Tuesday, June 19, 2018

snail lake regional park

The first park on our birthday-scouting trip was a flop. Luckily for us, Snail Lake Regional Park (4191 Snail Lake Boulevard, Shoreview) was just a few minutes away.

While I hadn't planned on stopping to this place out, we could see the playground as we drove by and the kids just had to play on it (you know how it goes).


Here's what you need to know:
Parking: Lot
Age range (playground): 1+
Sidewalks: Paved to and around play area
Seating: Benches around play area
Bathrooms: In warming house
Picnic tables: In nearby picnic shelter
Grills: In nearby pavilion
Sports field: Sand volleyball court, trails, and fishing (both shore and off-shore)


The picnic shelter (which is huge) and play area are located in the same direction right off the parking lot (a personal preference). The lake is on one side of the shelter and the sand volleyball court between the shelter and playground.

Although the play area itself isn't shaded, there's ample shading surrounding it. You can pick from sitting on a bench to lounging around in the grass.


Part of the playground has turf flooring while the other part has mulch. The turf is well-worn, but still more ideal than mulch (again, a personal preference).

The playground itself is big. On one end, little tots can peruse without help while big kids can keep themselves entertained on the other. The entire play structure is connected and, if able, your kiddos can navigate the entire thing continuously.


Zoey (17 months) enjoyed the ramps, tunnels, slides, and stairs on her end, as well as the bridges and bigger slides on the other. She's even trying to find her way up curved and rope ladders.

Titus (3) and Madeline (4.5) enjoyed the monkey bars, fireman pole, slides, and variety of climbing challenges on the big-kid half of the playground.


All three kiddos also took time to relax on the swing set, which sits on the far end of the play area. It has a baby swing and regular swings.

Another swing set sits on the opposite side of the play area with a high back and regular swings. Near this swing set is also a pair of spring riders, one double and the other single.


We visited in the morning. Considering school was out and this is a regional park (which means bigger park and, more often than not, more traffic), it had a reasonable amount of traffic (not overwhelming like at Sitzer).


Aside from park traffic, Snail Lake Regional Park is a clean, well-kept, and engrossing park. If you're looking for somewhere to throw a big outdoor party, maybe complete with water-front activities or playground entertainment, it's a worthy contender.

Saturday, June 9, 2018

hamline and hague park

We'd just picked up a shelf for the kids' play room and were looking for a playground pit-stop when we [finally] pulled up to Hamline and Hague Park (1328 Hague Avenue, Saint Paul).

It'd taken us at least two wrong turns and u-turns before we arrived. If anything, this park is accessible but not necessarily easy to find. I suppose you could argue that it's secluded and quiet for that reason.

Or, if you're like me, you'd wonder who in the world makes a park so darn hard to find.


Here's what you need to know:
Parking:  Off-street
Age range (playground): 1+
Sidewalks: Paved to and around play area
Seating: Benches around play area
Bathrooms: None
Picnic tables: None
Grills: None
Sports field: None


As great as Google Maps is (and it really is great!), it's only as helpful as its users are. We drove to Hamline and Hague Park with high hopes it would be loads of fun. It was, after all, a "tot lot," according to its Google description.


Unfortunately for me, there were very few pictures of it available, so I was mainly banking on my past experiences with other tot lots. It would be well-suited for my kiddos' developmental abilities.

Or, as I found out, not.


We parked off-street on the shady side of the park. There's fancy fencing that surrounds most of the street-side play area and regular chain-link fencing on the far end of the park. I appreciated this aspect, as Zo (17 months) is a pro escapist and I'm slower by the day as baby grows.

There are several parts to Hamline and Hague: a sand pit, little kid playground, big kid playground, and swing set.


The sand pit is every parent's dream: it has sand play equipment and sand toys! As in someone left a myriad of trucks, shovels, and other sand toys for park guests to use.

Whoever that was: Thank you! You kept my kiddos entertained, and I am so grateful for that.


The little kid playground is the perfect size for walkers looking for a challenge. Zoey could navigate almost every way up the playground (she needed help on the curved ladder) and did that over and over and over (and over).

This playground also has a couple slides to go down, a raised bridge to traverse, and bells to ring.


The big kid playground is just that: for big kids. Madeline (4.5), our ever clever and able kiddo, had trouble crossing a lot of this play area. Titus (3) didn't even try. It's sized for kids who are at least 5 years or older, as it's pretty much exclusively climbing-oriented.

Features of this playground are netting, raised steps, climbing hoops, and monkey bars.


As is the rest of the park (turf floors included), the swing set is in well-used condition. It features a high back swing, baby swing, and some regular swings. Most of the equipment is worn (except for those tricky climbing obstacles on the big kid playground!).


