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.

Fairmount Park – E. 15th Ave. and Fairmount Blvd.

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.

Pretty wood. I have no idea what kind this is, maybe someone else knows 🙂

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!

 

Filbert Meadows Park – Hyacinth St. and Naismith Blvd.

Filbert Meadows is another North Eugene area park, kind of in between Arrowhead park and Awbrey park.  I has a nice neighborhood feel that reminds me of Brewer park; drive up street parking, lots of plants and trees, and beautiful tiles speckled throughout the pathways.  Here is the map link.

Accessible parking, beautiful fence and foliage

 

Lots of neighbors walking through with their dogs, so I’m glad there’s a little dog baggie station 🙂

The tile mosaics in Filbert Meadows are a fun little “seek and find” game.  We had fun running around to find them all.  They aren’t really hidden, per se, but it’s a nice little diversion just the same. Here’s one!

On the right side is the sandy play area. I like the big rocks, they remind me of a Japanese Rock Garden, and my son really liked climbing them.

There are a few bike racks back there and trashes around the park, but no bathrooms.

And on the left is our play structure over the bark chips.

See Saw

A car to play on and 3 spinny things!

The swing set up is two kid swings and one baby swing, which I’ve mentioned before is not my favorite (when we go to parks with friends it’s nice for two little kiddos to swing at the same time; nice for the kiddos and the moms!)

For the most part I like the play structure. There are a lot different choices for climbing and swinging.

What I don’t like, and is a common problem with play structures, is that the two main areas on the play structure are separated by the red climbing web.

My little one can’t cross that or climb the verticle climbing wall, and thus can’t get to some of the fun parts of this structure. So, I have to awkwardly help him up there just so he can spin the little wheel, which is generally something for a toddler.

On a lighter note, this is the first park I’ve been to where the speakers worked (the ones where you can talk to each other from across the play structure), so that was neat. It also has a little ledge below for playing restaurant or store.

Hey, look at that! There’s a little filbert! AKA hazelnut.  Filbert Meadows actually has a little old filbert orchard full of beautiful filbert trees. Did you know that Oregon produces 99% of the U.S. hazelnut crop?

There are some picnic tables speckled in there. Oh, it looks like such a nice place for a picnic.  There are also some nice shady picnic tables near the basketball field.

And the water fountains there too.

That brings us to the field area, which is very pretty and has some paths to explore.  There’s also a large hill to climb.

We like this park.  I love the unique features like the filbert trees, the meadow, the big rocks in the sand, and the tiles.  Try it out some time soon as the weather starts getting nicer.

Feel free to check out my other endeavor on Etsy.  Thanks for stopping by!

 

Oakmont Park – 2295 Oakmont Way

Oakmont park is right across from the Oakway Center Mall on Oakmont Way. Here’s the map.

I think that’s kind of the best thing about this park.  Grab a coffee at Starbucks, browse Old Navy, then stroll over to the park to let kids blow off steam.  Then you can head back to the mall for a potty break any time.  It’s a busy area, but that means a lot of people and company for your outing.  The crosswalks are well marked, and there’s parking on the street by the park if you don’t need to visit the mall.

This park has wood chips under the taller play structure.  Here’s the nice rock-wall.

Then we have our large sandy area with the smaller structures; bouncers, a little car (complete with two steering wheels which, while impractical for real cars, is advantageous for play cars with two or more drivers).  Lots of picnic tables and benches too.

The raised, soft walkway separates the sand and bark chip areas.  It’s a little hard to navigate for new walkers, but they figure it out.

I love this little house in the sandy area.  It’s a nice place to retreat to if it starts to rain.  It can also be a castle, restaurant, or cave, if needed.

I haven’t actually been here when this water area is on and working, so perhaps we will revisit this park later.  If you have some feedback on the water area, comment below! Aren’t those mosaic animals beautiful, though?

There is a large field and paths to explore that lead to other neighborhoods.  A basketball hoop, water fountain (not on in the winter), trash can, and bike racks.  There’s also a quaint little hill for contemplating life and watching the construction at the Mall.

One path leads to Frontier dr.

And the other leads to Bedford Way.

