Woodland Discovery Playground at Shelby Farms

Love love love this park. It is amazing … There is so much to do and room to roam. Even if it’s crowded you and your child will be able to find something to do between the swing sets, sand pit, slides, climbing nets and so much more. Another positive is all the trees surrounding the area, helps to keep it shady and breezy to help during those 100+ degree Memphis days.

This playground is incredibly unique and a not to be missed if you have kids are in the Memphis area. From slides, to sand, to swings, to human-​sized spider webs, there’s something for everyone. Comprised of «nests» that each feature a different type of play and surrounded by a huge arching leafy arbor, the Woodland Discovery Playground is like nothing I’ve ever seen before (and I feel like I’ve seen A LOT of playgrounds) Fun for mom and dad too, as we got in on the sliding, swinging, and climbing action as well.
Definitely bring sunscreen and water if you go in the summer. We were there on a very hot day, and while there was a food truck type place that appeared to sell snow cones, it was not open. There is a restroom facility near the entrance to the area, and I would assume they have water fountains there, but I didn’t see any water sources within the playgrounds. And while the arbor provides some shade, the actual play areas are in direct sun for the most part.

This park is awesome! Super fun! My only negative is that it does not seem to be maintained well enough.

Where did this place come from?!? A great series of interconnected mini-​parks featuring a slide park, river/​beach park, swings all designed incorporating the natural landscape.
Fun for all ages, especially younger ones who like to wander as the parks are dug into the earth, making them difficult for little legs to get out of.

Where was this park when I was a kid? It’s great! lots of slides, swings, and fun. My 3yr old and 9yr both beg to come here. It gets crowded on the weekends. So be prepared for the parking. I haven’t had a bad experience yet. (There’s also usually food trucks nearby too and that’s a win!)

This is probably the best playground I have ever seen. You can tell there was a lot of planning and hard work that went into it. I love the arbor, and it will be a welcome shade in the summer, because the kids will want to be there all the time! Bathrooms are close and clean, and there are a few different areas to play in. It’s fenced in to protect kids from running too far, and there are a lot of seating areas for adults, but when you get there… you really won’t want to sit.

This park is great for all ages. It is definitely geared more towards kids 4+, but overall any kid can have fun, and I even end up playing some, too!
They have a great sandpit, but I hate it simply because of the mess. Sometimes you just have to let kids have fun, so I usually suck it up.
The slides do get hot in the summer despite the coating they put on them. Last time we were there they had mats out, but the kids were flying so fast that they stopped using them.
I love the way this park is built. It just looks fun, and once the vines really grow up the domes over the pathways, it will be really neat!

This playground is awesome! My kids and I really enjoy coming here. There are 4 different areas. The first is a sandbox type space which includes a large tube slide and a water feature. Note to parents, there is quite a bit a water and it makes a pretty large puddle– almost a mini pool. You may want to have a towel handy for the ride home if you plan to let your child play in it. The second area, and my favorite, is the «slide dome”. It’s a huge pit like area with slides and balance ropes. In order to slide, you have to climb/​walk/​run up the sloping walls. Great workout going up and down that wall with little ones. The sides vary in size and function. There are 2 single person wavy slides. And there are 2 really wide slides that many kids can slide down at once, no waiting on turns YAY. The third area is the swing/​seesaw space. The swings are really neat. There is one that is like a nest the kids can sit in. And the seesaws are really unique as well. The fourth area is the web area. It is a huge web of ropes leading up to 3 different wood structures. The playground is really great for children of all ages! The ground surfaces are made from recycled materials, old tires and shoes I believe, so tripping and falling is not as painful. Plenty of seating is always available in each section. The playground is very clean, on our trip there today I cant recall seeing one piece of litter. There is a little trailer that is parked there that sells food items, and I believe on weekends several of the local food trucks station there.
Word to the wise:
–During warmer months, bring a towel! Not just for the water feature, but those slides are blazing hot and that’s not fun.
–On weekends, it is SUPER crowded. So be prepared to take turns, especially on the swings.

Fabulous playground! Fun for kids of all ages.

An awesome park to take the kiddos too. Just try to take them on off times, as it can get very busy and hard to keep track of your little ones. There are four different parks, a sand park, with a water station (make sure you bring extra clothes if you plan on letting your kids play in it) a slide park, row swing park and route Web climbing park. My kids love it here, and a afterwards love waking around the nature trails nearby.

I took my 2 boys here around 5 pm. And we had a blast. I just wish we came earlier. I will be back.

I’m not sure who has more fun when we go here, me or my son. I love the different play areas. There is something for everyone. Sand, slides, swings, ropes, nets. We could spend hours in the play area.
It’s great for all age groups. There is a ton of stuff to do in each section to keep kids from getting bored. My son loves the slide area and I get lots of exercise walking him up the hill to the slide.
The sandbox section is bigger than most backyards and each section has chairs at the top so parents can sit and watch their children play and not lose track of them.

It’s easy to see why my friends with kids have been raving about the brand new Woodland Discovery Playground at Shelby Farms: the thing is amazing.
Before they started work on the playground, the designers consulted with kids to find out exactly what they wanted in a playground. The result is stunning — several large «nests» where kids can slide, swing, climb, make noise and build sandcastles. Each nest has activities that are appropriate for a wide age group and range of abilities. As a bonus for the clumsy, the surface of the playground is made from bouncy recycled rubber.
The whole thing is encircled by a winding metal arbor that’s going to eventually be covered in vines.
The Woodland Discovery Playground is part of the Sustainable Sites Initiative, which means that the whole playground with built to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Benches are made from responsibly harvested cedar, chairs are made from recycled plastic and more than 50 new trees have been planted in the playground area to replace privet that was cleared.
Girl on the Ropes, Woodland Discovery Playground, Memphis, Tenn.
I wish there had been things like this when I was a kid. I can’t be the only adult that feels this way. It would be awesome if Shelby Farms would organize and adults-​only play night — despite being fairly small (and the playground being fairly empty), I felt weird about trying out any of the equipment when I was there this morning.
Note — you may want to bring a change of clothes. There’s a water feature and a sandbox, and messiness is a definite possibility.