Like all Seattle-native children, when there’s a pause in the rain (or if slows to a light drizzle), we make a break for the nearest playground. Two playground renovations in West Seattle opened in December, and we went to check them out.
E.C. Hughes playground, 2805 SW Holden St
A little girl pushed my kids so high on the double swing, they couldn’t stop laughing. It was her fifth visit to the E.C. Hughes playground, in the five days since the fences came down. We’d stop by this park every day too, if we lived around the corner. It is enormous and so good.
The renovation project, which cost $600,000, wrapped up just after Christmas. The wading pool and sandbox are still there, but the termite-damaged wooden play structures and shaky swings got a major upgrade. My 8-year-old loved the huge, 3-story fort with two twisty slides coming off the top. That one’s designed for kids 5-12, and there’s a smaller counterpart for kids 2-5.
The play structures come with lots of adaptations for kids who might need help getting up there, or who need to stay at ground level. Look for little surprises, like a convex mirror and a raindrop-sound maker. There’s a built-in landing on the rope climber. Bumps shaped like giant rubber balls make a fun obstacle course.
My kids’ favorite thing at E.C. Hughes was the double swing. It’s the only one like that I’ve seen in the Seattle area, and it is very popular.
The new merry-go-around is set low to the ground, but kids looking for a challenge can climb up high on the rope ladders. Depending on your own level of ability and guts, this playground is as risky or as safe as you want it to be.
The playground is adjacent to a huge field, where soccer, baseball and plain ol’ running around takes place. Parents of small children, note that the park restrooms are closed for the season. We popped by the Home Depot on Delridge Way for that reason.
Puget Ridge playground, 6029 21st Ave SW
Just up the hill behind Louisa Boren K-8 is a newly redone pocket park on the tiny triangle where 21st Ave SW and Croft Place SW converge. The Puget Ridge play area renovation cost $300,000.
This playground packs a lot of punch into its postage stamp-sized lot. A bigger metal fort replaced the old wooden play structure. The seesaw got a lot smaller (now a 2-seater) but the park added lots of cool musical instruments.
The new playhouse didn’t impress my 4-year-old – he peeked inside and announced, “There’s nothing in here!” But my kids loved the xylophones and the swinging bench. Along the west fence is a dirt trail, where a group of neighborhood girls raced each other, laughing. They played card games and colored at the new picnic tables, dashing home with a parent called. We heard chickens clucking next door. Imagine living next to this park!
Parents of runners will love that the park is fully fenced, with a pretty gate covered with flowers.
As far as I could tell, there’s just one parking spot for this neighborhood park, on the gravel outside the park’s entrance. There isn’t even really street parking, as you’d be parking on the shoulder in someone’s front lawn.
The nearest public restroom is two blocks away at the Delridge Library. Park in the spots facing the fence in the building’s lot. The branch is small, the staff super nice, and my kids walked out beaming with their new reads. A playground and library outing — in my book (haha), that’s always a perfect day.
This story ran on ParentMap
here.
