BC Barnes Park

We were excited to try Barnes Park again... we went earlier this year and it was under construction.  What that means is that it is now a brand new park!

This park is very small - just a playground, a field, and a small picnic area settled in the middle of a neighborhood.  Perfect for just going to the playground, since it is never crowded!  There are three play areas - one for children 1-5, another for big kids (5-12) and a bonus area with some extra apparatuses.

The little kids area is designated for ages 1-5.  It has several safe stairs, a little storefront window, a couple of low slides, and an aesthetically pleasing ABC climbing wall.  It has a built in sunshade.

The 'little kid' playground

The big kids area has a climbing wall, two taller slides, monkey bars and spinning wheels, plenty of things to climb and a built in shade.  Best of all, it has a little sliding trolley thing.  At 5, my kids were too small to do it alone, but made me help them onto it until I wouldn't cooperate any more.  Very cool play area.

The 'big kid' playground

Sliding trolley ride!

There is a 'bonus' play area up some stairs.  It had two baby swings, two regular swings, a tire swing, a free standing climbing area, a spinner, a balance beam, and a bouncer.  Any playground with a tire swing is a winner in my kids' book... and a workout for me.

The park is directly behind Amos Elementary.  The school is fenced off, but it is possible that the school uses Barnes as an extra playground on certain days.  Otherwise, it is generally uncrowded.

BC Barnes Park is located off of Mayfield Road (near Collins) in a quiet, older (slightly run down in areas) neighborhood.
3000 Daniel Drive
Arlington, Texas 76014

Brantley-Hinshaw Park

Brantley Hinshaw Park is one of the three playgrounds in Arlington with a spray ground/splash pad in addition to a regular area.

The spray ground area is the smallest of the three parks, but the water features do their job... keeping kiddos cool in the Texas heat.  And there is a large covered area attached for picnics or supervising parents.

Splashpad

The playground is split into two play structures.  They are defined as 2-5 and 5-12, but the baby side held the attention of my five year olds for much longer than the older play area, which is rare.  The younger area boasts plenty of climbing, three slides, a little pretend storefront, a tunnel, and a little climb-on car.

The are for older kids has lots of monkey bars, some low-level climbing areas, and a slide.  There are no baby swings, but you could bring a huge group of big kids out and they wouldn't have to fight over swings... there are 7 regular swings.

There is plenty of shade at this park for spectators (both man made and tree created), but the playground itself is mostly unprotected by the sun.  The ground cover is a combination of wood chips and spongy safety surface.

This park has a walking trail.  It has perfect areas for kids to ride their bikes and remain seen by parents.  And there is a practice field as well as basketball courts attached.

Basketball & Soccer fields

This park backs up to Atherton Elementary, so during school hours, there may be elementary kids on a 'field trip' to the park.  Off hours, you can wonder over to the school playground just a few feet away for some added play space.  There is no restroom at this park.

Brantley Hinshaw Park is located just off of Sherry Street, near Mayfield.
2121 Overbrook Drive
Arlington, Texas 76014

Bob Cooke Park

We were delighted to find this newly rennovated park in North-Central Arlington.  The playground structures were large and entertaining, there was plenty of shade (both arboreal and man-made), and the park had lots of 'extras'.  It has two baby swings and two regular swings.  The ground covering is soft wood chips, and there are benches everywhere.  There is not a restroom on the playground, but there are (clean) restrooms on the other side of the park.

Swings!

Shady spots to sit - under a tree or a pergola

The 'baby' playground (1-5 years) is small, but full of low-risk activities.  There were three little slides (one straight, one spiral, and one bumpy).  There are stairs, a tiny (low-slope) climbing wall, and an activity wall.  The entire thing is shaded.

This playground is for little kids

The 'big kid' playground (5-12 years) was enough to keep my 5 year olds busy for over an hour.  It has endless ways to climb up, including three different climbing walls and several climbing bars and ladders.  It has two really big slides and three levels of climbing platforms.  There were also several spinning platforms for some dizzy fun.

Big kids will love this side!

The park has a small pond (but we didn't see any ducks).  The pond has a bridge spanning it, which little kids would love, and is a part of a nice little walking/biking trail.  There also basketball courts, tennis courts, and a big field you could play soccer on.  On the other side of the park, there is a recreation center with an indoor pool and a senior citizens center.

Bob Cooke Park:
2025 Craig Hanking Drive
Arlington, Texas 76010

The closest large streets are New York and Pioneer Parkway.

Helen Wessler Park

This little neighborhood park could use a facelift.  It is a fun, well shaded park, but is a little run down.
Wessler Park has two separate structures for big and little kids, a covered sand box, a shaded covered bench for caregivers to sit, two baby swings and two regular swings, a small bike/walking path, and plenty of room to run around.

The baby playground is fairly small, but would keep a toddler occupied for a little while.  It has a doubleslide and a small tube slide, a miniature tunnel, and a little 'truck' wheel inside.

The 'big kid' playground would also be fairly safe for older toddlers, and has the much coveted bouncy bridge that my own kids love so much.

