If you’re looking for a park where the kids won’t get bored, Palmer Park is the one for you. The large bluff almost smack-dab in the middle of Colorado Springs offers all sorts of opportunities for family fun. Drive to the top of the bluff for a great view of the city (it’s especially stunning at twilight!). Pull off on one of the many trail heads for a rugged middle-of-the-city hike– you’ll feel like you’ve escaped the buzz of the town for a little bit. Got a friendly pooch? Bring Fido to the dog park to visit with other canine friends. And for the human kids, there’s a great playground on the southeast side of the property.
The mostly wooden playground has the most choices of play structures I’ve seen yet. There are ladders (“wawees” to my toddler, who is mildly obsessed with the climbable equipment these days). There are teeter totters; there are spring riders. There are sliders; there are slides. So much to do! Sixteen swings (8 infant, 8 normal) are surrounded by large sandboxes, although the main base of the playground is mulch. This playground has a couple metal slides, which are much faster than the more common fiberglass ones. Plenty of benches and picnic tables give parents places to hang out while the little ones play. This park also has lots of trees, which not only provide shade for adults, but also ants for two year-olds to hunt. Wonderful.
Beyond the playground and the hiking, Palmer Park has public bathrooms, two baseball diamonds, a volleyball pit and a soccer field. It will be switching to winter opening hours here in the next month, so enjoy these last long days while we’ve still got ’em!
Fall is moving in quickly (yea!), so we won’t have as many nice park days in the near future. We want to know, readers, what would YOU like reviews on? Indoor play places? Family-friendly restaurants? Let us know and we’ll look into it!
Address: 3650, Maizeland,Colarado Springs, Colorado
Bathrooms: Yes
Sports facilities: Yes
Dog park: Yes
Pavilion: Yes
