Heather Johnson Photography

Welcome to the third edition of Best Twin Cities Playgrounds!

During the last week of August I found myself driving along interstate 694 after a visit to one of my favorite fabric shops. My Aunt was in town and she, like me, is a major crafter so we spent a lot of time on the road looking for stores to visit. I lost count how many different places we visited that week; on this particular day we decided to go to JoAnn’s in Woodbury after our trip to Rogers. Talk about exploring the metro! I am not sure we could have chosen two places more far apart.

Anyhow, there I was on 694 thinking I was so smart for remembering I could circle around and get to Woodbury from the north. HA! Construction foiled me, and there was no exit for interstate 494. In either direction. I so rarely find myself that far north and east near Stillwater that I looked in my rearview mirror and said to Holly–”We are going to Teddy Bear Park!” I had a photo session there earlier this summer and had been looking for a time and reason to go back.

For directions on how to get there, click here.

Unfortunately I only had my little point and shoot camera with me this day, but the photos still tell a pretty good story of how unique the park is. I only wish it wasn’t so warm the day we were there. Boy am I excited the fall is upon us and I can start really enjoying these park visits instead of barking for water and shade the whole time!

This is the view when you first go through the gate. Completely adorable right? I love how colorful everything is, and how cool the rocks are on bare feet. (The artificial grass? Not so much–it get’s really hot!) While a lot of equipment is right out in the sun, there is a shaded bench pavilion for parents, and a cliff rock wall that provides a lot of shade as well.

Note the brick building in the upper right. From what I understand it’s rentable for special events. Wouldn’t this be a cute place for a birthday party!? (Information on how to rent it is found here.) We were there at high noon on a Thursday so it was pretty vacant, but I did visit earlier in the summer around 10am and it was a complete zoo. There must have been 200 kids there and 50 strollers…it was crazy. And a Friday morning. I can’t imagine what the crowd could be on a Saturday.

This area is to the right of the main entrance and stretches all along the east side of the park until it reaches the brick building seen in the earlier photo. The amphitheater and building host children’s events all summer long. (Events are over for the year now, but look here for a list of events once the summer of 2013 draws near.) Holly loved climbing in the spiderweb net and along the cliffs. Marie, of course, really was into the sand!

The equipment near the front of the park looks to be geared more towards the three and under set,

while the rear and east of the park were more for Holly’s age group 4-6.

Kids do, however, just like to play. Holly spent just as much time running through the trains and on the little slides as she did the big one!

Holly gave this park two thumbs up, and I would have to agree. It truly feels magical there, almost as if you are in the technicolor world of OZ. Some things I want to make sure to mention are tables available near the cliff wall perfect for picnics, water fountains to keep you hydrated near the entrance, and bathrooms accessible at the rear of the brick building for use.

And that wraps up this week. I will leave you with the obligatory, yet oh so needed for my scrapbook, shot of the girls on the big teddy bear at the front gate. At times nothing makes me feel more like a mom than having my kids sit on big stone statues as I  frantically call for them to “look at me!” “Keep smiling!” “Wait Holly, your sister’s not looking–look at me again!”

For the record, this isn’t how it goes with clients. For some reason getting other people’s children to look at me is 100x easier than my own!

Welcome to another installment of Best Twin Cities Playgrounds!

A couple of months ago I heard there was a new park being built near the Lake Harriet bandshell in Minneapolis and my immediate thought was that checking it out was the perfect excuse to head west. (Being a Saint Paul girl now I rarely venture “across the river,” but once upon a time I actually lived in South Minneapolis and spent many a weekend walking around the lake.) After spending the afternoon there about three weeks ago I am reminded of how beautiful it is, and I am going to make it a point to visit more often. (Particularly when you can combine a park visit, bike ride or walk AND a beach trip all into one. Why didn’t I think of doing this back in July when it was a million degrees?!)

The newly renovated park is built on a hill overlooking the bandshell–right above the parking lot. We visited the park between 1-3pm, easily the hottest and busiest time of the day. There are some shady areas, particularly near the sand area designed for little ones, but the swings and the bulk of the park (designed for older kids for sure) is in the hot, hot sun. I loved that there were benches all around for parents to sit and by the end of our visit most of them were in the shade which was good. The heat was so bad this day I didn’t have nearly the amount of pictures I had for the Tamarack Nature Center.

Here is a picture of the main piece of equipment, located at the very front of the park. Lots of slides and nets to climb. I loved that the equipment itself provided some shade for kids, and how whoever designed it really used every bit of space to it’s fullest. Underneath the bridges, for example, are picnic tables and more equipment like rings. I have a photo that demonstrates this below.

Like I alluded to above, this is definitely an older kids park. My daughter Holly is getting ready to turn 5 in a few weeks and there was a lot of it, like the crazy ladder above, that were just far too advanced for her. Another piece of equipment she wasn’t able to enjoy was the giant net. If you have kids that are older, I definitely think this would be fun park for them.