So, I do like this park a lot, but there are some things about the play structure that I should mention.  First of all, it’s not a great set-up.  The things that the littlest kids will like the best are harder to get to, like the car wheel that’s at the very top of the structure

…or the smaller slide that’s not easy to get to either. You have to go across this bridge:

Now, I’m not opposed to challenging my kids.  I consider myself a pretty “free-range” parent and I like to let my kids explore on their own.  But, that being said, I think some kid has fallen off this thing every time we’ve been there.  It’s Eugene, it’s wet, there’s only a hand rail on one side.  I’m not opposed to the occasional cut or scrape, but I don’t actually want my kids to fall all the time. Same goes with the bouncy bridge:

There’s such a huge gap between the railing and the bridge, I’ve seen kids fall off this one too.  The metal is slippery, unlike some of the wooden bridges at other parks.  My little 18 month old wants to go across this and it’s a little scary.  But I can’t blame him because all the stuff he wants to do is across these bridges!
So, not my favorite play structure. (By Game Time, btw, if you’re keeping score)

There are a few other neat things

A steep tunnel, some unique monkey bars and a wavy mirror to name a few.

There is a spinny thing:

I don’t know what those are called, if you know, please comment below.  Anyway, this one is a bit taller than usual, which is either more fun, or harder to use depending on your child.  There’s also a baby swing and kid swing.  So, if you’re kids are big on swings, this is not the park for that.

All in all, I like this park and I’ll continue to visit it, in spite of the high fall ratio.  I guess that’s just the kind of mom I am.

 

 

Berkeley Park – 3629 W. 14th Avenue

Berkeley Park is a quiet park off West 11th in Eugene.  Here is a link to the google maps result:

http://tinyurl.com/pdvku5t

There’s a little side street that you can park on, it also has a little free library:

Take a book, leave a book!

Find out more about little free libraries here: http://littlefreelibrary.org/

When we visited the park was sand, but as I’ve mentioned before here, most parks with sand are being converted to bark chips because it’s safer to fall on.  So, keep us posted, followers, and let us know when you see this or any park has been converted.

This park is surrounded by a calm field with little dirt foot paths.

and there’s your trash can.

The basketball court is a bit off from the park area and when we were there my kids found a basketball and had a blast playing with it.  We left it behind in hopes that other kids will keep it here for all to use.

Way back there!

We’ve got our swings, two baby, two kid.

 Nice little metal structure with a little slide and a big slide.

 I like that bouncy thing on the left and the little “shop window” on the right.

Another unique feature is this giant climbing structure:

You can also see the street and quiet neighborhood behind the structure.  The street is pretty close, but it is not busy at all, so you might not want to bring a little kid that loves running out in the street, but most will be alright.  I like that the neighborhood is pretty close, it makes me feel safe in a park like this.  It feels like people are nearby, which is important to a mom on an outing alone with her kids.  While we were there a few people came to play with their dogs in the field, but the few times we’ve been here we haven’t found many families to play with, so it’s a bit deserted, or private, depending on your tastes.

I like this weird little bridge:

Another little structure to climb

My favorite thing here is the slide!

It looks old and rusty.  Just a beautiful example of sturdy, American made, classic play equipment.  It’s very tall and the metal is a bit dented.  It looked perfectly safe, so I hope they don’t decide to replace it.

No water fountains or bathrooms here.  It’s a pleasant park to check out if you’re in the area, but I wouldn’t say it’s one I’d go out of my way for.  It’s in the W. 11th area, which is not my favorite area of town, a lot of that having to do with W. 11th traffic.  But, like I said, some neat structures and a wonderful old slide!

Thanks for reading!

Feel free to check out my other endeavor: my Etsy shop 🙂

Gilham Park – Park Wood Dr. and Lakeview Dr.

Gilham Park has got it’s groove back!  And by that I mean that a few things that were missing are back. But I’ll get to that in a moment.

