Top Ten Playgrounds in Frederick

By Gary Bennett

This article appears in the August 3, 2022, issue of the Frederick News Post

If you’re a kid, parent or a doting grandparent, there’s nothing as satisfying or efficient as a good public playground. Laid out before you are free, shiny attractions—climbing equipment, swings, merry-go-rounds, monkey bars, see-saws and the ever-present sliding boards. Who could ask for more? 

Indeed, Frederick is blessed to have more than its share of public parks, playgrounds and open spaces to call our own.

According to Bob Smith, Frederick’s deputy director of Parks and Recreation, Frederick city has 75 public parks, totaling 807 acres. With an average size of 10.7 acres, this equates to approximately 11 acres of parkland for every 1,000 residents, exceeding the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) guidelines of 9.9 acres per 1,000 residents.

Said another way, Frederick city has roughly one park for every 1,000 residents. According to the 2020 NRPA Agency Performance Review, the target ratio for a city the size of Frederick is one park for every 2,500 residents.

We are doing quite well.

The future looks bright, too. Frederick city’s projected 2045 population of about 93,000 residents (currently 72,000) requires at least 921 acres of parkland to comfortably serve us. According to Smith, it is anticipated that the city will add as much as 300 additional acres of parkland in the next 5 to 10 years, putting it well over 1,000 acres of parkland 10 years ahead of schedule.

Because I frequently take my grandkids to local parks, I got to wondering about these 75 city parks. I’d only been to a few, and I’d venture to guess the same is true for you.

Many of these parks feature ball fields, basketball courts, picnic pavilions, hiking trails, or are simply open green spaces. That is all great if that’s what you’re looking for, but I was more interested in the 38 parks that feature playgrounds and play structures. After all, that’s what the kids really love.

So, in June and July, I set out – usually with my grandkids – to visit and rate all 38.

A word about my methodology: I visited each park in the morning or evening before sunset so I could observe them in action, always carefully explaining to parents what I was doing. In the summer, parents with younger kids tend to visit in the morning. In the evenings before sundown, the older kids come out, usually unattended.

I rated each playground on the following criteria: fun, safety, variety, upkeep, and shade. Each criterion was held to be equally important.

I did not attempt to visit and rate county parks, any other municipal parks in Frederick County, school parks, private community or HOA parks, dog parks; pools; or indoor rec centers. I was purely focused on outdoor parks in the city with playgrounds designed for the enjoyment of kids.

Here is my list of the top 10 Frederick city public playgrounds. To the great credit of the city’s Parks and Rec Department, most are very well maintained, and in many cases, absolutely immaculate. Most serve children between 2 and 12 years of age. Is your favorite here?

10.    Amber Meadows Park, 201 Amber Drive

This park serves the Amber Meadows community across from Ft. Detrick on Opposumtown Pike. It’s very shady with four benches and two large play structures. Other amenities include a shelter with several tables, six swings, a free-standing faux rock-climbing structure, balance beam and other built-in climbing items. The park spans both sides of Amber Drive and has two basketball courts, two tennis courts, a large ball field and walking trail. Go for the faux rock climbing. Kids loved this.
Score:  37 out of 50

9.       Cobblestone Park, 2401 Cobblestone Way
This very attractive park serves the Whittier community near Cobblestone, Greenleaf and Whittier Lake. It is adjacent to a pool serving this community. The park features a handsome bridge spanning a quiet stream, many shady trees, a walking trail, several benches, a basketball court and four swings. The large royal blue play structure has a bridge, swirly sliding board, tic-tac-toe game, monkey bars, a flip bar, rocking horses, climbing items and a firefighter’s pole.  Go for the flip bar and pole. This one is well worth a visit.

Score: 38 out of 50.

8.       Jimmy McGee Memorial Park, 2051 Old Farm Drive
This well-manicured park serves the Old Farm neighborhood off of Rosemont. It features two large distinct play areas each with a play structure. The park is ringed with shady trees and has a very inviting walking trail. There are two small shelters with tables; four swings; two very long slides, one inside a tunnel; and two unique climbing structures, one that looks like a spider’s web and one made from large blocks. Go for the shady walking trails and the very long sliding boards.

Score: 38.5 out of 50.

7.       Catoctin Park, 421 Columbus Avenue
This small park is a hidden gem. It is tucked in behind single-family homes on Catoctin Avenue, just off South Jefferson. Catoctin Park is supremely shady, the most shady of all the parks I visited.  It includes a shelter with tables, a half-court basketball court, eight swings, one large play structure with monkey bars, several climbing features, a tunnel slide and tunnel and racing slides. Go for the shadiness at any time of day.

Score:  39 out of 50.

6.       Carrollton Park, 455 Center Street
This large park at the intersection of Center Street and Prospect Boulevard serves the Fieldpoint area. It features a lively basketball court, ball field, six swings, free-standing plastic rock-climbing features, a walking trail, large shelter with tables and a merry-go-round. Many large trees within provide fine shade. The one play structure is designed for the 2-5 set and has a bumpy slide, two racing slides and several climbing features.  Go for the basketball and climbing features.

