Greenway Elementary School Playground

We had SUCH a good time at Greenway Elementary. I was skeptical about whether Linus (age 2.5) would find much this playground age-appropriate, but we had a blast and will likely visit many other elementary schools on our tour.

This playground is great if you love trying different slides. There were at least 7 different slides and Linus spent a lot of good energy running from one slide to another. There are 3 separate play structures and another free-standing slide, so it's easy for a child to choose another area to play once they tire of one structure.

Like most schoolyards, this one has a big row of swings, but no baby swing. There might be a baby swing at neighboring Greenway Park, but we didn't get a chance to wander that way on this visit.

One feature of this playground that was special is a balance beam suspended on chains. It was a little above my tot's abilities to navigate this thing, but it was an attractive puzzle for him to figure out what to do with it. I can imagine he'll find it even more fun when he's a little older.

Next to the playground is a big soccer field. When we were done running around on the soccer field, there was a slight downhill slope leading onto a baseball field. This little slope seemed like the perfect place to teach Linus how to roll down a grassy hill. He giggled all the way down and then explored the baseball field. Running the bases is great fun and great exercise! By the time we circled back to the car, we were ready to get home and relax.

I highly recommend this playground, but I suspect similar fun can be found at any elementary school you just haven't explored yet.

Summerlake Park Playground

Summerlake Park has a lot to offer besides the playground, but this review focuses on the main playground. There's a smaller playground, sport courts, doggie park, and -- of course -- a lake that all add attraction to this park. The main playground is kind of in the middle of the whole park, and the best place to park for the playground is on Lakeview Terrace.

The play structure is a slightly dated wood and metal structure, compared to the newer plastic ones. However, it does get some shade, so the metal slides have not been too hot when we have played there. The play structure is easily accessible for all climbing levels.

For swings, there are two baby swings and a tire swing. The swings overlook the lake, which I find pretty pleasant when I'm doing the repetitive parent swing-pushing thing.

There are picnic tables next to the play structure and a big grassy area, making this a great play to have a playgroup or family gathering. This is a fun park that is worth a stop if you're in the neighborhood, and is worth a special trip if you combine it with a walk around the lake to look at ducks and birds.

Barrows Park

Barrows park is a relatively new park in our neighborhood, and it has some unique features. The feature that distinguishes it from most is that it has a smooth rubber surface instead of wood chips. Linus just loves to run on a rubber surface, so the fun equipment is just a bonus. The one thing this park lacks is a set of swings. There are slides galore, but no swings.

This park is actually a long strip of land with a walking/biking path running through it. If you park on Menlor Lane, you would be at the east end of the park and the first thing you'd encounter would be some concrete animal sculptures. The animals are fun for climbing, and they are a nice artistic element to the park.

The next item is the main play structure. This structure has a spiral slide, a pair of small slides, a tunnel, and some other typical playground features.

Further west, there is a structure aimed at a younger age group. This structure has a molded slide-like climbing feature (see picture) that is fun for early climbing. This structure also has a couple of wavy slides and some manipulatives (a periscope, a set of gears, and a steering wheel).

Next to the younger play structure is a steep hill that has two slides built in (no ladder or stairs for the slides, just climb the hill). These slides are pretty fast but still doable for a tot...that makes for big fun in our book! One side of the hill is sometimes hard to climb because it gets covered in sand. That brings us to the one feature of this park that I fully DISlike -- the sandbox. The sand does make a mess of the rubber surface, but that wouldn't be so bad if it was a good sandbox. Unfortunately, it's filled with dirty sand that isn't great for sand play. Fortunately, I met the maintenance manager for all of the Tualatin Hills parks at a recent informational meeting and he said this sand box is coming out and will be replaced with a sitting area.

At the top of the hill, on the west-most end of the park, there is a drinking fountain that has been working in an on-again/off-again kind of way. It has one of those cute doggy drinking fountains at the bottom, for any canine park visitors. Overall, Barrows park is a fun place to climb, slide, and run.

Magnolia Park

Magnolia Park is a really fun place if you find yourself in the Tanasbourne area. It is fully-featured and has some unique items that give this park extra personality. I've had a hard time getting many pictures when we are there because Linus runs all over the place!

One way this park stands out is that it has a toddler play structure that is separate from the big kids' area. There's no physical barrier separating the two, but they are on opposite sides of a sidewalk. The toddler structure is easy to access with steps and has several slides and a low set of monkey bars. There is a springy teeter-totter and two baby swings to complete the toddler section.

The big kid's play are has slides that are big and steep, but not so fast that the kids slide off the end. They are all accessible by steps, so even the little ones can get up to the big slides. There's the standard suspension bridge that is always a hit, and several unique twirly structures.

