A wooded escape: Allen's Lane Park

Playground: Allen's Lane Park playground
Location: Allen's Lane between McCallum and Green (can enter from the street or park near the Art Center)
Date visited: 9/3/11

Equipment: Multiple pieces of equipment scattered within one longish zone (a little like a summer camp obstacle course):

1. A small climbing net/rope wall
   
2. A set of tunnel tubes elevated around 1 foot off the ground on half rubber tires
   
3. Hanging bars at two heights
   
4. A narrow, curved balance beam
   
5. A small playset, made of wood, including a jointed bridge, treehouse, two low plastic slides, a steering wheel, a set of lowish (4 ft?) wide monkey bars, and a small climbing wall
   
6. The taller playset has a tall spiral and a lower curved (plastic) slides, misc. climbing, a fireman's pole, and "shop windows" underneath
   
7. A zip-line set-up
   
8. 4 bucket swings, 2 plank swings, and a horizontally mounted tire swing (set by itself)

material: modern or as marked; scale: large
Ages: 1-10
Surface: wood chips around equipment; grass elsewhere
Shade(0-3): 3
Water: N
Other: picnic tables, tennis courts, basketball (far side of art center)
Access: 6AM-10PM

Impressions: A nice range of equipment in a cool and inviting wooded setting, with offerings for crawlers through tweens, and places for parents to stroll, sit, picnic, or play tennis. Cool on a hot day, with rich plantings and a summer campy feel that made us want to linger. Worth a trip.
Overall rating: 9

A colorful and creative playspace: Aubury Recreation Center

Playground: Aubury Rec. Center playground
Location: on Ardleigh (btw. E. Haines and E. Washington)
Date visited: 1/1/11

Equipment: One zone with numerous different play structures and smaller pieces:

1. A small set with steps and good low climbing options, wide straight and curved plastic slides, drums (!), a novel spinning ball toy embedded in one wall.
   
2. Three climbing poles with disk platforms.
   
3. Three "sit and spin" platforms (can stand or sit)
   
4. A medium set with straight and curved plastic slides and novel types of climbing (including a hard-to-describe section where you could clamber up the inside or outside of a pretzelly lader) -- connected by a ladder bridge to a taller platform with climbing walls.
   
5. Separate swingsets (4 bucket and 4 strap).

material: modern, mostly plastic with some metal parts; scale: medium space
Ages: marked 5-12, but probably more like 1-10
Surface: rubbery / cement/ grass?
Shade(0-3): 1
Water: Y (looks like hydrant style)
Other: Rec. center, parking, bike racks, pool, and more (basketball? etc.) -- all behind fences
Access: open, unmarked

Impressions: Fun and colorful array of equipment in a small playground with a convenient off-road parking lot. No idea how busy it gets in the warm season, given that we tromped in slush during our visit, nor whether it is shared by the nearby school, but it's definitely worth a visit if you're in the area, especially with kids of mixed ages or those who love to climb.
Overall rating: 8

A small playground in an inviting setting: Clivedon Park

Playground: Clivedon Park
Location: Chew & Johnson (SW corner)
Date visited: 1/1/11

Equipment: One playset with two platforms: one around 2 feet hight with some climbing and a double plastic slide, the other around 5 feet high with a ladder, straight and spiral metal slides, and fireman's pole. The two platforms are connected by a stretch of ladder-bottomed bridge, so parents will have to hoist tots who want to try the taller slides; under the set there's a small loop for crawling through. Swings nearby (2 strap and 2 bucket).
material: modern resin & metal; scale: med. playset in large park
Ages: 1-8?
Surface: rubbery around equipment; grass elsewhere
Shade(0-3): 2
Water: N
Other: park
Access: open (dawn - dusk?)

