Triassic Playground

The challenge for me is managing three kids whenever I take them out. So when I look for a good playground, I need to check for certain things:
1. Number of exits. The ideal? One. Triassic Playground technically has zero, as it isn’t really fenced in. But it is a bit off the beaten path and far enough from the road (which gets very little traffic) that it is okay. One caution — a lake lies behind it. So if you have more than one wild child and you have to play zone defense, this isn’t the place for you. Thankfully, my oldest boy (5) is now trustworthy enough to not run into a street, so I was able to go here.
2. Population density. I love my kids, but sometimes my three feel like three too many. I look for playgrounds that aren’t overly crowded. This one seems to fit the bill, though I did go in winter. I’ll make sure to check it out again later in the year.
3. Play Options. Six adult-​size swings in one fenced-​off area, six kiddie swings in another fenced-​off area. Ideally, there would be a gate to each area but there are none, but that is typical. There are two separate playground thingees (you know what I mean) for the kids to run/​climb/​jump/​etc on, and it looks like four slides. There are some wide open areas and paths and I saw a kid riding around on a big wheel there. Alongside the playground is a nice stretch of grass as well as four basketball hoops, so there is plenty to do in one stop.
4. Overall Safety. Number of exits plays into this. Lurkers/​creeps? Very low. Not many places to hide that you’re creepy in this area. Traffic? Very low, but still need to keep an eye on your kids. Unusual points of danger? Relatively high, given the lake right behind it. If you know your kid wanders, this isn’t the place to get sucked into Facebook or Netflix on your smartphone.
My kids were happy to spend a half hour here and didn’t really want to leave, so I’ll definitely be back. I’ll add this to the rotation of playgrounds to keep my kids interested.