Crested Hills Park

This Richland park was bigger than I was expecting in terms of its green space. The actual playground is the size I would expect for a neighborhood park. As for its accessibility, well, they tried. The play surface is rubberized and on a lower level than the surrounding grass and pavement. The playground is divided into two areas with a strip of sidewalk down the middle. You have to go all the way to the end of this narrow strip to get to the ramps down into the play area, dodging two benches along the way. It was barely wide enough for M’s walker and I am not sure it would be wide enough for a full size wheelchair. It would be almost impossible with a double stroller. Also, the ramps are the mottled brown rubberized material of the play surface (unlike the concrete ramp at Claybell Park) and it took me a minute to be able to see them. There’s no demarcation line or any clear visual cue of where the ramps begin or end. A person with low vision would struggle to find and use these ramps.

Another issue with this park is that there is a storm drain pond just a few feet from the playground, with lots of vegetation around it. This is definitely not the right park if your child tends to run off or try to hide from you.

Playground: one large play structure with typical features. The stairs do not have hand rails all the way to the bottom; the rails begin at the third step.
Swings: baby swings and standard swings
Musical toys: no
Playground surface: soft rubberized
Climbing wall: yes, in an interesting volcano shape with a platform at the top
Shade: one large tree shaded a lot of grass and a small corner of the playground. A number of other trees placed around will mature into good shade trees in a few years.
Adult seating: two benches facing the playground, two picnic tables in a picnic shelter a short distance away
Bathroom: ADA port-a-potty
Fence: no
Parking: parallel on the street. The playground is a bit of a walk, maybe 30 yards from the street.

Photo description: playground described in the post with narrow sidewalk down the middle and difficult-to-see ramps onto the rubberized play surface. The volcano-shaped climbing wall features prominently.

Photo description: the storm drain pond near the playground, which is totally covered with vegetation.

Photo description: a panoramic view of the extensive green space of the park, with Badger Mountain in the background. The basketball court can be seen in the middle ground.

There is a full sized basketball court next to the playground. There were also some soccer goal nets set up in a grassy area on the other side of the pond. There is a long loop of sidewalk, gently sloping, around the park which makes for a nice walk.