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.