For Rainbow’s birthday weekend, she wanted to enjoy the fresh, warm air we’d been having in early November, and asked to go to a playground with a big slide. Years ago, I had been to Walker Mill Regional Park in Prince George’s County with Stormy and Rainbow, and remembered it had a big slide. I thought it would be the perfect place to go, and it is one of Prince George’s County’s Imagination Playgrounds. The playground is located at 8001 Walker Mill Road in Capitol Heights, not far from the Beltway.
When we pulled into the park, we parked in the lot we spotted on our left. We then crossed the street, and walked through a giant hollow log that played music, and spoke to us. Just beyond that, we climbed a few stairs to a paved pathway that curved to the left, up the hill to the playground. If you need to avoid the stairs, the pathway starts to your right, and you don’t go through the hollow log. There were more talking creatures, and mini-activities as you climb the hill. At the top, you pass under a giant arch that welcomes you to the Woodland Wonderland. The entire playground is meant to simulate the woods, and the creatures that live there. Just past the arch, directly in front of us, was a structure that looked like a barn, and it housed the restrooms. To our right, the playground was spread out across the top of the hill.
Pebble, Rainbow, and Stormy went in three different directions, exploring. My parents were with us, so it was four adults and three kiddos. We saw giant chairs that looked like upside-down carved-out acorns, and benches made to look like the leaves of trees. Stormy found the monkey bars attached to a playset with a tunnel slide and a tree at its center. Pebble discovered that the tree was actually hollow, and steps within it led from the ground to the top of the play set. She liked popping out at the top or bottom, yelling peek-a-boo! There was a windmill with a tall ladder that led to a twisty slide, a swingset, a rope course, faux rocks to climb to reach a slide, even a bear’s cave. In the younger kiddos area, there were ladybugs in a line to jump across, and a playset with a bridge that doubled as a keyboard. Off to one side of the playground was an area that serves as a misting pad in the warmer months. The water features were off now, but I could see how much fun it would be to run between the fountains in the warmer months, although I’m sure the place would be jammed with people!
Sadly, we had one major disappointment! The one thing Rainbow wanted to do for her birthday was slide down a giant slide, and that giant red slide that led from one of the treehouses down to an ant hill was blocked off! The slide, upon closer inspection, had multiple large cracks in it. Rainbow was very upset, as she had been looking forward to that the most, but there was nothing we could do. The website for the park hadn’t mentioned that the slide was damaged, and, as much fun as we were having, we would have liked to know in advance if a park’s highlight is closed. Just be forewarned if you come here not to be fooled by the website. There were plenty of other cool slides, but this particular slide is often featured in the brochures for the park.
Rainbow, after she calmed down, climbed the ladder in the windmill to the tall, twisty slide, and that seemed to appease her as she made that climb numerous times! Keep an eye on younger kiddos on this structure as that ladder goes up pretty high! Last time we were here, Stormy was young enough that we had to follow her up the ladder to ensure she didn’t fall off. Rainbow, with Stormy, also played on the monkey bars, and showed my folks her skill at swinging herself across the rungs and back again. She has some strong arm muscles! Rainbow then climbed up the outside of one of the tunnel slides made to look like another hollow tree. Pebble and Stormy were right on her heels for this one. Stormy was fine with clambering up there, but Pebble makes us nervous when she gets up that high. She seems to be part monkey, like her sisters. In a few years, she will be doing the monkey bars like a champ!
The only other issue we had at this park was when Pebble played hide-and-seek…without telling us first. My parents and my husband and I searched everywhere for her! She finally popped out from inside the bear’s cave, but dang did we have a few heartstopping moments! It isn’t a multi-level playground like Kinder Farm Park, but it is large enough, spread-out enough, that it can be easy to lose track of a child. This is not a playground I’d try in the summer with three kids on my own.
All in all, we spent over an hour here, letting the kids burn off steam. When all three girls declared themselves hungry and thirsty, we pulled the pin, and rounded them up for the car ride home. Rainbow was eager to open her presents, too. Would we come back? I don’t think we will due to the broken slide, the distance from home, and the fact that it isn’t a playground I can manage on my own with all three. In the summer, thanks to the misting pad, this place will also be a zoo. We are happy to have tried this place, it is super neat, but we will stick closer to home in the future. If you try it, please let me know what you think, I’d love to hear another opinion! Happy trails!