This week’s playground of the week is brought to you by sunny Eagle Lake Park (1800 Keene Rd, Largo 33771). This county park is the perfect place to play on sunny winter days because it provides little in the way of shade. Located towards the back of the park, its playground is surrounded by a wooden fence and has three play structures, perfect for climbing. There is room to run around, plus swings. Henry could literally spend all day swinging at a playground, and he has many times over (the boy loves a good swing).
Other awesome features of the park include a wide, paved trail, picnic shelters (including one adjacent to the playground), and public bathrooms (again, right next to the playground). People who visit the park regularly also know that turtles and birds frequent the pond behind the playground, and it is a fun treat for the little ones to feed them. Henry loves taking them bread and lettuce (I really hope these things are okay for these animals to eat; I guess I should have checked first)!
Last Wednesday, Henry I visited John R. Bonner Nature Park (14444 143rd St, Largo 33774) for our Playground of the Week. We love this park! It is tucked away into a neighborhood in Largo, and backs up into the intracoastal waterway so it is beautiful and quiet. There are a few nature trails, one with a sidewalk-like surface and another with a soft surface, and there is a boardwalk leading out to a covered deck on the intracoastal. Henry likes to stop and watch the fiddler crabs on our way out to the deck where he can then watch birds, boats, and fish play. I like that deck is shaded and cool with a Gulf breeze.
The park also hosts a good-sized playground in the shade. It has two sections, one for 2-5 year olds and another for 5-12 year olds. Henry likes both, of course, and also loves the swings. It’s not fenced in, but we’ve never had a problem with Henry running into the adjacent parking lot. There are bathroom and covered picnic facilities, which are always nice to have around especially with kids, but they also are frequently used by City employees. There is a big grassy field that we haven’t used yet since it is in the full sun, but looks like a good place for playing baseball or soccer. The Largo parks department just opened a kayak/SUP/canoe launch on the waterway, so we will have to check that out sometime, too. Every time we visit this park I think, “we need to come here more often.” It’s that lovely.
So I’m really behind on posts; traveling with a toddler (and the recovery time that goes along with that) will do that to you. A couple of weeks ago, Henry and I visited Shoecraft Park in Pinellas Park (7900 54th Street N, 33781), and had a fantastic time! Located a few blocks from the library, it is tucked into a neighborhood at the end of a dead-end street and is fully shaded. There was no surrounding fence, but since the street wasn’t busy I don’t consider it an issue.
Fun diggers to climb, swings, two separate jungle gyms with slides, a big grassy area, covered picnic tables – the only thing this park was lacking was a bathroom, which isn’t a problem for Henry right now, but will be in the future (near future, hopefully). It felt like an oasis that no one knows about, because there was only one other child playing the entire time we were there. This park is definitely getting added to our rotation!
I’m going to try to do a weekly post featuring one of the many playgrounds in Pinellas County since there doesn’t seem to be a repository anywhere online. Here are my general guidelines for a good park for my toddler:
Shade. It can be a tent covering the play equipment or trees, but it has to be out of the sun. We live in Florida and it gets hot as Hades.
Containment. Fenced in playgrounds are my favorite since the Hen is fast and I like to occasionally (who am I kidding, often) take breaks while he’s playing.
Distance. Right now, Henry fall asleep if we are in the car for more than 15-20 minutes so I’m trying to stay as local as possible. If he falls asleep, it’s like death for naptime and makes for a VERY long day.
Variety of Play Equipment. I prefer there to be things for younger kids and older kids to enjoy. Since Henry has already mastered most of the 2-5 year ones, I like for him to have a challenge.
X-Factor (for lack of a better term). This means that there’s a hiking path, splash pad, etc. available at the park that makes it even more awesome than average.
First up: the unnamed playground located at the Holland G. Mangum Recreation Complex in Seminole (located approximately at 9100 113th St N, 33772). It’s a fantastic smallish play area entirely fenced in with tents above the main play areas, which is perfect for blocking the hot Florida sun. There are places to climb, hang, and slide, as well as benches to eat snacks. I also love the AstroTurf that the City recently replaced (it’s so soft you don’t really need shoes, but I make the Hen wear them anyway because rules). The main issue is the swings: they are not in the shade and like all black swings, they get mega hot in the sun. The City recently planted trees adjacent to the swings, but it will be a while before they provide shade. We play at this park on an almost weekly basis since it is so close to our house. Obviously, I love it.
of course he’s going to play where there’s no shade
It’s part of a large complex that has sports fields, basketball courts, swimming pool and splash pad, and recreation center, but since we don’t live in the City limits and aren’t members, we haven’t used any of these facilities.
