Frank Kinney Park – 875 Martin St.

Way down W. Amazon Dr. on Martin st, in the Fox Hollow neighborhood, is a pretty little park with a wilderness feel.  Here is Frank Kinney Park on google maps.

We came down W. Amazon and turned right on Martin. We then went passed the park and turned around so that we could park right next to the play area.  They have an accessible parking spot which is always nice to see.  Martin St. is a nice quiet neighborhood, so it doesn’t feel too nerve-racking to park on the street.  The park is also separated from the street by lots of plants.

Did you ride your bike?  They have bike racks and water fountains.  You can see a little dog bowl of water and there were definitely a lot of dog-walkers as well as joggers who would come through this park for water.  With an attachment to the Amazon trail system, this is a popular spot for everyone using the outdoor spaces in this area.  It’s neat to see people in the community enjoying the outdoors together.  However no bathrooms or potties here.

Lots of pretty flowers were in bloom when we visited

If you are walking around in bare feet, watch out!  A lot of these pokey little plants

There’s a little path around the park, although there are a lot of dandelions growing in it, so it may not work great for little bikes.  There are picnic tables and also some shady areas in the grass to sit on.

This park also has the beautiful tile work we see at so many parks in town.

So, the play area!

It’s not a big one for swings, but it does have one baby swing and one regular swing.

We also have a 2-kid motorcycle bouncer.

Some cute kiddo stuck a flower in there 🙂

A merry-go-round spinner.  You can also see the doggy bags, trash, and some benches on that side.

The main play structure is mostly made of wood and has a nice rustic charm.

It’s actually very similar to the play structure in Rosetta Park, except for that the one in Rosetta is made of plastic and it has a slide!  So unfortunately, there is no slide on this structure for the kids who live for sliding.

There is a great climbing wall, as seen above.  And the below picture shows a rope where kids can climb down.  I know it’s a drop that makes some parents a little nervous.

There’s a nice lounging area under the structure

And a shady hut to be a little play house or fun hidden area.

Frank Kinney also has a sand play area with water in the summer months.

The sand pit area always seems to have some buckets or Tupperware for kids to play with, which I think is really nice of someone or some people who are keeping it stocked up.

Behind the sandy area is a pretty field for playing and running and lots of dandelions.

There’s also a connection in the back to a little trail loop that we did.

 

There’s a little work-out area that the kids enjoyed

And be advised about cougars and bears: this park is so close to the real wilderness experience at the edge of Eugene!

Being pretty far out, another issue was that I didn’t have cell service in the park itself, only when we went on the little walk.  So this might be a big downside, unless you are ok with being unplugged.  Verizon did seem to have service in this area, though.  But it does make you hesitate and think about “what ifs” in cases of emergency when you really need a phone.

Frank Kinney Park may be on the outskirts of Eugene, but I love seeing all the trees and hills of the close-by forest.  It’s a quiet park where you can hear the birds and chirps of insects.  It also has such a nice wood play-structure, even if there is no slide.  I like to be there with friends so that the no cell-service doesn’t make me so nervous. Even though it’s a drive, it’s a park with a nice feel and worth visiting sometimes.

Crescent Park – 2725 Martinique Avenue

Crescent Park is in the Coburg Rd. area. Here’s the map.

Update: For those of you who read this post before 5/17/2016, I’m happy to report that the map issue I had previously talked about seems to be fixed.  Searching for Crescent Park, Crescent City Park, or nearby parks in that area no longer results in the wrong location.  (Showing a park where there is no park). The green area previously labeled “Crescent City Park” is no longer labeled.  I was able to discuss the issue with a Eugene Parks & Rec employee and submit a change to Google.  If anyone notices any prevailing issues, please let me know.  Below is a map that shows the problem as it was, and a new map.

Previous issue

Corrected as it now appears in Google maps.

The neighborhood on Martinique reminds me of the area around Gilham Park:  very nice, big houses, signs that announce the name of the community, kind of what you expect in a lot of Coburg rd. neighborhoods.

The parking for this park is on the street. The traffic is moderate, but not too bad.

The layout is kind of a big oval surrounded by a path and trees.  Inside the oval is the play area and a large grassy area.

The play structure has a nice variety of what you expect and some interesting details too.  It’s an easy climb for the littles to get up, but it also has some challenging bars and climbing structures.

The three slides give you a lot to enjoy.  Take a wide, small slide with your toddler, or go on a big bumpy slide with your preschooler.  Or just let them go on the curved slide on their own.

I like the big soft area at the end of this little slide (the rest of the play structure area is bark chips, which is great too).  And everyone loved the race car to the left of the little slide.

There’s also a nice little area under the play structure for pretending you have a restaurant or shop.  It’s also a chance for a little shade.

One unique thing I really liked (and my preschooler did too) was the little rope bridge.

He called it an alligator pit 🙂

On one side of the pit, there are some handles to swing on.  They seem super high to me, though.  Maybe someone with older kids can chime in, but it didn’t seem like anyone who hasn’t been through a puberty growth spurt would be able to reach those.

sorry, no. 😦

This park has my favorite swing set-up, with the baby and kids swings side by side, and near enough to everything else to keep an eye on everyone.

I have to say, though, this is another park I might warn against for toddlers who like to bolt.  My littlest was very tempted to go down the sidewalk paths to the slopes that lead right into the street.  That made me uncomfortable, but he did learn not to go on those paths.

Some moms that I saw there (recognized my son from the blog!) really liked the path that leads around the play structure area for riding bikes and scooters. (Tandy Turn was another that had good pavement paths for this).

There are some nice shady benches to sit on.

There are also a few trees on the other side, in the grass. Nice place for a picnic.

Or you could have a picnic on the table by the basketball court.

Two hoops back to back. You’ve also got your water fountains and bike rack here.

Lastly, I took a little walk all around the big grassy field.

A pretty good place for kites and frisbees

This is a nice park, although it does get a bit hot since the shade is mostly around the edges. I know we’ll visit again since my son loved his “alligator pit” so much.  There have also been a lot of kids there when we have visited; it’s not an isolated or lonely park.

One more thing to think about: When we visited, I got to talk to a mom whose son who has a severe peanut allergy.  I didn’t even know that a child who has eaten a peanut butter sandwich and plays on the structures, can leave enough peanut residue behind to put her son in serious danger.  It’s something to think about when you are packing a lunch for the park, that we all have a right to share.  Now we’ll save our peanut butter for days when we aren’t going to the park to play.

Thanks for visiting and feel free to check out my other endeavor below. 🙂

Sladden Park – Cheshire Ave.

Sladden park is nestled right between the Willamette, I-105, and the railroad.  If you want to park by the playground, you’ll actually want to go down Adams. Here is a map.

This park has plentiful shade.  It has many very tall pine trees, reminiscent of Emerald park.  A lot of the trees have little seed pouches and things falling off them, that some of the kids complained had gotten stuff in their feet.  It’s a sandy park that’s a bit overgrown, so maybe not the best if your kids loves being barefoot.  But very pretty, just the same.

The play area stayed pretty shady, in fact, with the wind it was almost a bit chilly.

 nice old fashioned see-saw

 we love the “real” metal merry-go-rounds.

2 baby swings and 2 kid swings, side by side

An old wading pool made a fun place for the kids to run around.  Hopefully they’ll rehabilitate it someday and turn it into a little water fun park.

The bathrooms looked nice from what we could see, but unfortunately they are closed ’til October!
 water fountains, at least.

Lots of field space to explore, picnic areas, and even frisbee golf!

 tennis courts too!

Very sweet little park, I just love trees.  I wish they would weed the sand area, if they did that, it would be much better.