Maddy's Guide to Playgrounds in Burlington - Fox Hill

 

Basics:

Date of visit: June 8th, 2024

Where can I find it? Behind the school.

Bathrooms? nope

Parking? Plenty

When open? Weekends or when school is not in session. 

Review:

A tale of two playgrounds. It was the best of slides, it was the worst of slides. In a world that argues for unification, this playground sits in strong contrast! The two setups sit on either side of a large expanse of concrete, the purposes of which evade me. My father says it is for playing basketball and hopscotch, but I think we all know by now how unreliable a narrator he can be!

This system clearly believes in separating the haves and have nots. Those that have a signifcant number of inches in their height, 

Look at these foot holds. I practically have to bend myself in half to reach them!

How is a 3 year old supposed to master this!?

and those that do not!

This is more my speed, but I'll never admit it.

What are they afraid of? That the small ones running around will trip up and injure the big kids? Are they so fragile that a small child knocking them over will bring them to tears? Maybe they should be tripped up! A scratched up knee never hurt anyone? Well, except for the one who scratched up there knee. I did that once, and it hurt a lot. But I think my point stands!

Architecturally, there is not much to the setup that makes it stand out. One of the greater points of creativity I've seen in these systems come from the designers of the hand holds for climbing, and here I am not dissapointed. 

They're like little faces, both smiling at me and piercing my soul.

Conversely, the slide designers have mostly given up and resorted to clever wordplay.

A play on a short range air to air missile used by the US Airforce since 1956

All in all, Fox Hill presented a fun, if conflicted time. 

I give it 4 Charles Dickens covers:

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. 

Maddy's Guide to Playgrounds in Burlington - Wildwood Park

 

Basics:

Date of visit: June 15th, 2024

Where can I find it? Off Bedford St 

Bathrooms? One portapotty

Parking? Plenty! There's more hidden off Francis Wyman Rd

When open? Daylight hours. 

Review:

Some parks cater to the very small. Some parks cater to a variety of ages. Wildwood is the only playground I have been to that caters largely to cardiac health of the parents. 

Adjoining the playground is a large round walking/running path for the parents to circle while their children play, which is an excellent to get one's steps in, and heart rate elevated. If I permitted my father to ever walk away from me, he might very well enjoy it. 

He dared to venture ahead of me! 😠

There is also an outdoor enclosed gym space attached like a tumor to the actual playground, full of equipment that is intended for those who could legally consume alcohol while working out. Yet more systems for adults and parents to get that heart rate up.

You must be at least this tall to ride these rides.

But, the biggest and best system is available to all ages, and easily does the work of the other two combined. It's the playground megastructure!

I call it the heartstopper

With a platform height higher than my father's head (and he's not small), smaller children can easily stand at the precipice where there are no guardrails, easily spiking the heart rates of parents watching in terror as children toddle at the edge of disaster. 

It is tremendous fun!

Once one has thoroughly exercised their parents' hearts, or induced a cardiac arrest, many children prefer to migrate to hopping between the large boulders that separate the park from the street. 

A very orderly series of glacial deposits!

Sadly, as one can see briefly, yet another park is complicit the ring of rooster fighting apparently runs rampant through these parts. 

What horrors has that stick seen?

Beyond that, there are some questionable design decisions. Notably, the setup for flying a plane forces the pilot the block access to the slide, which runs the risk of a terrible crash if someone is racing to evacuate prematurely. Also, whomever designed it has clearly never been in a plane before. 

Who has ever flown a plane with a steering wheel?

There is also some sort of conflict between the insect populations, memorialized in a perpetual staring contest. Neither side ever yielding, ever daring to look away. 

It's a real Capulet vs. Montague scenario

All in all, I salute the town of Burlington for working so hard to ensure the parents maintain a heart healthy lifestyle. For that, I give this park four defibrillators.

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. 

Maddy's Guide to Playgrounds in Burlington - Overlook Park

 

Basics:

Date of visit: August 31st, 2024

Where can I find it? Hidden behind some abandoned buildings

Bathrooms? LOL

Parking? Plenty, just lock your doors

When open? Never? Always? 

Review:

Overlook park. The playground that time forgot. If you are looking for a quiet place for existential considerations, look no further! Overlook is better thought of as museum piece. 

