Alexander W. Kemp Playground

The boys I nanny LOVE this park!

My favorite park thus far in the Boston area! I have 3 boys, 9months 2.5 years and 9. They all had something to do and when the time came, they didn’t want to leave. We would have stayed had we brought our lunch. I felt safe, the playground is fenced in, and there is so much to play with/​on. Your children will get sandy at this park, there’s no way around it. I love the water table feature.
The only bummers: one side of the park was extremely overgrown and of course that’s where the kids want to go. Also, along the wood climbing fence thing between the seesaw and Merry-​go-​round had a wasps nest. Be careful!

Best park. Swings. Seesaw. slides. Climbing hill/​wall. Web feature to climb. Water feature. And more.
Love how it’s not the normal bright melting plastic parks. Lots of thought was put into this park. It’s so brilliant it was quite possibly designed by a bunch of toddlers :)

Amazing that someone put some imagination into building a playground! Awesome for my kids ages 3 – 7.

My kids (6 and 8) LOVE this playground. The sand and water features are favorites! When the water is not pumping they are busy climbing or pretending they are Vikings on the boat. I miss the basket swing but that feature being close doesn’t change my opinion of this spot. I wish there was more than one entrance/​exit but I guess that will make it more difficult for parents to monitor younger children and their comings and goings.

Sand, water pumps, climbing, sliding, swings, and a wooden boat structure. My 2-​y-​o kid actually got included in a group effort in sand dam building with 10+ kids, all aged 2 – 8 or so. I’ve never seen this type of kid-​led building collaboration on that big a scope of age difference of its participants at any other park. Of course, getting the kid out of the playground nearly deafened everybody, with that high screeching she does when she’s not ready to leave, but I guess she wasn’t the first kid to do that there, because no one batted an eye at it.

Yes, this long-​awaited playground opened to rave reviews. It’s beautifully designed, creative and offers different options from your regular park. The sand area is one of the best, with a waterplay station that is controlled by the children. There are big blocks and pulleys all over that children can use for whatever they like. Despite its splendor, this park has some serious issues. First of all, the sand gets everywhere and makes the sloped areas of the rest of the park really slippery and hard to walk on. The big wooden blocks are often used by children to go «sledding» down the climbing hill, which hardly seems safe for them or the children playing at the bottom. All in all, a good addition to the neighborhood.

Recently, a sigh of relief and gratitude could be heard throughout the neighborhoods that thrive just within walking distance to Cambridge Common. After months and months and more months of renovations, the parents of this town finally had to stop soothing their sad little darlings with explanations of why the park is closed. And more importantly, when will it be open again? Today? Tomorrow? Soon?
Instead, they now have to pry their pudgy little fingers from all of the fantastical new wonders that make up the redesigned Alexander W. Kemp Playground. Nestled in the corner of Cambridge Common, this giant square of outdoor play space is every child’s dream… magnified with climbing nets, giant wooden dragon boats, swings, water fountains and slides galore. The giant iron gated entrance has an adorable little door where kids cam climb through, and benches line the perimeter for parents to sit and watch. Heck, even the landscaping is nice!
Now, my walk to Harvard Square is filled with laughter and squeals of delight, instead drills, jackhammers and cries of childhood despair.