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.