My kids LOVE playgrounds! My kids also NEED to stay busy! Every summer (and anytime we get free time) we hit the road to find new and amazing playgrounds! Sometimes these new playgrounds are in our county and sometimes we travel two or three hours to discover new places! Is a regular tot lot just fine? Sure! My kids will go nuts of course, but we love finding new places with a theme and interesting features!
Some of these features include accessible and inclusive activities and structures! What are “accessible” and “inclusive”? Why are these features important in a playground? Accessible means to be reached or entered. An accessible playground is one that has gone beyond ADA to make sure people using wheelchairs can use the playground. Inclusive is ensuring that people feel that they belong, are engaged, and connected. An inclusive playground is designed specifically so people of all abilities can play together. All inclusive playgrounds are accessible, but not all accessible playgrounds are inclusive!
Sophie and Madigan’s Playground will open in early summer 2019 at the new Westside Regional Park in Frederick, Maryland! This will be an accessible and inclusive park with amazing themes which we can not wait for! There will be three pods, so to speak, with the themes Never Land, Wonder Land and first to be built, Fantasy Land! While we have been waiting patiently, we have a few local-ish favorites!
Watkins Regional Park 301 Watkins Park Drive Upper Marlboro, MD 20774
Watkins is the home to the incredible Wizard of Oz Playground! The theme and equipment are magical! My kids love everything about it from following the yellow brick road to playing in the Emerald City! While the theme is amazing, the park has so much to do! We hike the short accessible trail to the nature center, visit a farm, ride the carousel and play putt-putt! This park is an easy hour and a half from my house, so it’s really great that there’s so much to do!
Adventure Playground 17920 Germantown Rd. Germantown, MD 20874
Located in the complex of the South Germantown Recreational Park, the Adventure Playground is a great wooden playground perfect for kids to use their imaginations! Some of the accessible and inclusive features include ramps to the structures and a fun swing where a person can lay if needed or wanted! This park complex also has an indoor water park and an outdoor splash pad for kids of all ages and abilities!
In my research, I have discovered that we are lucky enough to live in an area that thinks of kids of all abilities! There are so many playgrounds for kids (and adults too) with varying abilities and special needs! Using the link below, and clicking “find a playground” you can find a playground and read about its various features!
https://www.accessibleplayground.net
Lately, Sophie and Madigan’s Playground has been collaborating with Disability Partnerships out of Rockville, Maryland. I have been inspired to feature a new inclusive playground weekly! If you have a favorite that you would like to share, then let me know in the comments! Follow Disability Partnership and Sophie and Madigan’s Playground and check out the new “Fri-YAY Featured Inclusive Playground” coming soon!
