edgerton park

When Minnesota gives you sunshine--you better darn well take advantage of it! I think we've had three false starts to spring in the last two months. We are so ready for real spring.

While the sun was out, so were we (no wasting beautiful weather cooped up indoors!). One of the parks we checked out this week was Edgerton Park (2001 Edgerton Street North, Maplewood). If you're a parent whose kids have boundless energy to burn (whose doesn't?!), this park will get 'em ready to go to bed without a fuss (zero fuss!).


Here's what you need to know:
Parking: Lot (shared with the bordering middle school)
Age range (playground): 3+
Sidewalks: One from the parking lot to the playground. Another from the school that goes by the playground all the way to the end of the school property (a couple baseball fields down).
Seating: One bench by the playground
Bathrooms: None
Picnic tables: None
Grills: None
Sports field: An open field, a basketball court (on the school's property), and several baseball fields


If there's one word to describe Edgerton Park, it's "big." This playground has a surplus of slides, ladders, bridges, monkey bars, and tunnels, making it perfect for kids who are comfortable climbing and maneuvering such obstacles. The remarkable range of obstacles available kept my kids entertained well into an hour of play.

Edgerton is laid with pebbles and has three sections: a playground, a swing set (far past the playground and only regular swings, unfortunately), and another section whose purpose I couldn't identify (pictured).


It's built alongside Edgerton Middle School and is tailored for kids that age and size. Nevertheless, my 4-year-old had a blast (most of the times I didn't know where she was!).

My 3-year-old needed help from time to time (there's a smaller section that was easy for him to navigate but the rest of the playground, which he also wanted to try out, was more challenging for him height-wise) and my 15-month-old needed a lot of help.


At the end of our play time, my kids said they had a blast. We were there for nearly an hour and even by then they were reluctant to "leave already."

Because Edgerton Park is used regularly by students at Edgerton Middle School, its equipment is well-worn. One slide had a huge crack in it, rendering it useless. Several of the steps were also cracked and rusted. Be sure to keep an eye out for safety hazards when visiting.

Furthermore, since Edgerton Park is used by the school on a regular basis, either plan to accommodate students outside for recess or avoid school hours altogether (we went on a weekend).