Before I dive in, first let me say thank you! The Eugene Park Guide is one year old. It’s been a lot of fun exploring parks and sharing them with you. I hope that the information has been helpful to you and maybe even encouraged families to visit more parks in our beautiful city. The outpouring of interest and support has really made me consider putting more love into this blog: instead of being a straightforward info blog. So if you’d like to see more interesting photos or any other improvements let me know! As of now, once a month is about what I have time for, but I hope to post a bit more frequently this summer to get my followers more information during summer break.
I have gained a lot of new followers since I started, so if you’d like to go back and visit my first post, check out Bethel Community Park.
Ok, now onto Fairmount. This little park is in South East Eugene, off Franklin Boulevard. It is at the base of the hill on which Hendricks Park is located (does that hill/butte have a name? Let me know if it does!) and just past the eastern edge of the University of Oregon. I have always wanted to call it FairMONT, but beware; it is FairMOUNT. Here is your map.
Your parking will be on the street, either right in front (north side of the park), or on the side (east side of the park). There are paths to the park on either side. (left photo is north, right photo is east)
Even though the street curves around the park, there isn’t too much traffic, and most cars are at least slowing a bit to go around that curve. Plus, there is enough brush, bushes, and grass to act as a barrier, so I don’t feel like the street is much of an issue.
E. 15th street curves around the park and turns into Fairmount Blvd (there’s a stop sign at the corner that says you don’t have to stop if turning right).
The other two edges of the park are bushes and fenced in area. It give the whole park a nice enclosed feeling.
If you enter on the east side, you get a nice little information kiosk, with lots of info about Hendricks park and events there.
As you enter, there is a big grassy area. It’s a nice little field for playing ball or running off some energy.
The park itself doesn’t actually have a play structure, per se. It has 4 main pieces of play equipment: A large slide, swings, a see saw, and merry-go-round. All of these are on sand.
As you may remember from my Tandy Turn post, that many parks have been converted from sand to bark chips. I’ve contacted Eugene Parks & Rec to see if they plan to change Fairmount park as well. I’ll let you know!
The big slide is a lot of fun and there is often a line when there are many kids playing at Fairmount.
It’s a bit tall for the really little ones, and it can get a bit slippery to climb up if there’s too much sand on the steps, so watch out for that.
The see-saw is a nice old-fashioned, metal and wood teeter-totter.
I know some parents aren’t a fan of these. They aren’t as easy for kids to use on their own as the newer style of bouncer see-saws. I like them though. Really feel the burn in your thighs as you help your tiny toddler go up and down!
Standard swings: 2 kid, 2 baby (bucket style seats).
Another “classic” style feature is the metal merry-go-round. We love stomping on it and making big noises.
Next to the play area is a nice picnic area, with beautiful wooden picnic tables and some trees for a bit of shade. The whole park has a shady feel, although the play area itself is mainly shady in the early morning or evening, when the sun is behind the trees. There are lots of nice benches to sit on around the park, in addition to the picnic tables.
There are also lots of Oregon Grapes around, our state flower!
On the other side of the picnic tables is the water area: lots of fun to push the button to turn them on and run around in the water!!
Two things I wish were better: 1. The button needs to be pressed frequently to keep the water on. When we were there sometimes a kid or parent would just stay by the button and press it over and over for the other kids. 2. The basketball hoop is right above the water area, which created some conflict when basketball players and kids playing in the water were cramped for the same space.
On the other side of the water is a bathroom. I was actually pleasantly surprised that it was clean and did not smell terrible when we were there, I had no problem using it. You may want to remember your own hand sanitizer, because there was none provided, but there is toilet paper.
Fairmount is also a location frequented by some local day cares and preschools, so some mornings there were a lot of kids there and it was very crowded. But it’s also nice to have lots of kids around to play with and to hear so many happy voices.
If your kid likes to run and climb on play-structures, then this park may not provide them with a lot to do, but it helps if you have a ball to play in the field with or some sidewalk chalk handy.
I like Fairmount Park, it’s a nice shady little park with some old-school play equipment that can keep get you cooled down with water play. I hope you’ll check it out!
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