Link to Google Map Result:
http://tinyurl.com/otw6ewx

Just a word of caution when heading to this park: when I type “Gilham park Eugene” into google maps, the first thing that comes up is the nearby “Gilham Elementary School Soccer Field.” Thanks Google! Not quite.  In fact, I think a few friends have gotten lost thanks to that, so here is the disclaimer right away: Don’t go to Gilham Elementary School! This park is nearby, and in fact, you can see the school across the field, but it’s not the same place. Also, guess what? This park is not actually on Gilham Road.  Haha, good joke Eugene!  I’m always a fan of parks named after the area they are in and not the road they are on so it seems like they should be on the road that there name is and NO THAT’S NOT CONFUSING At ALL.

So, check out the link above or just go down Lakeview Dr. to Park Wood Dr.  You will know you are in the right place if you see tall pine trees and very large houses.  Like, super really nice big houses. So, it’s a nice neighborhood, I’ll just say that.

Wheel Chair Accessible parking spot and parking on a relatively quiet street.

Gilham park has both sand and bark chips, with water play in the summer.

There’s a bouncer back there too.

If you’re like my son, you will notice the excavator first thing.  This was a nice little surprise for us because the excavator had been “out of order” for a very long time!  I was afraid they would take it away because people might complain it’s too “dangerous.”  Now it is back and actually less dangerous! It’s closer to the ground, so lots of kids will be able to play on it without their parents worried that they will face-plant right into the metal construction tool.

His feet can touch the ground!

The other thing that has made a triumphant return is the Merry-Go-Round!  This has been gone for a long time, maybe a year?  I figured they’d be replacing it with some “safe” equipment made out of plastic.  But, behold, it is back in all it’s fast, metal glory. Around the Merry-Go-Round and winding through the park are paths with soft blue rubber.  I really like how soft these are for little crawling babies and mama’s aching feet.  A nice alternative to the bark and sand area.

Also pictured: quite a few nice benches for sitting and trash cans too

Behind the Merry-Go-Round is a bridge, that is very fun to run across, and some little paths in the trees.  It’s not like you are very far from the street or park, but it is a pleasant little area.

The play structure is one of the Kompany sets and it is also in the sandy area.  This can make it a little slippery at times.

In the bark chip area is a baby and kid swing and a big bouncer.

Also this odd tunnel thing.  It kind of reminds me of a rib cage of dinosaur bones.

There is a nice large field and the school beyond that.  If you come on a school day, and the kids are at recess, this does make your little preschooler wish he could go play with them.  In fact, I’m sure some little kids would be sad or even dart off to go join them, so keep that in mind if you have a runner.

It’s back there and you can hear those kids having lots of fun! There’s also some nice picnic areas and trees in the field.

Here is something new I noticed: a mosaic four square court.  Also, the water fountains and bike racks.  No bathrooms here.

I leave you with some cute kid chalk art, just because.

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.

Bethel Community Park – Hamilton Ave.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bethel+Community+Park/@44.080009,-123.198484,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x54c11cf3ab960e41:0xff282067e93ac1a8?hl=en

So, first thing I noticed was that this park has a parking lot.  Sometimes it’s nice to have a parking lot so you don’t have to park on the street with kids.  This is also a very large park, so there’s lots to do, but it may be hard to keep track of multiple kids.

It has this very nice shaded table area

And lots of shady trees close to park areas.

The park has two basic areas.  One area has a tall play structure with some unique Kompany gear and bark chips.  Behind the trees in the above picture and here:

The other area is all sand.  It has a play structure as well, that is lower to the ground.

   

It also has some water features

Plentiful baby swings and regular swings, but they aren’t next to each other.  So, if your baby and big kid want to swing at the same time, they won’t be next to each other.

Here is our favorite part: 2 excavators!!!  Turns out, kids will still find the one excavator that is “better” and fight over it, though. The blue one has a seat and the yellow one does not.  I’m glad that the yellow one doesn’t have a seat because when my son, Atticus, was younger, he used to almost fall off a similar excavator.  Without the seat, that isn’t a problem.  (He’s big enough to use the one with the seat now, as you can see).

  

This park does have bathrooms, but the kind without stalls.  So, less gross than an outhouse, but not so much privacy.  It also has a skate park.

  

So, in short, this park is great for lots of space and lots of unique play.  But, it’s not your quiet neighborhood park.  Let me know if you have any other questions about this park, and thanks for checking out my first post 🙂