I have, you’ll remember this as the spot where the Asarco smokestack used to be (Yes, they’ve done LOTS of environmental clean-up, and more is ongoing).

The Waterwalk is at the end of Ruston Way that’s closest to the zoo. The condos and apartments are private, but the rest of the area is fully open to the public.

The lovely stretch of pavement by the bay is called the Waterwalk. It’s wider than Ruston Way, and it’s been recently paved, so it’s nice and smooth-just great for strollers, bikers, and skaters.

Oh, and the view isn’t too shabby either! We even saw a baby seal on our visit. There are also some interesting art pieces and picnic tables.

There is now tons of parking, and the bathrooms are inside near the Fish n Chips place.

 

 

 

A trip to your favorite playground can be a little startling in the summer. School is out, and all those big kids have to go somewhere.  Here are my best strategies for having fun on days your regular hang out is a seething kidapalooza. See if I have yours!

1.Go Early   Have your fun in the morning, and you’ll beat a significant portion of the crowd, including day care field trips and bored teenagers. Plus, it will be cooler, and your kids will probably be in a better mood.

2. Go Elsewhere   At the risk of stating the totally obvious, most communities have one really popular park, and a bunch of smaller parks that hardly anyone goes to. Head to your park department web site, or the one for a neighboring community and make a little list. Neighborhood parks are often good bets. If you’re a local, Metro Parks Tacoma tends to call these, “Pocket Parks,” There are also a few they call, “Tot Lots.”

3. Go to school  My son’s school has a great little playground, and in the summer there is almost never anyone there. There is something totally delicious about getting to hop on the equipment without having to wait your turn.

4. Go wild   While playgrounds tend to get packed, less developed parks are much less likely to see a whole group, and even if they’re crowded there is room to spread out. For local readers, we’ve been to Owens Beach and Dash Point on days the parking lots were nearly full and easily found room to spread out by walking a bit.

5. Just embrace it! A park full of kids means you might get to skip a day of tag duty. Just teach yours to answer loudly, “Here I am,” when you call and scope out the exits to the play structures.

What’s your favorite less crowded playground? I’d love to hear about if if you’re willing to spill!

Hey, South Tacoma, you’ve got a new playground and sprayground!

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