I have a little kid, and we love the library and having free story time. Yesterday, however, we were able to experience the walking trail a brand-new playground for the first time, and were really disappointed.
The walking trail was fine, clean, and a little hilly. There were a lot of people and well-behaved pups on leashes enjoying the beautiful weather. However, the actual paths were covered in a thick carpet of pine needles, so people were slipping and sliding everywhere (in dry conditions). I would think there's a way for trees to be pruned so as to provide for a safer walking trail (see Lake Lynn's trail for an example).
My primary issue was with the new playground. Whoever designed and selected it does not have children. And has never been around children. I think the only kids who would enjoy it are 8 year olds without their parents nearby to stop them from climbing to the top of the structures and jumping off.
The floor is that rubberized mat, which is nice. There's a large swing for multiple kids to use, which is fine but often not super popular. No regular or baby swings, which is a bummer. The structure for little kids is barely adequate - basically just a couple of platforms and a spinning toy that seemed to contain trash and a couple of balls. No slides, covers, puzzles.... really anything interesting.
I'm not sure if the play structure is more an abomination or an art piece not meant to be played with, but it's certainly bizarre. The only slide has NO sides to prevent one from falling - it's just a steep piece of metal designed to cause harm. The other thing that looks like a slide from behind is for climbing, and has a railing straight down the middle. Why not on the side? I cannot explain. There are lots of rope webs for climbing, which will prove fun for some kids. But the platforms are not practical for standing or climbing, and it's mostly simply an unusable hazard. read more