Like I mentioned above, there is a sand/play area geared more towards little ones. This section of the park is nicely shaded, and is where most parents were watching their children from. In the picture below you will see that there is a little log that kids loved to crawl in and out of including my Holly. In the background of that photo you will notice one of those sand and water play tables. (The other half of the photo you will also see a happy 9-month old girl completely engrossed with the sticks and the sand. It was Marie’s first time in sand and she LOVED it!)

For us it was pretty easy to find parking on the street nearby, but there is also a (pay) parking lot too. I think there are restrooms in the bandshell (someone confirm for me in the comments if this is still the case), but we did find and use a women’s restroom nearby in an older building. No AC in there, so I am not sure if there is heat either. This might be a building that they only open in summer.

Drinking fountains in the park, and lots of stuff nearby. Definitely worth the trip–just bring your sunscreen! I look forward to going back this fall.

 

 

As a mom with two children, ages 4 and almost 1, I am constantly on the lookout for new playgrounds or nature centers that have activities and equipment for a wide-range of ages. (Shade and bathrooms are important, too, particularly for me!) I have spent the better share of the last week googling various phrases like “best twin cities playground,” trying to stumble upon a one-stop shop for information like this. I keep coming up with nothing.

I have decided that someone needs to start collecting this information, and that someone is going to be me. My blog will now have a weekly feature dedicated to this very topic–as I know there must be more parents out there like me. (And when I thought it about, I thought what better place to find fun things to do with kids–a children’s photography blog?! You can be SURE there will be lots of good photos!) My plan is to blog every Thursday about a different park or nature center, complete with pictures and as well as information/links, and directions. With kids as young as mine are I figure I will be able to blog about this topic for the next six years, at least!

Today we visited Tamarack Nature Center in White Bear Lake Township. Super simple to reach, it’s just a few turns of off I35-E. For directions, click here.

What a way to start off this Thursday feature–WOW is all I can say. I am afraid every other place is going to pale in comparison! There was so much to do, we didn’t even BEGIN to do it all. But here are some highlights:

We spent most of our time in the Discovery Hollow and Garden, which is located right next to the Tamarack Nature Center’s main building. (Which incidentally does have bathrooms!) It’s described as a nature play area on the nature center’s website, but I seriously would describe it as a child’s nirvana! There are cliffs to climb, streams to jump over and play in, forts to build, gardens to tend, and mud to explore. I smile just thinking about how amazing it must all seem to a little person if it impacted me so much.

The first thing we encountered were the cliffs of the overlook. Holly LOVED I mean LOVED climbing on these rocks. She jumped, she climbed, she sang, she pretended she was a bear…she didn’t want to get of of them!  Here is a photo of only HALF of the cliffs. Lots and lots of space, so even when it did get busier as the morning stretched on, there was still plenty of room to play.

Older kids, like Holly, really loved going all the way to the top, and across. Little ones loved peeking in and out of the caves along the bottom, and with the help of any adult enjoyed climbing the rocks too. After the cliffs, we headed over to the log and hollow area where you can build forts, climb on logs, and play the xylophone. As fun as the cliffs were, I think this was my one of my favorite parts of the park. There’s something about building things with your hands that I think makes kids very happy and engaged. Holly spent a lot of time building her “beaver house.”Next up was the garden area. I was impressed that they had an old-fashioned well pump to get water from and had lots of watering cans and signs to help kids know where and what to water. Again, it got Holly SO ENGAGED with what was out there. She takes a lot of responsibility when it comes to tasks like that, and if I didn’t drag her onto the next thing I swear she would still be out there watering and weeding. (They had signs on where you can help with that too!)
We saved the best part for last. (If you can even say a best part. Writing this post, and looking at all of the pictures again, makes me realize just how wonderful of an experience it was. Seriously–have I not convinced you that you need to go there, like now?) There is a stream with little waterfalls that runs right through the middle of the play area. We didn’t come with any sand toys, but you sure could. There were oodles of mud and sand pits filled with kids having a BLAST. Definitely recommend bringing a change of clothes and wearing some sort of water shoe. (Holly went barefoot this time which it appears is ok too.) 

As with most nature centers there are wildflower fields, trails, a main building filled with displays….the things to see and do really appeared to be endless. ALL FREE. (They do ask for donations, which I eagerly gave when I saw how amazing this all was.) They have day camps, naturalist programs, and opportunities for birthday parties. Such an amazing place. I hope this inspires you to visit!
***If you are wondering where the baby was this entire time, she was sitting in her stroller taking it all in. She was wide-eyed the entire time, and never made a peep. If it had been warmer I am sure she would have loved to put her feet in the stream. By next spring, I can completely see her toddling around here!