My kiddos spent most of their time in the sand pit (again: Why do kids love sand so much?!). For that reason, I wouldn't be interested in coming back to Hamline and Hague, since I can find a sand box much closer to home (and much more easily!).

Tot lot doesn't describe this park well, but it's a great stop if you've got experienced spider monkeys.

palace park

Towards the end of May I had a week-long, on-campus residency. Not surprisingly, we were all thrown off-kilter when Friday rolled around the corner.

What was surprising was that it took us almost a week to get back into our venturing groove (I had to recover from adult-life withdrawal!).

Once we were back in the swing of things, we visited Palace Park at Palace Community Center (781 Palace Avenue) in Saint Paul.


Here's what you need to know:
Parking:  Lot
Age range (playground): 1+
Sidewalks: Paved to play area and around facility grounds
Seating: Benches around play area
Bathrooms: Inside community center
Picnic tables: A couple by the building
Grills: None
Sports field: Several on facility grounds


Palace Park sits right behind the community center on synthetic flooring. It spans the length of the building and matches it in quality. From the swings to the seesaw, the playground equipment is in excellent condition.

There is a wide assortment of play equipment: a play area for little kids (1+) and another for big kids (4+). The play areas are stocked with climbing walls, monkey bars, ladders, stairs, and slides.


In the middle of the playground is a wheel that turns. Madi and Titus had the most fun on this play piece.

Next to the big kid playground is a swing set with a hammock swing (always a huge hit with my kiddos), high back swing, and regular swings, and a spinner.


Next to the little kid playground is a swing set with baby swings, a mini seesaw, and a seesaw shaped like a boat. If you forgot to pack water bottles, there's also a couple of water fountains beside the building on the little kid side of the play area.

I was excited at how well-kept the play equipment is (the sports fields also look well-groomed). Even in a highly residential neighborhood, the playgrounds are in great condition.


There were a couple school groups and local guests there during our visit. We even got to see what looked like a middle-school marching band practice in one of the baseball fields!

I have two, in my opinion, minor qualms with Palace Park. The first is that there is absolutely no shade for whoever's in the play area. You'll find plenty of resting space in the shade if you hang out by the building; but if you're playing in the play space, you'd better have plenty of water and sunscreen.


The second is that the synthetic flooring isn't all "stuck." If we touched the flooring with anything sticky (i.e. our arms and legs), we found ourselves covered in little black flecks. While I brushed off these flecks with no issue, my kiddos freaked out because they thought bugs were stuck to them.

If you're looking for a post-modern playground design with an engineering feel, Palace Park definitely fits the bill. You'll appreciate its unique aura and the variety of equipment it provides for your littles.

Monday, June 4, 2018

rondo community library

We did it: We finally checked out the library by the oriental grocer we frequent.

We've been driving by it for six years and all this time I've wondered what it looked like on the inside. It seemed huge: The building in which it sits is a few stories high and there's underground parking for library guests.

That's pretty impressive, if you ask me. This past week we ventured into Rondo Community Library (461 Dale Street North, Saint Paul) to see if it lived up to its looks.


Here's what you need to know:
Parking:  Ramp
Seating: Benches around children's area
Bathrooms: None in children's area
Separate play room: None
Toys: Puppets, trucks, foam blocks, and construction costumes (a jacket and hard hat)

The Rondo Community Library is located right in the hub of Saint Paul. Naturally, we circled the block several times looking for parking.


The first time I parked we were in the back of the library. Unfortunately, it wasn't until we got out of the car that I saw the sign which read that parking lot wasn't for library visitors. Back in the car, another round around the block, and five minutes later we were finally in the library's parking ramp.

Even my kids thought that took ridiculously long.

So here's my first bit of insight if you're going to visit Rondo: Get on Dale Street and turn onto Aurora avenue. Drive behind the library, turn right on Saint Albans Street, and right again onto University Avenue. This'll help you avoid u-turns due to the light rail and bring you right to the parking ramp entrance.


The parking ramp entrance is tricky in itself. An "open" sign is lit beside closed garage doors. The first time I drove by I didn't know if it was really open or not.

The second time I drove by I was lucky enough to be behind someone who knew what they were doing. They drove right up to the closed door which automatically opened for them. I followed and quietly thanked the Lord for sending me some direction.


The ramp is small with narrow parking spots. At the very least, it's free and there's a huge set of windows from the bottom floor of the library letting in light and confirming you're in the right place.

Once inside the building, there's an elevator or flight of stairs you can take to the main floor. We had our wagon with us and opted for the elevator.