If the weather is warm, pack and extra outfit or put your child in a swimsuit to take advantage of the splash fountain. The pulses of water bring the squeals out of Linus in a big way, and there are fun turtle-like rock mounds to climb on in the water area.


The covered picnic area is a great place to dry off and catch a snack or meal. There's also a big grassy lawn if a blanket picnic is more your style. There is even a grill if you want to make a party out of your trip to this park. For bathrooms, there is only an outhouse, but it is a double-wide roomy one. There is, however, a working drinking fountain.

Overall, a stop at Magnolia park is a great reward for a child who is patient during shopping in the nearby Tanasbourne stores, or a fun destination in it's own right. This is one we'll be sure to visit over and over!

Aardvark Fun Park

(Pictures to be added soon.)
This playground is *THE* hidden gem of playgrounds if there ever was one. I can't tell you how many people I've had tell me, "Oh, I heard the playground at OES is fun, but I haven't been there." If you haven't been there, you're missing out in a big way. (Full disclosure: I'm finishing a one-year appointment to the OES faculty, but I assure you that speaking highly of the playground is not a contractual obligation.) I am such a fan of this playground that this is going to be a long entry. You could do worse than to skip reading and just trust me and check out this park. Oregon Episcopal School allows public use of the park on evenings (6 PM to dusk) and weekends (9 AM to dusk).

To get to the Oregon Episcopal School campus, you turn onto Nicol Road from Scholls Ferry and you keep going until you end up in the parking lot of the school. You'll pass the playground on the way to the parking lot, so you'll know where to head when you get out of the car. Don't forget to bring snacks and water bottles from the car because your kids are going to want to play for a good, long time without getting bored!

Here's a list of the areas to check out:

• Wooden castle play structure: This is the most prominent structure, and probably the most fun. There are so many places to climb in this structure, and there are railings everywhere, so it is easy for a parent to observe w/o having to worry about a toddler falling at every turn. Also, the natural weathered wood is a nice change of scenery from the new-fangled plastic playgrounds! There are many little creative touches to discover within the structure, such as a set of musical pipes that are sounded by a nut & bolt mechanism. The slides in this are are metal, but there is ample shade to keep the temperature safe when we have visited. The ground surface is pebbles, so open shoes are not recommended.
• Swings galore: Within the wooden structure area, there are regular swings, baby swings, and a tire swing. In addition, there's another area with a whole row of regular swings...no waiting!
• Stand-alone slides: There's a large metal slide on each side of the driveway, a big attraction for my little guy.
• Modern structures: Across the driveway, ear the classrooms, there are more modern structures for different ages. There's a preschool-appropiate structure that is easily climbable, with slides that are easy for a tot to ride solo. There's also a more unusual structure aimed at stimulating creative play in a slightly older crowd, but my 2-year-old navigates it just fine. If you head further down the driveway to the paved area, there are some interesting structures installed in 2008. These structures are great for groups of school-age children, but they are hard to describe...picture a teeter-totter crossed with monkey bars, and you're on the right track. They even have a simple rowboat in the middle of the playground that is great for pretending.
• The soccer field: Young kids are fascinated by the astroturf and the painted lines that seem to go on for ever. Older kids like to test out the track or kick a ball on the field. Parents can also jog laps while older kids play. This field is great fun, but please remember not to bring your dogs on the astroturf so it can remain fun and not nasty! There is an adjacent grass field that is great for a game of dog frisbee.
• Basketball courts: Around the corner from the playground is a covered basketball court with tether balls nearby.
• Wetlands: While it is a bit of a walk up Nicol Road from the playground, the wetlands area is a nice place to observe birds and other sounds of nature.
• Facilities: The restrooms in the school buildings are not open to the public, but there is a drinking fountain near the soccer field.

This playground is the standard-bearer for other playgrounds in my mind, and also for Linus. We LOVE Aardvark Fun Park!

Camp Rivendale

Camp Rivendale is hands-down a GREAT playground! It is friendly to all ages and abilities. This playground is part of the Jenkins Estate land just west of Beaverton on Cooper Mountain.

A summer camp for disabled children is held here during the summer weekdays, but it's open for the general public on weekends all year and weekdays Sept - May. Sometimes the area is also rented on the weekends in the summer months.

Whatever you're looking for in a park, Camp Rivendale likely has it. The rubberized surface is perfect for toddlers, and the ramps and wide staircases are perfect for early climbing. There are swings for babies and big kids, and even the reclining plastic kind that my son seems to slip off of easily.

Every good park needs at least one slide, and this one has a triple slide. It is steep enough to be fun, but easy enough that toddlers can do it on their own.

