richard walton memorial park

About three weeks ago Madeline was complaining that it was too cold. This past Monday she told me she missed winter.

Needless to say, we've had a few surprisingly hot days recently. On the morning of one of those near-80 days we were roasting away at Richard Walton Memorial Park (1584 Hadley Avenue North, Oakdale).


Here's what you need to know:
Parking: Lot
Age range (playground): 1+
Sidewalks: Well-paved to and around all amenities
Seating: A few benches in play area
Bathrooms: Inside community center
Picnic tables: In picnic shelter beside playground
Grills: In picnic shelter
Sports field: Tennis courts, full basketball courts, an ice rink, and open fields (check the website for a complete listing)


Richard Walton Park is located on the grounds of the Oakdale City Hall. It's beautifully furnished with a variety of sports fields and courts, a picnic shelter for large group events, and a bandshell. There are well-kept sidewalks coursing throughout the park.

The park has two entrances, one on either side of the playground. One lot is to the park specifically while the other is shared with city hall visitors. Both are about the same distance from the playground. As per usual, we only visited the play area.


Perhaps one of my favorite features here is the fact that it's fully fenced--a win for moms with runaways. A wide sidewalk cuts the play area into two areas: one for kiddos 1+ and another for kiddos 3+.

Zoey (15 months) had no trouble checking out the little kid playground on her own. Madi (4.5) and Titus (3) also had fun plowing through the structure. I like that it was basically an oversized climber you would find in someone's backyard. It was definitely fresh-tot friendly.


While the big kid playground is recommended for kids ages 5+, Titus was able to navigate nearly the entire course without my help. He avoided the uneven steps course and monkey bars.

Madi also didn't use the monkey bars, but she has a special place in her heart for the uneven steps course (we've only seen them at one other playground in Mound).


All three of the kids loved the assortment of slides available. The playground is built in a circle, so they spent a good amount of energy running across its bridges, scaling its steps, and climbing through its tunnel. Each section of the playground has two swings to accommodate the ages of its intended audience.

During our visit there were several other families at the play area and the park itself was busy.


The few things we didn't particularly like about the park is the absence of a nearby bathroom and the lack of shade surrounding the play area. The last half hour there we spent under the merciless sun--hence Madeline's comment about winter. Slap on that sunscreen if you're planning to visit!