Saturday, in the Park - part 1

Hillsborough is fortunate to have, within the borders of its 54 square miles, a good number of parks, playgrounds, ball fields, and other publicly accessible recreational facilities. Some well known to residents, others not.

Over the next several weeks I am going to get out to as many of the parks and playgrounds as I can - and try to give you the inside scoop on each one. For some of these reviews I am going to enlist the help of my two resident experts - my 8 year old daughter and 5 year old son!

Today we visited the "King" of the playgrounds, located at the municipal complex on South Branch Rd. Built in the mid 90s by community volunteers - whose names appear on fencing throughout the playground - it is still a kid-favorite. Resembling a castle with several towers, the playground has slides, swings, and lots of other play elements. There is plenty of parking, and even a few picnic tables.

My daughter says the best thing about this playground is there are lots of opportunities to run and climb up and down the towers and across the bridges. My son particularly likes the sandbox, and also finding friends for impromptu play dates (my words, not his!).

My favorite aspect of the municipal playground is that it is completely fenced with just two entrances, recently improved with gates that can be closed. This is an absolute necessity on a playground of this type because it is impossible to keep the kids in view at all times.

Overall, I give the municipal playground 4 stars. My kids never turn down an offer to play there, and that says it better than anything else I can say. Except to give a big thank you to all of the volunteers who had the foresight to create such a wonderful facility for our town.