Maddy's Guide to Playgrounds in Burlington - TRW Park

 

Basics:

Date of visit: September 8th, 2024

Where can I find it? Visible, but not accessible from Burlington Mall Road.

Bathrooms? nope

Parking? Plenty

When open? Daylight hours. 

Review:

It is said that sometimes the journey can be just as important as the destination itself. There is no truer manifestation of this adage than our trip to visit TRW park. Access to the park must be made by way of Stony Brook Road. Most navigation apps do not realize this, given that it has a Burlington Mall Road address. Moreover, access from Stony Brook is the last left turn before you reach the intersection, and you do not see it until you are already there. If you miss it, you must loop around yet again. My father forbade me from repeating what he said when we missed it the second time, but it involved a deity constructing a wall to hold back the waters. Of his tears, I think? 

Once you do reach the park, a good twenty minutes later than planned, you are greeted with a place seeking to serve two different audiences. One is the classic small child wanting swings to swing on, 

Check!

and slides to slide on. 

Double check!

The other is childless twenty somethings looking to add some pizzazz to their daily walking or jogging routines. 

I suppose a third would be dog walkers. You can walk your dog here. 

While enjoyable, the design of the play structures at TRW does not break any new ground, and sadly brings back the sadly inaccurate solar system map seen before. 

A geocentric model, clearly designed by Copernicus deniers

Much more attention was paid to the FITNESS COURT(TM), a name they really want you to use describing this place. 

It doesn't have flashing lights around the letters, but you can picture it with them, can't you?

Along the wall are a series of metal fixtures with diagrams showing ways to leverage body weight exercises to build and strengthen core muscles. I was too small to use any of it properly, but that didn't stop me!

Feel the burn!

I really worked off those fruit gummies we brought for a snack!

My father observed that the park is built directly across from the Lahey Medical Center. After observing this, he got quiet for a few minutes, and then began exercising on the fixtures too. It is almost as if the hospital was emanating waves of shame that he was not living his best, most active lifestyle self!

While the exercise fixtures were interesting, the real highlight of the FITNESS COURT(TM) are the raised stones. I am not entirely sure what they are intended for, but they are great for anyone who is a passionate aficionado of the Floor is Lava game, like I happen to be. 

Don't fall in!

There is also a general-purpose field for people who want to practice baseball or lose golf balls.

Joy, I have your golf ball, if you want it back.

Do exercise caution if running around the field. As I mentioned, there are dogs being walked, and sometimes the owner doesn't always clean everything up!

You didn't think I'd actually put a picture of that on here, did you? Gross!

Overall, while I enjoyed myself, I do not see myself returning to TRW park anytime soon. That is mostly because my father, frustrated with finding his way there, declared that he is never bringing me there again.

I give TRW 4 lava floor tiles:

Madelyn Hope Lewis is the senior playground tester of Lewis Developments, and a connoisseur of playtime activities. When she's not exploring Massachusetts fun time architecture, she can be found scouting out where is exactly "the line" with her parents.