It was a warm and sunny November afternoon, and Pebble needed to burn energy. We decided to try Whitemarsh Park in Bowie. It is located off of Route 3, near the Bowie Playhouse and Sportfit. There are several ball fields, a picnic area, trails, and 2 playgrounds. Yes, 2 playgrounds, one of which was updated recently. There are bathrooms available near the updated playground, as well as a snack bar, open only when games are in play. On this bright weekday afternoon, we were the only ones on the playground, and parking spots were plentiful. Pebble was excited to check the place out, as was I.
I have to give the designers of this playground credit for their imagination! The turf under the playground was designed to look like a game play. The first climbing structure Pebble went to resembled a football helmet. There were nets shaped like lacrosse sticks, and further back, close to the snack stand, there were M&M’s to hop across. There was also a sport themed slide, an ice cream cone to clamber on, and an ant to ride.
After playing and exploring for a good while, Pebble wanted to find the other playground. Facing the parking lot, we turned left, and walked past one of the fields. We found the old playground near the picnic pavilion, tucked back on the edge of the woods. It was very simple, just a slide, swings, including baby swings, and an animal ride on bouncer that took me back to my own childhood.
Despite the simplicity of this playground, Pebble had a lot of fun! She ran between the animal bouncers and the slide over and over again. When she tired of this playground, we checked out the trails in the woods, including the nature trail.
Eventually, we wandered back to the first playground to play a bit longer. It was a wonderful afternoon, and we had the playgrounds to ourselves. If you haven’t been here, you should check it out, especially if your littles like to climb. Happy trails!