Magnolia Park
1810 NW 192nd Ave,
Hillsboro,
Oregon 97006
For those of you who don't really care about reading my rambles about the parks, you just want to know the Pro's and Con's, I will put that first for ya. ;)
Hillsboro,
Oregon 97006
For those of you who don't really care about reading my rambles about the parks, you just want to know the Pro's and Con's, I will put that first for ya. ;)
Pro's
- newer play structures
- older and younger play areas
- port-a-potty on sight
- great covered area with lots of places to sit
- clean
- water feature
- clean
- water feature
Con's
- usually crowded especially in evenings- parking is not the best
- windy (which will probably be good in the summer)
- only one port-a-potty
Magnolia Park is the first one we visited shortly after moving. I printed out my directions (this is before I had my iphone), and headed out on a sunny day in January. I turned onto 192nd and it was pretty much right there as I drove up. I didn't see a parking lot but I noticed a lot of parking along the street. It's kind of a narrow street and the spots are for parallel parking. I am NOT good at parallel parking, but since it was a cold day in January, even I could easily pull into a spot. Now that the weather is getting warmer the spots fill up quickly and it can be hard to find a spot, especially since the spots are shared with the apartment building right across the street. I have always been able to get a parking spot without problem but it's just not always as close as I would like it to be.
After getting out of the car we are hit hard with a lot of wind, but that doesn't stop my kids. The kids run up the hill and see the wonder of the playground. It is a newer park so the equipment is new and clean, just how I like it. There are two areas, one for older kids and one for younger kids. For my daughter the park MUST have a swing to be fun. Magnolia park has two regular swings and two baby swings so it's a winner in her book.
In the "big kid" area there is a big slide, a side-by-side slide, a suspension bridge type thing, monkey bars and a few ladder climbing things. There is also a big green thing that reminds me of an umbrella skeleton that spins. My kids can't reach it by themselves but it's one of their favorite things to do. You just hang on (or sit if you and your child are comfortable with heights) and spin around. It's fun for the kids but a bit of a workout for me. I have to lift my 60 lb kid up there, then get my daughter up there and then I have to push it a little to get it going all while holding on to my daughter who is afraid to fall. It's doable and fun but not something we do more than 4 or 5 times a visit.
In the "big kid" area there is a big slide, a side-by-side slide, a suspension bridge type thing, monkey bars and a few ladder climbing things. There is also a big green thing that reminds me of an umbrella skeleton that spins. My kids can't reach it by themselves but it's one of their favorite things to do. You just hang on (or sit if you and your child are comfortable with heights) and spin around. It's fun for the kids but a bit of a workout for me. I have to lift my 60 lb kid up there, then get my daughter up there and then I have to push it a little to get it going all while holding on to my daughter who is afraid to fall. It's doable and fun but not something we do more than 4 or 5 times a visit.
In the younger kid area there is a slide, shorter monkey bars and a bouncy teeter-totter. There might be a telescope thing too on the slide platform. Both areas use this shredded sawdust type stuff as ground cover. It brushes off easily if it's dry but tends to get into places it shouldn't when the kids sit in it, fall on it, etc. It's soft though and doesn't seem to bother the kids unless its in their pants or down their shirts.
The great thing about this park is that it has a water feature. Of course it hasn't been warm enough for it to be turned on yet so I will have to write about that when I can. For now though, the water area has 3 different sized rocks that kids love to run/climb up and jump off of. It is a fun feature without water so I'm guessing the water only adds to it!!
There is a large grassy area that is kept looking very nice. It's kind of like Disneyland, I have never seen trash on the ground, so I like that. There is a path that goes around the park but I wouldn't want to bring bikes or anything like that because it's not a very wide path. The is also a basketball court (I think) and a tennis court. There is a great covered area that has a lot of picnic tables. There are a few tables that have chess boards painted on them and there are even a few grills around for BBQ's.
Since my daughter is potty training I need to be able to get to a toilet. Magnolia park does have one port-a-potty that I have seen. When we used it it was very clean and it is probably cleaned quite often. It didn't help my daughter want to go, hence the fit she threw, but my son used it without any problem so there must not be any alligators lurking in the blue waters below. We did have to wait our turn and there was a line after we came out, probably due to the fit. Sigh.
This is the park we have been to most because it is a lot of fun!! I try to take the kids in the morning so it's not quite as busy and the kids tend to be younger, making it easier to see my kids. If I need out in the evenings I try to wait until my husband is home so we can have 1-on-1 coverage. It's hard to be in two places at once and both my kids either want my attention, or help, at all times. I have seen parents outnumbered by young children in the evenings there and it is chaos. The older kid want's help doing whatever, while the young toddler is risking it's life by the swings. Parents have to cross the mass of crazy kids to swoop in and save the small child and then make a mad dash back to catch the older child who was left hanging from the monkey bars. It's more work than I am interested in but if you are up for a challenge, go for it!! :)
It's a great place to meet up with friends and have a fun time! Go check it out yourself and let me know what you think of Magnolia Park! :)
It's not the best picture but it's all I have so far. Kids hanging out on the spinning thing with the older kids play stuff in the background.
water feature
covered area with tables
bathroom
younger play area
spinning umbrella thing
baby swings and teeter totter bouncy toy
big kid play area
This is the park we have been to most because it is a lot of fun!! I try to take the kids in the morning so it's not quite as busy and the kids tend to be younger, making it easier to see my kids. If I need out in the evenings I try to wait until my husband is home so we can have 1-on-1 coverage. It's hard to be in two places at once and both my kids either want my attention, or help, at all times. I have seen parents outnumbered by young children in the evenings there and it is chaos. The older kid want's help doing whatever, while the young toddler is risking it's life by the swings. Parents have to cross the mass of crazy kids to swoop in and save the small child and then make a mad dash back to catch the older child who was left hanging from the monkey bars. It's more work than I am interested in but if you are up for a challenge, go for it!! :)
It's a great place to meet up with friends and have a fun time! Go check it out yourself and let me know what you think of Magnolia Park! :)
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