After returning our books (at an incredibly slow machine), we found our way to the children's section. It's tiny. There are several rows of fiction picture books and a couple rows of Easy Readers. All non-fiction (including dinosaur books [they had about 9 total]) materials are kept in one area.


There are benches on the enclosed side of the children's area. A shelf sits in another corner, housing trucks, dress up items, and foam blocks. Off by the picture books are a puppet theater and some puppets.

Considering where the library is, I imagine plenty of people come through the library on a regular basis. The books were in the right areas (i.e. Easy Readers were in the same area) but not necessarily organized properly (i.e. the box marked "Disney" had non-Disney books and etcetera).


Right next to the children's area is a well-furnished homework help room. There were several tables, chairs, computers, and staff inside.

As we were browsing, a staff member approached us and informed us about their summer programming. He also helped us find those evasive dinosaur books.


Rondo Community Library is definitely an important resource for its neighbors. I can imagine how central their programs are, especially for kids in the summer who rely on a safe place to be and snacks to get them through their day. This is probably their forte: providing such resources.

We're probably not going to go back considering the lack of play area and unorganized reading materials. Nonetheless, I'm grateful for their work with their surrounding community.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

oasis park

The past week has been unbearably hot--
    Hot enough for cool baths.
    Hot enough for an official heat warning.
    Hot enough that we prefer to stay inside.

Now that's hot.

On one of the evenings that felt like 90° (instead of 100°), we ventured out into the stickiness to Oasis Park (1700 County Road C2 West, Roseville), where we found the Mount Himalaya of playgrounds.


Here's what you need to know:
Parking:  Lot
Age range (playground): 1+
Sidewalks: Paved to play area and around park
Seating: Benches around play area
Bathrooms: Inside warming house
Picnic tables: A couple by the building
Grills: None
Sports field: Open fields, baseball field


Oasis is a pretty secluded park in a residential neighborhood. I failed our first attempt to enter the park: we parked off-street and were halfway to the play area before I saw it had a parking lot. Note to future guests: There's a parking lot!

The play area is in mint condition. The play equipment sits on a large plot of mulch with synthetic flooring at the base of some parts (i.e. slides).


There are several parts to the play area: a climbing-heavy playground for big kids; a toddler-friendly playground for new walkers; a swing set with baby, high back, and regular swings; a merry-go-round of sorts; and a set of some musical equipment. On the hills nearby are two bench swings, perfect for lounging.


When I say this had the tallest playground we've seen, I mean it: Even Madeline, our fearless adventurer, thought twice about going down the slides. She eventually tried the open slide. Zoey and I ended up going down with her on the closed one.


Overall, Madi (4.5) and Titus (3) navigated the big kid playground with minimal help from me. It has several slides, ladders, stairs, and climbing challenges. While there are several ways to get to the first level of this playground, the only way to reach the top most level is via a ladder on the first level.

By now, Zoey (16 months) was familiar with the play structure for kiddos 1+. It's the same design as those in many of the parks we've visited: a slide, mini tunnel, some drums, and a tiny climbing challenge.


Unlike structures at other parks, this one also came with a play area for the medium on which the playground sits. Unfortunately, Oasis is mulch-laden and this playground feature isn't as fun as it's intended to be.

The merry-go-roundish feature was one all my kiddos enjoyed, even though it isn't fast as Madi and Titus wish it were.


Not far from the play area is a pond. Although there's a good deal of foliage to slow down an escapee, there's no fence keeping kiddos from the water.

Despite the terrible heat, we enjoyed our visit to Oasis. I only wish it was better-suited to host parties (i.e. grills and more picnic tables).

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

wilder recreation center

I once mentioned something about Saint Paul recreation centers: They're either hit or miss (and I've done a good deal of missing!).

Imagine my surprise, then, when we pulled up to Wilder Recreation Center (958 Jessie Street) to find it not only well-groomed but manned by what appeared to be rec center staff.

Life is full of surprises, am I right?


Here's what you need to know:
Parking:  Lot
Age range (playground): 1+
Sidewalks: Paved to play area
Seating: Benches around play area
Bathrooms: None (likely inside the center)
Picnic tables: A couple by the building
Grills: None
Sports field: Open fields

"Look, guys," I said as we parked, "The playground has sand!" As expected, a chorus of YAYs filled the car.


A quick walk up a hill brought us to the partially-fenced play area, where my kiddos eagerly pulled off shoes and socks before diving in (almost literally).

Sitting on one side of the play area were several adults who weren't there with kids but also called the kids out for misbehavior (hence my guess that they were rec center staff).