You are greeted with tall, unmowed grass for small children to hide within, across from several buildings that appear to be unoccupied, and adjacent a storage for old town equipment. Presumably, that equipment was used to maintain this park. 

There is a battle between the grass gang and the wood chip gang for control of this turf.

With only a single set of swings, one slide structure, and one set of monkey bars, it does not take terribly long to exhaust one's play options. That, coupled with its relative isolation, one can see why it has not received a great deal of attention to date. 

The swings have cobwebs strung between them, giving you an indication of this particular park's popularity

The metallic tube has a certain prison-like quality not often seen in other parks.

Still, the charm of the 1980's conception of a dystopian future made real is an engaging concept. Not so much for the facilities within the fence, but by what is all around it. 

The graffiti across the street, while kid friendly, adds to the gritty ambiance. 

You half expect some ancient robot that gained sentience to wander out of the woods and wants to make friends. 

My father tells me that the town plans to overhaul and renovate this park in the next year or so, but who knows what he actually knows. As reviewed, I give it four boom boxes.

At least, I think I do. I am still not entirely sure what these things even are!

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. 

Maddy's Guide to Playgrounds in Burlington - Pathwoods Park

 

Basics:

Date of visit: August 31st, 2024

Where can I find it? Kinda in a random neighborhood 

Bathrooms? lol

Parking? LOL

When open? Daylight hours. 

Review:

The Pathwoods Park, also known at the 'Tot Lot' is a small park hidden away from any main streets. We happened to catch it on a quiet day, which is to say any day most likely. 

Roughly the size of a parking space, the area does not have play structures, so much as single use play items sprinkled throughout. 

My father says it is about half an acre. I reminded him I won't learn fractions for another 7 years.

There is a slide, several swings, a climbing wall, a balance beam, and a single, solitary plane. 

Ironically, about the only thing that accommodates more than one person

The slide looks like it's sticking out its tongue at you.

There is fun to be had, but maybe don't pack a lunch. I give it 4 Tots

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. 

Maddy's Guide to Playgrounds in Burlington (Adjacent) - Kids Konnection

Basics:

Date of visit: July 5th, 2024

Where can I find it? Across the street from O'Connor Hardware. 

Bathrooms? 1 Portapotty.

Parking? Lots! Especially if no game is going on.

When open? Daylight hours. 

Review:

Astute readers of mine are doubtless aware of my penchant for the Floor is Lava. While, as a rule, I intend to only write about playgrounds located within Burlington town limits, I felt an exception was warranted for the Kids Konnection. From its animalistic architecture and its challenging structures allowing one maximum distance traversed away from terra firma, this playground has won a place in my heart. 

To start, there is a fully featured sandbox, complete with toys. Admittedly, many of the vehicles no longer have functional wheels, but they also never had motors to begin with, and spinning wheels does not prevent one from moving a toy car through the dunes. 

So many toys!

Not sure what happened here, but that party must have been lit!

For the more thespianic, there is a small stage just beyond for recitations of Shakespeare, Shaw, or Seuss. Unfortunately, the proximal locations of the two prove to be a questionable choice.

Sadly, the sign was not heeded.

The major draw of this park is not the sandbox, but the integrated structures forming a loop that couples in a slide, several arm bars, and an enormous spiderweb. 

This is my father's attempt to capture the entire loop. He gets a 'C' for effort.

Curiously, the designers behind the spiderweb structure appear to have chosen poorly in material choice, as it has warped and melted quite a bit under the unyielding sun. My father thinks it was intentional, showing that his mind has also warped and melted quite a bit under the unyielding sun. 

Warped, but I kind of like it better this way.

With plenty of space, the designers have opted to fill out the area with a menagerie of animal shaped structures, along with solitary climbing structures allowing one to quietly meditate on existential questions. 

This one make me feel like James Bond

Another not so subtle reference to our capitalistic tendencies for endless consumption

And the requisite nightmare fuel

Also, a train. 'Cause trains are awesome. 

All aboard!

For people needing some alone time for quiet contemplation of life's choices, there are several solitary structures that will abide. 

Seeing the world at the same height as my father. It is terrifying.

Finally, I must tip my hat to the signage makers for this area. At last, someone correctly understands that children my age are not the problem. It is the older ones that merit constant scrutiny!

Age 2-5, supervision is only recommended

But 5-12 is very much required!

With so much to do and see, I happily award the Kids Konnection at whopping 4 snapping alligators!

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.