Since the pandemic began, we have been avoiding playgrounds. It wasn’t so much the playgrounds that we were nervous about, but rather the amount of people at the playgrounds. It took the lure of a brand new playground to break down our resolve. This morning, after dropping Stormy at school, I loaded Pebble and Rainbow in the car and set out for Bowie.
There are two ways to get to the playground. You can turn into the shopping complex on 450 that includes the Harris Teeter, Mod Pizza, etc., and drive down past the Petco. The Community Center will be right in front of you, and there is plenty of parking! You can also drive down 450 and make a right on Stonybrook Drive. You will see the Community Center on your left, and you make the left into the shopping center, then a right to park. Once you park, you just follow the pathway around the building to the playground. The physical address is 3209 Stonybrook Drive, Bowie, MD 20715.
The playground is fully enclosed, which makes it great for those whose kiddos like to run off, and the surface is made of rubber. No restrooms, although the community center may have some… We brought the portable for Rainbow just in case. The best feature of this playground is the trees. When we arrived around 9:30 in the morning, the entire playground was shaded. By the time we left two hours later, only the swing and the small musical area were in the sun.
This playground is beyond awesome! For our first playground post pandemic, this was the perfect choice. It isn’t huge, but there is enough to keep the kiddos super busy! For Pebble, she loved the swing the best… She called it the spiderweb swing.
Rainbow liked the swing, but the climbing structure was her jam! She gravitated to that upon arrival, and loved moving through the pods up to the top of the slide. Once she got her climbing legs, she helped her little sister navigate the structure so she could go down the slide, too.
In addition to the swing and slide / climbing area, there was a small musical flower garden with drums, and small activity center that is great for toddlers! A rope bridge is strung between two structures, one which has a smaller slide. FYI, this slide is metal, so I’m not sure how hot it will get in the summer.
The rope bridge proved a bit much for Pebble, and she needed help to navigate it. She preferred to jump across the stepping stones and climb into the structure with the small slide instead.
The last structure in the park was house-shaped and had a web of ropes inside. Rainbow climbed to the very top a few times!
We spent over 2 hours here! Everything was bright and colorful, and it wasn’t crowded. My family and I did wear masks, and there were others doing the same… Better to be safe than sorry! Rainbow has said she can’t wait to come back and bring Stormy! Pebble asked me at bedtime if we can go back tomorrow. Maybe next time we will bring a picnic and stay longer! Happy trails!