When I heard that Crofton Park was getting a facelift, I was beyond excited! It would be awesome to have a park with brand new equipment so close to home. My girls have always loved Crofton Park because it was a park that was partially shaded, which was great on hot summer mornings. There used to be a neat trail that ran through the marshes, too, but that seems to have been lost with the building of Crofton High School. Pebble and I arrived at Crofton Park on a warm Tuesday afternoon, excited to see the changes. Our excitement, or at least mine, quickly fizzled.
I was thrilled to see that the swing set had been replaced as the swings had been in bad shape. I just wished they had put in one of those double swings, like Lake Waterford has. Pebble checked out the structure for the younger crowds first. It looks as if there was an outdoor / nature / camping theme that the planners were going for. Gone was the swinging bridge, and into its place was a tunnel that looked like a hollowed out tree log. There was a pretend tent to go in with climbing wall handholds positioned on the sides so one could climb over the top of the roof. This part of the playground wasn’t bad, there were things for the littles to do, although not as many climbing options as the previous playground. No music garden, either, which was another disappointment.
Pebble played for a bit, but then decided to check out the older kiddos area. This is truly when I wished the facelift had never happened, or, at the very least, the community was asked about what they wanted redone in this park. The footprint for the older kiddos is a large area, and yet there was only one tall structure over here. This structure contained one slide, just one. There are stairs all of the way up to the topmost level of the structure where the slide begins, so even the littlest kiddos can use it. There are also two climbing sections, one made to look like stacked logs. The space at the top of the slide is narrow, so if there are multiple kids up there, yep, I’m nervous about someone getting pushed off. The monkey bars area is a joke, there are only three of those things with the holes that kids can clamber through and up, and one, just one, spinning seat. The space feels wasted. Why no mini obstacle course, no rock wall, or more slides?
I know I’m being critical, but the only positive of this playground is that the equipment is new. Nothing was done to the grounds, the trail down in the swamps hasn’t been redone, and the pond needs serious help. If we need to stay close to home, and desperately need some time outside, I may bring my kids here, but otherwise, I’d rather go further afield to find a place my kids want to play at. Pebble checked out the whole playground, and kept drifting from area to area, like she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. After 45 minutes, she asked to go home. Usually, I need a crowbar to get her to leave a playground, but not this one. Please check out some of the other more awesome playgrounds listed in my blog, but I don’t recommend this one. Too bad! Happy trails!