Louisville Community Park 05/21/2018

Apparently Louisville is a town with many parks, so after a required visit to Sweet Cow Ice Cream we made our way over to the Community Park.  Here's how it played out.

Location: This park has a good location that is walking/biking distance from Louisville's historic downtown.  It's located right next to a gorgeous dog park with a pond and all.  Parking is plentiful.  There is a pavilion for shade and picnics.  Bathrooms were available.  It's a large park with plenty of area to wander.  It's not particularly scenic, but the park is pretty enough.
Dad's Score: 6

Cleanliness/Safety:  It seemed pretty clean for a large park.  Very little litter was observed.  No safety issues were seen.  There were definitely garbage cans, but I didn't see recycling.
Dad's Score: 6

Uniqueness:  There wasn't much that was unique, but they did have some staples that the boys enjoyed.  Swings are always a favorite no matter where we go.  There was a rather large rock structure with a doorway.  It was a little too difficult for Connor to climb without a little boost to get him started.
Dad's Score: 4

Age Appropriateness:  Other than the rock structure and swings, there wasn't a whole lot to keep Connor entertained.  He did enjoy exploring by the pond, though.  This park seemed more geared towards the younger crowd.  Beckett seemed right at home.
Dad's Score: 4

Fun:  Beckett definitely had fun, but Connor was left wanting more. 
Dad's Score: 5

Total Scores:
Dad: 25

Pirate Park - Louisville, CO 05/22/2018

Our next stop was new for all of us.  It's called the Pirate Park, and it's in Louisville next to the Louisville Middle School.  Read on to find out if anyone walked the plank.

Location:  Not very scenic, unless your idea of scenic is the back of Louisville Middle School.  It was a smaller park, but offered plenty of shade.  There was also a pavilion for picnics.  I didn't see any restrooms or drinking fountains available.  There was street parking available.
Dad's Score: 3                          Connor's Score: 7

Cleanliness/Safety:  There was a pretty good amount of litter considering it's a smaller playground.  Connor also said there was some vandalism at the tops of the slides.  I only say garbage cans, no recycling or compost.  The surface was composed mostly of wood chips, although there were a couple of spots covered by rubber surface.
Dad's Score: 4                         Connor's Score: 5

Uniqueness:  Nothing unique here.  I'm not sure why it's called the Pirate Park other than one sign that references the U.S.S. Polliwag and a couple of small telescopes at the tops of playsets.
Dad's Score: 3                         Connor's Score: 3

Age Appropriateness: There were two different play areas, with one definitely meant for younger kiddos.  Beckett seemed to handle both areas easily, though.  Part way through our visit, some of the teenagers from the middle school came out to play.  They interacted with the younger kids quite a bit.  Connor loved that, me not so much.  Eventually they became bored and moved on.
Dad's Score: 6                          Connor's Score: 8


Fun:  Connor's fun mostly revolved around his interactions with the teenagers.  Prior to them invading, Connor didn't seem that impressed.  Beckett seemed to enjoy himself.
Dad's Score: 5                          Connor's Score: 5

Final Scores:
Dad: 21                                     Connor: 28

Founder's Park - Superior, CO 05/22/2018

Today we set out to hit a couple of playgrounds, and the first stop was off of Highway 36 in Superior.  Set behind the shopping center is a really large park named Founder's Park.  Here's how the scores played out.

Location:  This park has a nice location.  It is walking distance to shopping and restaurants including Target, Costco, Whole Foods, and Panera.  It is also close to walking and bike trails.  There's plenty of parking.  Restrooms and a water fountain are available, as are some pavillions for shade and picnics.  It's a very large park that also includes athletic fields, basketball courts, and exercise areas.
It wasn't very scenic, though.  The view consisted of the backs of stores or suburban housing.
Dad's Score: 6                          Connor's Score: 3

Cleanliness/Safety:  There was a small amount of litter around, but not enough to distract.  There were three different play areas, but each used wood chips for their surface.  There were plenty of garbage, recycling, and compost cans around the park. There were no safety issues observed.
Dad's Score: 6                          Connor's Score: 5

Uniqueness:  There were a lot of activities spread over the three different play areas, but none of them were particularly unique.  Just the fact that they had three separate areas is unique in and of itself.
Dad's Score: 5                         Connor's Score: 6

Age Appropriateness:  There are three different areas, and I can honestly say that both of my boys played in and enjoyed each.  The top area had the biggest playset with slides, while the middle had another playset with lots of things to climb through.  The bottom area had most of the swings as well as a fun rock structure the boys had fun climbing (and jumping).
Dad's Score: 8                           Connor's Score: 8

Fun:  Connor said it was very fun, and Beckett agreed.  It was moderately busy on a late Tuesday morning, but there was plenty of room to spread out.  This is one of the largest parks we've ever been to.
Dad's Score: 8                          Connor's Score: 8

Final Scores:
Dad: 33                                      Connor: 30

Boulder Public Library Park 05/21/2018

Our travels in the Minicoop today took us to Boulder.  After enjoying lunch on Pearl St. Mall, we ventured over to the creek and up to the Boulder Public Library.   Just in front of the library on the south side of Boulder Creek sits a cool little park.  Here's how it scored.

