Now that my days are occupied with Magnolia and I can't just (as quickly) jump into the car and go to a trail, so I often try to find parks to walk in. I can take our Bob Stroller, which will cover most terrain that any of the parks in the city can dish out and we hit the pavement/dirt/concrete!
Last week, I decided to load up the stroller and drive to Bellows Park, a place that I noticed a few times while driving. I wasn't sure of the size of the park, but figured that it would be at least an hour of walking and if worse came to worse I could just walk the stroller into one of the nearby neighborhoods for a stroll down the street. However, I ended up finding that Bellows Park is a pretty neat little place, and it connects to another Lakewood Park called Sunset Park which is significantly larger and offered more walking trails and a playground.
Getting there: The address of the park is 1070 Quail St. Lakewood, CO 80215 and more info can be found on the site here. Information and directions to Sunset Park can be found here.
Specs: There were no bathrooms that I noticed at either park, but Sunset Park does have a playground that is pretty substantial, along with a covered picnic area and plenty of shade under the trees down by the creek. Bellows Park is much smaller and is more of a sidewalk that connects Quail Street and 9th Place with some cool sculptures and a shaded picnic area.
The Parks: I wasn't sure where to park at Bellows Park, so I just stopped on the side of the road where there was parking off Quail street and walked onto the paved path. Here the path goes both directions (east and west), I chose east and walked down the path which goes past a shaded picnic area and some sculptures that were in shapes of molecules, atoms and DNA strands for playing on. The path continues by the creek and comes to an end on 9th Place, but with a sign that points you right toward 9th Place, and basically you cross the street and are then in Sunset Park of Lakewood. There is a paved trail with houses lining one side of the trail higher up on the hill, the other side is private property for a few hundred yards. The park is much bigger than Bellows Park and boasts a fancy playground complete with huge slide and swing set. Here are some photos of both parks:
I parked on Quail street (in photo to left above) and just started walking down the path (shown right photo above).
Here is the picnic area and sculpture climbing toys. Very industrial, there are businesses and factories surrounding the park. What a nice greenbelt to have as an employee nearby though.
***
Waterfall in Bellows Park with sculptured rocks and park information in photos above.
***
I love the 'science nerd' feeling in the park, so unique!
***
Looking west from 9th Place near the end of the park, photo on right above shows continuation of park by crossing 9th place at the crosswalk. The other park is directly straight ahead from the sign above (photo rt.).
***
Sunset Park, with houses on the south side of the park and private land to the north for part of the park, then the whole park opens up. Its not super big, but large enough for a short, 1 mile walk, approximately around the park.
***
There are nice benches along the path, as well as smaller social trails made by animals and followed by people. There is a creek and lots of trees in the park!
***
There is a large playground, complete with baby swing to let your daughter try out. She likes it for a few minutes, and then is over it!
***
 | |
| Trail sign on North entrance to park. |
Super awesome playground for kiddos!
***
Sunset Park offers a beautiful backdrop for professional photography photo shoots and I'd love to do a session in the park if anyone is interested. Contact me for rates and more information.
***
What a great tree! Its offering nature's bench for you to sit on.
***
Back to Bellows Park for our walk back to the car; and no park is complete without super cool concrete stamps of lab equipment, atoms and more!
***
If you have a really neat park in your area, or know some more information about these two; please leave a comment. I'd love to hear more about the best little parks in your area.
No comments:
Post a Comment