Gary R. McDonnell Park, Lakewood Colorado, Playground with lots more

I've been visiting more parks than I normally would, now that Magnolia is here and at that age where she enjoys the playground a lot.  I grew up in Michigan, and there weren't any playgrounds near our house, you just had a swingset in your yard; and here in Colorado there is so much public space to enjoy and I would have loved this when I was a child.   However, I did have an amazing tree swing that my dad built, but no slide, rock wall, tree house, and more.   This park is well hidden from the road and probably wouldn't be found by someone who didn't know it was there.  

Getting there:  Don't expect to see this one from the road!  The park is located off Simms Street and 6th Avenue.  Click here for the Gary R. McDonnell Park website, with map and address.  The playground and park are located behind the businesses on the west side of Simms Street; park and walk west down the sidewalk and the gazebo will come into view. 
Specs:  The park has a port-o-pot, playground, covered gazebo, large grassy area, softball diamond, basketball court and it's beautifully landscaped.  

This park was one that I had noticed the sign for when I drove by, very often, but I never knew where the actual park was because of its location behind the businesses.   The other day, when I got tired of taking a walk in our normal neighborhood, I packed up the stroller and drove to this park to play and walk.  We practically had the park to ourselves with only one other person with kiddos playing; but we were there over the lunch hour and several of the workers from local businesses used the rotunda for lunch.  Here are some of my favorite shots of the park: 

 

 My daughter is a little particular about the things she touches, she doesn't like the feel of grass on her feet/hands for instance; but she seems to love the playground! 

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 Lavender, one of the prettiest Colorado flowers (in my opinion).

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 Views from the top of the playground's jungle gym. 

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 Swingset, although the seats were way to hot to put a baby in!  (Really, why aren't swings white?)

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 Love the tire swing! 

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 Walking path toward basketball court, on the right (not shown) is the softball diamond.  

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One more shot of the awesome playground, Magnolia loves the slide!  

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