Golden Gate Park in Brookville Ohio

I feel like my last post was too wordy and too small with pictures jumbling around. This will be a work in progress for a few weeks anyway. 

Today we went to Golden Gate Park, Upper Lewisburg Salem Road, Brookville, OH 45309. The link will take you to the parks page for Brookville. First time I've been to this park and it's nice! Also a few fast food restaurants nearby for a quick lunch after. 

Cost:  Free

Safety/Cleanliness:  Very good

Best Age groups: ALL AGES 

Play Structures: Total of 3. The castle, and two others set up for preschool and up that are back around the ball fields.

Shelters: I think there are indoor AND outdoor shelter

Other: Very nice fountain feature in the pond, no fence though.
            A BMX track! Not sure how to get there since I couldn't drive to it from inside the park. Click the park link to find out more info. 

Splashpad: No

Bathrooms: Not quickly accesible. There are bathrooms, but it's a bit of a walk. 

Water fountain: Next to the bathrooms

Handicap Accesible: For wheelchairs the play areas have no access to the "castle". The other two are in an open area. At the "castle" there is a handi- access swing. 

On the whole its a great park. There isn't a lot of shade around the "Castle" (nor did there appear to be at the other two in the ball fields) , but if you bring your own water and sunscreen it's lots of fun. There are divisions on this gigantic playplace for toddlers and older kids. Lots of swings far back from the action *so no face kicks* There is only one entrance to the "castle" so make sure you park next to it and not down the hill from it like I did. 

Here's a map of the whole place. I am marking the playgrounds in red, the bathroom with an umbrella, and where you want to park for the castle with the sun. You will notice to the left of the castle there is a little flower icon. There is a climber and an old school metal truck that the kids can climb on there as well. 

I'm not a photographer. I only play one on facebook. Here are some snapshots of the castle, and the football/t-ball playgrounds. The last two are far away because you park and walk. I already had my guy in the car and wasn't getting out again. lol

Outside the castle

Entry Area: 

Little Kid side:

Big Kids side:

Baseball Playground: 

Football Playground: 

Thanks :) 

Week of April 10-16th

I'm not a writer. I was horrible at grammar so please forgive me. After the last 2 years of being stuck *mostly* in the house with my preemie boy, I decided this year we are busting OUT! I've made it my mission this year for the kids and I to get out and live this year. This week I decided to go to a few old goodies and try a new *to me* park. Tuesday my daughter *11*, her friend *also 11*, and my 2 year old son stopped at Eastwood MetroPark to feed the ducks. The play areas in the park are older and not very well kept so we didn't stay to play. Son still puts his hands in his mouth too much. However the wildlife and waterviews are so pretty. The stone bridges along the Mad River running through the park are gorgeous and photo worthy. :) I did not take one however because we were busy feeding the ducks. Click the link to check out all the amenities the park offers. We are going to go fishing later on this month. Also if you or your children love to run this is the place. Lots of open space.

On the way home we stopped at Cloud Park in Huber Heights *4707 Brandt Pike, Huber Heights, OH 45424*. This is THE park for Huber Heights. There are 3 separate play areas, a splash pad, a creek/bridge numerous shelters, and TONS of greenspace for the kids to run around. We went to the park area behind the splashpad. It's the only area in the park with the swings and a slide made of rollers which the kids like to "surf" down while the parents hope that they don't fall on their heads.

Here is my fun map that I used paint on lol. THe star areas are the the playsets and the rest are labeled.

It's early in the year for Wegerzyn Gardens. There aren't many flowers blooming in the Childrens Discovery Garden, but you can see the bones of something wonderful to come. My son was amazed by the wire animals and I was in love with the HUGE tulips at the entrance. I think almost everyone has been to this garden, but if you have not there is something for everyone. As mentioned before there is a childrens area that has a waterfall/creek/spray area, a pond, in the works is a fence tunnel that will have flowers covering it into a tent area for the kids to play, and always the sandbox. The formal gardens have been upgraded and are beautiful. Areas for photo ops abound. There are pots of purple and pink tulips everywhere!

Last today we saw Orchardly Park in Oakwood. It's awesome. All of the kids gave it a 10! There are numerous climbers, a new version of a merry go round, a toddler play area, sandbox, splashpad, and on the other side of the park is a tennis and basketball court. Google has MUCH better pictures than the ones I took so check out this link. :)