I think their slogan should be "O'Kane Park: Not Nearly As Sketchy As You'd Think."…read more
Or is it just me that thinks that rhyming your park with the name of an illegal controlled substance was a bad idea? At any rate, I've seen some sketchy, skeevy parks in the Denver Metro area, and I'm happy to report that-- despite it's poor choice in monikers-- O'Kane park is NOT one of them.
The play structure? IS AWESOME. It's remarkably graffiti-free (no small feat on the West Si-yeeeed) and big enough so that even when it's crawling with ankle-biters on a sunny Saturday afternoon, the kids have room to roam. There are slides for every age and bravery-level, plus lots of tunnels, rings, bridges, and poles. If you happen to fall off any of these things, you'll land in some soft, clean wood chips. Nice!
Aside from the playground, there are covered picnic/BBQ areas (available to reserve, if need be), plus ACRES of green field space, walking trails, tennis and basketball courts, and a little pond. Dogs do need to be on leash here, and most people respect that.
Of note: the place can be crawling with Bitchy Belmar Mommies. Last time I was there, my 19-month-old had the AUDACITY to touch another kid's sippy cup (the horror!). BBM came swooping in, antibacterial wipe in hand, nose all out of joint and practically busting a vein in her forehead. "Sorry," I said, casually (because it was REALLY no big deal), "he's in that 'grab everything' stage." I didn't mention that when you bring a brightly-colored wagon full of toys and sippy cups to a public playground and park it right next to the slides, you really can't expect other kids NOT to take an interest in it.
"Well!" BBM huffed at me," MY kids are preemies, and they just recently got over being sick, so..."
In that "..." were implied the words: "keep your filthy kid's germy hands off my stuff."
Um, hello? A) You're at a public playground, and that big ol' jungle gym your darlings are climbing upon has WAY more germs on it than my kid's hands ever will. And B) your kids are like, FOUR FREAKIN' YEARS OLD. If you're still playing the preemie card, you have some serious issues, lady.
Anyhow, Bitchy Belmar Mommies notwithstanding, O'Kane Park is a pretty cool place. Check it out!