Helen Wessler Park backs directly up to Veda Knox Elementary school's playground, so you could walk there (as long as it's not during school hours) when your little ones tire of this playground.

The playground is a mixture of wood chip covering and a small area of rubber surfacing.  This is an old park, so there are several beautiful oak trees which provide shade.  It has a lot of potential, but needs to be revamped.  It is located at 2200 Greenway Street, Arlington, Texas 76010, at the intersection of Sherry and Greenway.  The Sherry street entrance has a large practice field that we didn't visit, since we are playground seekers.

Duncan Robinson Park

The best thing about this park is the name for this Spurs fan.  :)

Duncan Robinson Park is a very small neighborhood park, consisting mostly of a playground, which is great for us, since that is mostly what we love about parks.  The playground is definitely for older kids - several monkey bars, a climbing wall, and some really high up moving bars, which I couldn't keep my girls off of, despite them not being able to do them alone.  The sign says ages 5-12, and it's pretty accurate.  There is no play area for littler kids at this park.  There are two baby swings, though (along with 4 regular ones).

There is a picnic area in a field across the parking lot.  My kids loved that there was a 'rabbit hole' in one of the trees there.  We've been to this park twice, and both times, we were the only ones there.

Duncan Robinson Park is located on West Turner, which is just off of Bowen, past Pioneer Parkway.  It is right next door to Hill Elementary.

Duncan Robinson Park
2100 West Tucker Street
Arlington, Texas 76013

H.A.D. Dunsworth Park

In my former life (as a first grade teacher), I used to take my students on 'walking field trips' to this park.  This park is located right behind Foster Elementary, and everyone there just calls it 'the blue park'.  Until today, I had no idea what it's real name was!

Dunsworth Park is a tiny neighborhood park - just a playground and some picnic benches.  Unless there are some Foster Elementary kiddos there (the cutest kids in Arlington, save mine and yours), this park is always empty!

This is one of the few parks in the city that doesn't have split play areas for younger and older children.  I would say that this one runs more towards older children, although there is one baby swing.  There are ton of climbing opportunities, a bridge, and several slides here.  Also a big tire swing and a free standing spinner.

Dunsworth Park is located on Waverly Drive.  This is so close to the Parks Mall - if you are shopping and have some time to kill, this is a great little park.  And if you are there on a weekend, you can walk across the small field to the elementary playground!
1100 Waverly Drive
Arlington, Texas 76015

Vandergriff Park

This has to be one of the largest parks in Arlington, because it is massive!

playground

The playground at Vandergriff is great.  The brightly colored 'little kid' part of the playground has low to the ground climbing spots, slides, and a little pretend storefront counter.  The big kid playground is gigantic and fun for any kid who likes to climb.  There is even a cute (raised, shaded) observation deck for any parents whose kids are old enough to play solo.

This one's for big kids

And for the littles!

There are several fun free standing pieces of equipment also - a wobbly balance beam, a three-seater bouncy rocket ride, a low-to-the-ground spinning chair, and two standing spinners.  There are two baby swings and two regular ones.  The ground covering is wood chips.

We love Vandergriff Park!  It is a little overwhelming because it is so huge.  In fact, the first time we went there, it took us 10 minutes just to find the playground once we got to the park.  Once you figure it all out, it's worth it... besides a spectacular playground, Vandergriff has baseball fields, a HUGE covered pavilion, miles of fields and walking trails (not heavily treed), bathrooms, horseshoe pits, tennis courts, and probably more that we haven't explored.  It is also the site of the Bob Duncan Center.

Vandergriff is located on between Center Street and Matlock.  The best way to get to the playground is by entering at Bob Duncan and turning left towards the pools.  The Marrow Bone Springs entrance will take you to the pavilion, tennis courts, and horseshoes (but you can't access the playground from that lot).
2800 South Center Street
Arlington, Texas 76014

California Lane Park

California Lane Park is one of the few parks in Arlington with a splash pad or spray ground.  These features are open in the summer (and turn off when AISD school starts).

splash pad / spray ground

The playground is separated into two sections - one for smaller kids and one for larger.  The park can be rented out for parties, and there is a bulletin board near the entrance that tells you whether it has been reserved at all that week.  Be warned - the parking lot is small.  We attended a birthday party at this park once, and had to park  at the school across the (very busy) street.

Both playground structures are fun and fairly safe for all ages.  They are fairly new, and have a shade screen above each.  They have wood chip ground covering.  There are two big kid swings and two baby swings.

For little kids 

For bigger kids

There is a small covered pavilion, containing two picnic tables located near the splash pad and playground.

This park has two basketball courts that have stayed fairly active on our few excursions there.  There is also a soccer field, which we loved practicing on.  It is built in a bit of a bowl, so I would imagine that it gets really muddy after a rain.

Basketball court & soccer field

There is a short walking trail, leading to a pond with a fountain.  We didn't see any ducks, but I would imagine there are some occasionally.

California Lane Park is located between Bowen and Fielder Rd, directly across from Short Elementary.
2001 California Lane
Arlington, Texas 76015