 



Location: It's close to the Pearl St Mall, Boulder Creek, and the library so there are many options to make a day out of it. It has room for picinics by the creek. There is parking, but I believe it is paid. It's also right off the walking/biking path. It wasn't crowded on a Monday afternoon, but I could see the potential for it to be busy on weekends and evenings.

Dad's score: 8                       Connor's score: 9






Cleanliness/Safety: It seemed clean and well maintained. There were garbage, recycling, and compost receptacles. All the equipment was operating. I didn't see water fountains or restrooms outdoors, but I'm sure there are some in the library. The surface was a rubber surface material which was very shock absorbant and looked fantastic. It did get very hot, so barefeet may not be the best option. There were also areas of sand, as well as water/rocks.

Dad's Score: 7                           Connor's Score: 9

Uniqueness: This was a very unique and well designed playground.  Connor and I had never seen water features like these.  There were no swings, monkey bars, or seesaws.  There were some slides, but otherwise it was lots of other things to keep the kids busy.  As a parent I love to see the boys figuring out what to do with water.
Dad's Score: 10       Connor's Score: 10

Age Appropriateness:  It seemed good for all ages.  Beckett got around without any difficulty.  He wasn't able to use all the water features, but could use enough to keep him busy.  There were not separate areas for different age groups.  Connor seems to be in the prime age for this playground.  I'm not sure there's enough to keep older kids occupied.
Dad's Score: 8        Connor's Score: 8

Fun:  The water features and fort with the bridge seemed to be the big winners.  There were 2 slides which are always a stand by favorite.   It's a small park, but feels bigger because of how it is designed.  Every space is used well.  Luckily it's not hard to keep track of kids here, but it is big enough to where they can spread out and play in different areas.   Both boys loved it and were exhausted when it was time to leave.
Dad's Score: 10      Connor's Score: 10

Final Scores:  Dad 43/50            Connor 46/50

Overall, this is a great little park.  If you're in Boulder with the kids, it's definitely worth a trip.

How we grade

Connor and I decided we needed a fair way to grade the parks so that we could directly compare them.  We settled on the following five categories;


Location:  What's around?  Are there other activities/attractions?  Is it scenic?  Is there enough parking?  Is it difficult to find?  Is it overcrowded or too remote?

Cleanliness/Safety:  Is there litter?  Is there garbage and recycling?  Are the play areas operational and safe?  Are there drinking fountains and restrooms?  Changing stations?  Is there enough seating and shade?  Are the play areas operational and safe?  What is the surface made out of?

Uniqueness:  Connor and I like things we haven't seen before, so we'll give extra points for that.  Only if the unique things are fun and not boring, though.  We'll also include points for water features and splash pads.

Age Appropriateness:  Is it fun for all ages?  Are there separate areas for different age groups?  Will it still be fun as kids age?

Fun:  The bottom line.  Is it fun and the kiddos don't want to leave?  Is it not fun for the parents so they want to leave?  We'll also talk about the size of the park here.



For each category we're scoring on a 0-10 point scale so the total score will be out of 50.  Connor and I will both score separately so we can give the perspectives of parent and kiddo.  I'll try to take Beckett's experience into account with my score, as well.

An idea was born...

Hi, we're the Chattertons.  My name is Mike, my wife's name is Elaine, and the two boys are Connor (7) and Beckett (3).

From left to right: Beckett, Mike, Connor, and Elaine

We are a family who lives in Westminster, CO and love to spend time outdoors.  We especially love finding fun playgrounds around the Denver Metro area (and sometimes farther) to get these boys to burn some energy.  We also relized there isn't a good resource to point us to some of the best playgrounds, so Connor and I came up with a fantastic idea of spending the summer seeking out those playgrounds.  I'm also trying to improve my photography skills so we'll try to document and review those playgrounds so future generations have a reference to the area's best spots.  Please feel free to comment on what playgrounds we should include.  We'll do our best!