This park is the essence of my children's childhood. They love this place. They have an outstanding summer camp for kids who love animals and adventure. It's so cost effective and fun. The staff is friendly and informative. My children really got a feel for the farm and learned a lot. Farm camp created lifelong memoirs for them that they will cherish. The play structure is brilliant. There is a lot to do in a small, contained area, great for multiple ages. There is a small covered area for adults to relax while the kids play. This is a perfect park for picnics. It's also ideal for parties, you can rent the pavilion or picnic area for a small fee. They also offer hay rides and animal tours for parties. Besides summer camp they house local programs like concerts, movie nights, craft shows, hay rides, and other themed activities. They have a small working farm with animals you can visit. I come here with the kids when we don't have time to go to the zoo. This is a family friendly park to spend the day and have some fun! read more

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Such a great park. The playground is fun and we love visiting with the farm animals. They also have a shaded picnic table area.

Hess-Hathaway Park Nice park. Clean. Wide and spacious. Best of all, free. Came here for the Waterford end of school year picnic. Highly recommended read more

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Worst place to get in and out of a cross country meet. Add at least 30 min to you arrival and departure time. Otherwise it is a fine park. read more

A bit tacky. The animal pens were not very well maintained. Too few booths to make it worth the trip. The parking area was terrific, though; well-managed, efficient and organized. read more

Great park! On the site of a historic farm. My son loves playing on the playground but the whole family enjoys petting the animals! Remember to follow the health request that is posted at each animal's pen, and don't feed them!!! I say this because this was my 2nd visit and both times I witnessed people disregarding this request. The playground is safely gated so little ones can't escape to the parking lot. There are climbing structures, swings, a sand box with toys, a maze, and shaded benches for adults, as well as a drinking fountain to stay hydrated. Both parking and entrance to petting zoo as well as playground are all free. Both times I have been here the grounds have been mowed and litter free. read more

Hess-Hathaway Park - Parks Near Me - Waterford, Michigan

They have live animals and The playground is fenced in how much more could a parent ask for

Great park for kids. Never had an issue taking my son here. Other parents and kids are friendly as well. Definitely recommend this park

So here we are driving through a suburban area of Waterford, when right there to the left sits a big red barn followed by a sign for the Hess-Hathaway Park. Of course we have to turn around, go back and check it out. We've recently moved to Metro-D from a more rural northern town. Farms weren't as uncommon. Around here, I'm finding that some farms still exist, the city just built up right around them. Now pay attention to what I'm about to post, because I didn't and it could have resulted in a very disappointed child, had the folks tending the farm not been so kind as to let us briefly take a peek at the animals. PARK HOURS October 16- April 14...10am - 4pm Closed: Wednesday & Thursday April 15- October 15...10am - 8pm Open 7 days a week. Hess-Hathaway is home to the well maintained All Kids Playground & Maze sponsored by the National Council for Jewish Woman, and the petting zoo at Lone Cedar Farms. The park is free of charge. There are special events available like summer camps, concerts and harvest happenings. For a fee, you are also able to reserve a pavilion or building. May - November you can purchase a children's birthday party package complete with a hay ride! read more

This is Kensington Farm Center's ugly stepsister. Have been here twice in the past week or so. The first time the grass was about 2 weeks overdue on being cut and only partially cut on the second visit. This farm/park is located in a decent area of Waterford, but the surrounding area seems more kept up than this park is in terms of landscaping. They should get on top of that. It's always cool to see animals in an open/'natural' setting. Especially for kids. Here they have a couple of horses and a donkey, a variety of chickens, geese, ducks, peacocks, goats, pigs, and a bunch of rabbits (mostly in cages, but it seems they do rotate them out for some 'yard time' on the grass, which is nice). On my second visit, it was a real treat to see one of the male peacocks with its feathers all spread out and beautiful. There are signs everywhere to not pet and feed the animals. There are 2 pavilions w/ grills and a gazebo available for rental as well as a large farm-themed playscape for kids to blow off some stram. There is also a big sandpit within the playscape for the smaller kiddies. Toy dumptrucks, shovels and buckets provided. It would be good if this area had a bit of a raised edge to contain the sand though. There is also a nice tented/screened place with benches for parents to sit protected from the sun beating down on them. Noticed that a ice cream truck with some real weird carnival music rolls through pretty regularly and there are couple of drink machines onsite. Entrance and parking are free. During the warmer weather they hold outdoor concerts. Coming up are Beatles and Bob Seger tribute bands. read more

It's a cute and fun place to take out the kids and enjoy the outdoors. They have a few farm animals to pet and they have a playground for the kids. It's more of a 2 hour type visit. Best suited for younger kids. read more

Don't ever take your kids here I took mine here with my dog a 10 week old puppy to try and help them have some fun after their papa passed the day before this worker came up and started screaming at us for the dog being there we tried compromising by staying in the car with the dog but that wasn't allowed either we tried explaining that the kids papa just passed and it was really hard on them and she said so what they are terrible mean people here she went on to insult us when we asked her what her name was she refused to give us her name then got in my girlfriends face and threatened her please never take your kid here they are mean people and are not decent at all they don't even care about Anyone and ruined the kids day for the rest of the day and probably traumatized them I will never come back I wish I could give them negative stars read more

Love this place! There's a great little park, farmhouse, farm animals, and lots of family fun.

This is a true gem. The park is well maintained and the atmosphere is fantastic. The little ones love the animals and the land is very well maintained. The staff is friendly and helpful and the animals well tempered. Furthermore, they provide this wonderful service 100% free of charge. I would recommend this to anyone with little kids! read more

Well kept little park. Great location. Friendly staff. A hidden jewel. I love to walk over. The crafts shows are nice and so is Magic Bus concert read more

The park is great!! But, u need to take better care of the animals!! They smelled when I took my son in the barn the other day!! Clean the stalls out every once in a while please!! Poor things!! I would never let my sone touch one l!! read more

I recently moved from Ohio into Waterford Michigan area. I'm sure I will not be the first to say that this is a great area for familys and outdoor activities. I noticed the Hess-Hathaway Park as I was driving around exploring the area. Shortly following, I checked some reviews and it seems like a great place for recreation and family activities. I decided to pay a visit on 10/20/2011, which was a Wednesday and apparently missed the "small" and barely noticeable signs that they were closed (although the main gate was wide open). I am runner so I parked my vehicle and went for a 30 minute jog through the trails. When arriving back at my vehicle, I noticed the gate was locked and I could not get out. I admit that I missed the sign that said the park was closed on Wednesday but I will say, being a first time visitor, we tend to make mistakes (I would also l like to point out their is a sign on the street that says "Park Open 10 to 8 pm." I drove up a service drive to what looks like a caretakers house to see if someone would help me. An older man came out and immediately started yelling and shouting about my apparent incompetence for reading signs. Let me say that I felt so threaten by this individual that I didn't know if this man was going to let me out or throw a punch. After about 2 minutes of scolding, he drove his truck back to the gate and finally let me out. I did try to tell him that the park does have a sign out by the road that states the park is open until 8pm and he denied this severely (which he is in fact incorrect). People make mistakes and I was more than willing to apologize (and did when this man greeted me before all the yelling). IF THIS IS HOW YOUR STAFF TREATS PEOPLE, THIS WILL BE THE FIRST AND LAST TIME I WILL EVER USE YOUR FACILITY. I WILL ALSO SHARE MY EXPERIENCE WITH OTHERS THAT I KNOW THAT FREQUENTLY USE YOU PARK. If anyone takes anything out of this, don't get stuck in this park after hours and please make sure "YOU READ ALL THE SIGNS!" read more