WANDER WOMAN
EXPLORING HIDDEN GEMS oF SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON By Afton Nelson
Exploring Clark County Parks and Playgrounds
Go play outside! This isn’t just great advice for your kids. It’s a great idea for us all. Get out and breathe some fresh air and, along with your kids, get your heart pumping. A wonderful place to do this is at a local park or playground. And here in Clark County, we are fortunate to have a wide variety to choose from. I grabbed a couple of boys on a sunny Saturday, and off we went to check out a few of them. Isaac and Thomas, both age 13, were happy to accompany me, not just for a change of scenery, but also for the promise of burgers and fries after. Eric Christensen from Clark County’s Public Works and Parks Administration gave me the names of some community favorites to check out. Isaac, Thomas and I set out to explore three on the west side: Felida, Fairgrounds Community and Stockford Village Neighborhood Parks.
Isaac was a fan of the playground slides. “These were probably the best slides out of all the playgrounds we visited,” he said. “But there were a lot of people there, and it was really busy with soccer games. If you want to go and use the fields for your own game, you should probably try going during the middle of the week.” Amenities include: • Picnic shelter with covered seating for 50 people • 2 soccer fields • 2 pieces of play equipment • 12 picnic tables • 0.2 miles of concrete path • 0.57 miles of asphalt path • 2 drinking fountains • Restrooms • Fairgrounds Community Park
FELIDA PARK Felida was buzzing with soccer games on every field and supportive parents cheering from the sidelines when we stopped by. Siblings, who I assume got tired of watching, filled the large playground nearby. The park is flat with a paved walking path circling the back field— the perfect place to push a stroller or ride a scooter. “The fields are really nice for whatever you like to play,” Thomas shared. “And the playground is really big with lots of different stuff to do.”
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FAIRGROUNDS COMMUNITY PARK We headed to Fairgrounds Community Park outside of Ridgefield on some lovely back roads and drove up the hill to the parking lot. The first thing I noticed about this park was the idyllic setting.
Vancouver Family Magazine • www.vancouverfamilymagazine.com • June 2017
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