One feature I haven't seen in any other park is the sway table area. It's named "Sway Fun," and my child happens to agree with that name. Anytime we go to this playground, we spend about half the time on this benched area that slides back and forth as you shift your weight.

There are a variety of ways to climb at Camp Rivendale. There are many sets of stairs for the simple route. There's also a simulated rock-climbing area, and this green pillar of ledges that it great for coordination.

There is a lot of area and variation in the structures, so older kids can exercise their imaginations as well as their bodies. Last time we were there, and could of kids were practicing riding their bikes on the pavement that circles the playground -- another option for older preschoolers and school-age kids.

For practical considerations, there is a fully-plumbed restroom and covered picnic area up the hill from the playground. There are also a new picnic tables in the grass near the play equipment. The large grassy area would also be perfect for a blanket picnic or a place to toss a frisbee.

OMSI Science Playground

Faced with starting a Spring Break full of rainy forecasts, we accepted a friend's invitation to OMSI. The Science Playground was a bit crowded due to many local schools starting Spring Break on that Friday, but we had a great time! There's a lot to see and do at OMSI, but this review focuses on the Science Playground for two reasons: (1) That's where we spend the bulk of our time when we visit OMSI and (2) This is a Playground Tour, after all.

Here's our take on the features, starting at the front and going clockwise:

• Climbing structure: Nice to have something to climb on, but kids expect to see a slide at the top. My son was even chanting, "Slide, slide, slide" as he climbed up, and he moved on to other features when there was no slide. On the other hand, our 14-month-old hostess spent a lot of time on the climbing structure because she's at the perfect age for exploring any kind of stairs.
• Blocks: The blocks area is great, with plenty of blocks for a crowd to play even though they do have to agree to share the supply of blocks. The carpet has roads on it to stimulate creative building.
• The lab classroom: On this day, they had a playdough activity going on. It looked fun and was very popular, but my kiddo wasn't into anything involving tables and chairs on this day.
• The ball shooter: This is a miniature version of a big feature in the main museum. We spent a lot of time here and learned a little bit about taking turns with other tots. Buddy loved to put a ball in the tube, close the flap, and watch the ball move up the tube. He even experimented with partially closing the flap to get different speeds on the projectile ball. Now that's science in the playground!

• Books/marketplace: This is a nice reading area with soft carpet, many books, and a little grocery market area. Buddy showed his usual love of calculators by focusing his attention on the cash register! He wasn't into sitting still, but this is a nice area for Mom to catch a breather while a tot explores some books. According to the website, this area also has puppets, but our stay in this area was too short to notice.

• The Baby Corner: We're officially too old for this corner (the sign says 0-24 mo) so we stayed out, but this was a favorite when he was younger. There's soft padding under the carpet and lots of toys mounted on the walls at crawler-level. One wall has a floor-level aquarium that is also open to the main playground (see photo below), and there's a small ball pit that seems to be endlessly entertaining for the one-year-olds. There are some big foam shapes for small-scale climbing. The area has always been spotlessly clean when I've been there, though there are certainly times when an older kid comes in to try to rule the roost.

• The water area: I've intentionally avoided this area in past visits, not wanting to do the full change of clothes that's needed when my child encounters any splashable water. This time, we were a little more adventurous and took a quick tour of the stream table area. We headed out when he got interested in the tables with deeper pools. There are aprons and boots available to mitigate some of the "damage."
• The picnic area: There's a nice area off of the carpet for eating snacks and sack lunches.
• Nature play: This area allows for a lot of wandering between features. The kiddos can climb into and eagle's nest, explore a dark cave with flashlights, or don a chimpmunk vest for some real pretend play! Against the wall, there is a simple computer that is durable enough to tolerate a 2-year-old's touch, but still a little above his head conceptually. There's a quiet corner where kids can explore animal tracks visually and by touch and wall-mounted toys that make sights and sounds. Finally, there's a table by the entrance that has magnifiers and measurement toys.
• The sand pit: Right in the middle, there's a giant sand area. We almost played here this time, but got sidetracked. The sand is really clean and dry, so it looks like a fun area for my son's age, but we just didn't get to it. Parents can jump into the play, watch from a bench within the sand area, or keep an eye on the kids from over the half-wall depending on the amount of supervision that's needed.

For practical matters, the Science Playground is well-equipped. The rest room has all of the standard changing equipment, and there is a private nursing room separate from the bathroom. Stroller parking is outside the doors to the playground, so a backpack is handy for any gear you want to carry as you play.

The most practical matter of all, of course, is cost and play in the Science Playground does require full OMSI admission. We got in on a friend's membership, but the usual rates are: $11 adult, $9 youth or senior, FREE under 3.