Impressions: Not bad for a small playground (although the gap between the playsets makes it hard for 2-4 year olds to take full advantage), but the bigger draw here is the shady tree-filled park with its many hills for running and climbing (or, in the case of our winter visit, carrying snow from here to there).
Overall rating: 7

New and enticing: the renovated Mt. Airy playground

Playground: Mt. Airy playground
Location: On Sedgwick just north of Germantown Ave.
Date visited: 8/7/10

Equipment: Three zones of fun:

• Tot zone (marked 2-5) has colorful plastic platforms, with a roofed area (including a bench), various climbing including a small "climbing wall," three slides (all metal), and a play table underneath. Also in this area is a 3-person riding toy like a modern low-risk blend of teeter-totter and hobby horse (on a spring), a small "sit and spin" seat, a set of musical chimes, and 4 bucket swings.
  
  
• Older kid zone (marked 5-12) is 20 yards away and designed using "adventure-style" rope and plastic equipment a little like Franklin Square. Some parts of this are complicated ropey parts to challenge older kids, but a few of the lower structures include simpler elements like a suspended tire and a stable hanging chair that would be approachable to intrepid toddlers. There's another piece of equipment still being built here -- only the support poles were in place, so hard to say what it will be, but it's also marked for the older set. A brace of 6 strap swings completes this area.
  
  
• A cement region close to the tot zone turns out to be a nice sprayground, including 4 or 5 water jets that send plumes out of the pavement with various degrees of force. As with many modern sprayparks, there's a waist-height pole here with a button that needs to be pressed every couple of minutes to keep the water coming, so don't be concerned if it's not on when you arrive -- it needs to be pushed with some force, however, so younger kids may need some help.

material: as describe above; scale: good-sized play area within large park
Ages: 1-12
Surface: rubbery under equipment; blacktop or cement elsewhere
Shade(0-3): 0
Water: Y -- small sprayground
Other: picnic tables, baseball field, basketball courts, shaded porch on rec center, football team
Access: Nothing posted, but gate(s) can be closed

Impressions: Recently renovated cutting-edge playspace offers something for just about everybody and a wide range of ages. Inviting tot zone and space-age-looking clambering zone for older kids should prove a huge draw -- throw in the zone of water sprayers and some grass to run around in and it's worth a serious drive, but probably not on the hottest/sunniest days, given the almost complete absence of shade.
Bonus: it's right across the street from a big Acme, so easy to combine with some quick errands.
Overall rating: 10

Update (2/2013): Nothing has been done with the partially completed area. Did they run out of ideas? Decide the design was unsafe? (zip line plans, maybe?) not clear, but leaves an odd impression. Still, a generally fun playground, if just short of great for the highest ages.

First trip to the Northwest: Donald Rumph Rec. Center (= Carpenter Park = Mallery Playground)

Playground: Mallery Playground (?)
Location: On Johnson at Morton; second playground near Duval
Date visited: 8/7/10 (late Saturday morning)

Equipment: Two separate playgrounds:

1. Tot lot right by recreation center has one small playset (low platforms) with several types of climbing, including the uncommon barrel-stave-type ladder, and two slides (1 metal and 1 plastic). Also in this zone is a "hobby horse" style bobbing elephant and a mysterious structure a little like an almost-horizontal slide caged with bars -- something for crawlers? for racing cars? a training jungle gym? A set of swings here includes 1 bucket (and brackets for another, missing) and 2 low strap swings.
   
   
2. The bigger kid section would be easy to miss, as it's down some steps and around the other side of the rec. center. The play structure has higher platforms (4 and 6 feet) with a number of simple climbing elements and a single high (metal) slide, as well as a curvy stretch of classic monkey bars. Also in this area are a set of 4 strap swings and a freestanding structure that's an arched stretch of ladder (you could, say, climb up and over) about 7 feet high.

material: modern resin and metal; scale: one small and one medium play spaces in a larger park.
Ages: 1-4 and 3-8?
Surface: rubbery around equipment
Shade(0-3): 2 (both)
Water: N
Other: Large rec. center with lots of classes and other activities, ball field (and enough more grass for soccer, football, etc.), basketball courts
Access: open on several sides; no hours posted

Impressions: These widely separated zones are good for protecting toddlers from their rambunctious elders, but they make it hard for a parent to keep an eye on kids of different ages. Decent equipment, if a little uninspired and a little worn. Tot zone feels restful; field near the lower lot is fun for running around; both zones have decent shade. A nice spot if you live nearby, but nothing to make a special trip for.
Overall rating: 6-7