Score: 39 out of 50

5.       East Third Street Park, 252 East Third Street
This urban oasis at the corner of East Third and East Streets is beautifully maintained and very shady. It is adjacent to Pistarros and was full of families eating pizza on round tables under large shady trees when I visited. There is also a shelter with traditional picnic tables, a large playing area with many distinct play stations such as traditional free-standing monkey bars, a large traditional merry-go-round and a real “up and down” see-saw. The small play structure is designed for very young children and has a swirly slide, racing slide and climbing features. Go for a shady lunch that you can linger over and to watch your kids enjoy the old-time amenities.

Score: 43 out of 50

4.       Staley Park, 11 West Tenth Street
This wonderfully maintained 20+ acre park sits at the corner of Motter Avenue and West Tenth Street adjacent to Staley Field and across from North Frederick Elementary School. The park includes a basketball court, ball field, two large shelters and two distinct playing areas for the older and younger sets. The many large trees sprinkled throughout the park make it very shady. There are plenty of benches for parents to watch their young ones. There is a free-standing, swirly sliding board, a sand pit, rocking animals and ten swings. The play structures feature racing slides, monkey bars, a faux drawbridge, multiple climbing features and tunnel slides.  Go for the variety of play, shade, and space.

Score:  45 out of 50

3.       Greenleaf Park, 1950 East Greenleaf Drive
This large, immaculate, shady park serves the Whittier community near Greenleaf Drive. It is adjacent to an attractive community pool and very near Whittier Lake. It features multiple soccer fields, a large shelter with tables and four swings and rocking animals. There are two play structures, one for older kids and one for younger ones. The smaller structure has multiple slides. The larger structure is the highest and most elaborate of all the structures I visited. It has multiple, very high slides including racing slides, tunnels, bridges and various challenging climbing items including faux rock climbing. Go for the challenging play structure for your older children.

Score: 46 out of 50

2.       Baker Park 1, North Bentz and West Second Streets
This varied, destination park in the heart of Frederick is just steps from downtown, Carroll Creek, bell tower, bandshell and Talley Rec Center. It’s many tall, established trees provide plenty of shade. Numerous nearby benches make it easy for parents to lounge and spend hours. Park features acres of fun that kids will sprint to: a faux zip line; a modern, four-person see-saw; merry-go-round; sand pit; rock climbing structures; spider web climber; and an unforgettable life-size Candy Land game. The play structure for the older set is close to perfect: multiple climbing features, a faux drawbridge, monkey bars, four different slides including a racing slide, tunnel slide, and swirly slide.  Go for the variety, hours of fun (if you so choose), side trips to the creek, and enchanting Candy Land game.

Score: 48 out of 50

1. Baker Park 2, College and Fleming Avenues
   Frederick’s top park is probably no surprise to you. The newer of Baker Park’s two play parks beats out the older, more historic park by an eyelash mostly due to its proximity to the Thomas public pool and Carroll Creek and by its sheer variety. This beautiful, mostly shady destination park is bordered by the pool, Carroll Creek and the tri-tunnels under College Avenue. Kids can look in any direction and be tempted by an irresistible attraction. But they’ll mostly want to stay in the play area. It features not just one or two play structures, but four play structures, mostly for the younger kids. The one structure devoted to the older kids rivals any of the others I saw. The park has 12 small shelters with tables that make it perfect for picnicking, a bench swing, a rock-climbing feature whimsically shaped like a dinosaur, eight swings, a zip line, a real “up and down” see-saw and a self-turner. Ducks and geese wander by freely. Go for the variety of play possibilities, a picnic lunch and sheer beauty.

Score:  49 out of 50.

Honorable Mention

Baughman’s Babee Park, Madison Street and Burck Street
Small urban park with smallish play structures, but very shady and inviting.

Kidwiler Park, 551 Schley Avenue
Sprawling neighborhood park has lots of amenities but the lack of variety on the play structure holds it back a bit. Still worth a visit.

Maryvale Park, 529 Mary Street
Large, varied neighborhood park behind China Garden on West Patrick and next to the Keilholtz Horseshoe Complex. Real climbing boulders and a nearby culvert to explore!

Mullinix Park, 16 South Bentz Street next to Diggs Pool
Urban oasis park greets you with large, real boulders to climb on but a structure that is difficult for kids to navigate and dedicated to climbing which is already well covered. Could use more variety.

Willowdale Park, 158 Willowdale Drive
This woodsy, seemingly country park is small, varied and well shaded, but the real attraction is the ability to wade in nearby Rock Creek, which many kids were doing when I visited.

Grove Park, 36 Hamilton Avenue across from Fairgrounds
Very attractive playground is shady but not too varied. Seems like an afterthought to the ball field, which is home to East Frederick Little League.

Riverwalk Park, 1901 Schifferstadt Boulevard
Attractive park, but play structure is small, not too varied, and a long walk from parking.

Stonegate Park, 1565 Andover Lane
Large, well-maintained park with shelter, lively basketball court, and two play structures. Varied play items but absolutely no shade brings it down a bit and limits when you can play.

Special Note on Sophie & Madigan’s Playground

This park is not specifically a city park although the city does help maintain it and provide restrooms and water. Located within city limits in the West Side Regional Park just off of Butterfly Lane, it is a privately designed park in honor of Sophie and Madigan Lillard, two young children who were tragically killed in a fire a few years ago. If this were a city park it would rival the top city parks for best playground. It is whimsically designed and inclusive of special needs children with a castle-themed play structure, multiple swings, merry-go-round, a people-powered carousel and other structures. Their website (https://sophieandmadigansplayground.com) promises many more features to come, too.