The play area at Wilder is in great condition and has a lot to offer: a swing set with various sizes; a little playground for kiddos 1+, a big playground for kiddos 3+, tire swings, and a climbing.

And did I mention sand? Somehow that medium is an entirely additional fun feature of a playground. Not mulch or turf or synthetic flooring. Just sand. There's something special about it.


Zoey (16 months) rushed to the smaller playground while the other two made their way to the bigger one. She had no trouble taking the stairs up or sliding down the tunnel or slide. She only needed help with the climbing "wall" (it's about a foot and a half tall).

Whereas Titus (3) stuck to one half of the playground, Madi (4.5) was all over it (but let's be honest: Titus isn't much of an adventurer).


The side Titus preferred had a couple different ladders, stairs, and double slides. Connecting the half he liked to the half he didn't was a tricky web. The rest of the playground consisted of challenging climbing obstacles and an incredibly tall slide.

Right next to the playground is a huge climbing net. Again, my "spider-monkeys" went bananas for it. Even Zoey enjoyed bouncing on the lowest level of netting.


To my surprise, though, what Zoey enjoyed most about this visit was the tire swings. They're hoisted up pretty high, which made me nervous about letting her ride solo. She was surrounded by sand, though, which made falls less painful; so I opted to let her ride her heart out (and she did!).

On the far side of the play area, opposite the rec center building, is a grassy sliver of a refuge. Zoey ambled through it while ooh-ing and ah-ing at the dandelions and passing dogs.


The play area was pretty busy while we visited (after school hours). Plenty of kids went in and out during our stay. As has been our experience with Saint Paul parks and unsupervised kids, our company mainly kept to themselves.

Although my kids wanted to, we didn't check out the other half of the rec center grounds: open fields and what looked like additional play equipment on the other side of the play area.


The play area at Wilder Rec Center was impressive. We've found very little (only 1, in fact) Saint Paul parks with play equipment in such mint condition. I'd be interested in coming back to see what the rest of the center has on-site in terms of outdoor play equipment.

eileen weida park

I'm a big believer in finding the good in things. More than once, though, I've really struggled to appreciate the Saint Paul division of parks and recreation. It felt like most parks we found were poorly kept or in unfriendly neighborhoods.

Here and there, though, we've stumbled across parks that restore my hope for this city's parks system. Last week we found Eileen Weida Park (637 Burr Street North), one of those redeeming parks, right on the outskirts of downtown.


Here's what you need to know:
Parking: Off-street
Age range (playground): 3+
Sidewalks: Paved to play area
Seating: Benches around play area
Bathrooms: None
Picnic tables: None
Grills: None
Sports field: Open field; full basketball court


As soon as we stepped into the park, I was blown away by what it has to offer. The playground, climbing net, and spinners sit on turf. The small (2 baby swings) swing set and diggers sit in a sandbox.

What impressed me was the variety of play equipment and the turf/sand combination. This makes for a broader sensory experience (especially if the kiddos are barefoot) and longer play period (for my kids, at least, who can play in sand for hours).


Madi (4.5) and Titus (3) were big fans of the circular spinner. They spun themselves and one another. Zoey (16 months) liked going up and down the elevated bridge on the playground. She also loved the swings (as always, she tried out and approved of both baby swings).


A unique feature of Eileen Weida is a netted bridge. Madi was extremely excited for this challenge (and had little trouble traversing it). Titus shied away from it.

Other equipment on the playground include slides, a climbing wall, raised steps, and ladders.


Right next to the playground is a big climbing net. The last few playgrounds we've been to have had this feature as well. Madi and Titus were super excited to be "spider-monkeys" again (spiders because they're in a "web" and monkeys because they're climbing around) and spent a good amount of time on this equipment.


The entire park (open field included) is fenced in, a nice feature if you're with professional escape artists. The field is pretty level and offers plenty of space to run around (there was a backyard football game going on during our visit).

There were several trees and a couple benches between the play area and open field, offering shady refuge.


Eileen Weida was pretty busy during our visit, mainly with unsupervised kids. They were friendly and mainly kept to themselves (one kiddo asked about my belly!).

I personally like having other kids around on our visits, as I think this does wonders for socialization. If you'd rather a quieter setting, consider visiting during school hours.


This park has both been around for a while and hosts a lot of guests. The play equipment (especially the turf), then, is pretty worn.

Some of the older kiddos got rowdy towards the end of our visit and broke something glass-made (at which we put our shoes back on). One of the adults in that part of the park did pick up whatever broke.


Eileen Weida has more quality than most of the other Saint Paul parks we've been to. If you don't mind being in a developing neighborhood (more good than bad), stopping for a visit when you're in the area is worth it.