Aparkolypse: Hillside Park

Why did we come to this small park, driving past several more interesting parks? We have blogging duties to go to every public park with a playground in the area! Just around the corner from the heart of Mill Creek, Hillside Park is an exquisite little neighborhood park, great for families and local joggers/walkers.

Amenities/Facilities

Hillside makes great use of its small space. Parking (6-8 spots) is on the side of the wide road. There are a couple of small grassy areas - the grass looks like a golf course. Otherwise you have a few tables, a water fountain, and a basketball hoop.

Play

The playground is small but fun. The shake-able fire truck made for good mayhem. 

Review

We had a great time at this little park, putting up shots and running around. Hillside Park seemed to be a popular place to start or take a break from your jog/walk. Stop by if you're in the area.

Aparkolypse: Forsgren Park

Non-locals aren't going to end up at Forsgren Park on accident, stuffed down in the area where Kenmore, Brier, and Bothell bleed together. The park is set back away from the road where the traffic is light. The official website informs us that the site is a former gravel pit, and we are pleased to announce they have improved upon it.

Amenities/Facilities

Forsgren Park offers plenty of parking and the standard Sanicans (only the really big Snohomish County parks get actual bathrooms) with a small number of benches and tables.

And too bad if you were going to have your armed horseback golf tournament featuring model rocket launches; those killjoys at the county aren't having it.

Athletic Fields

We strongly recommend the beautiful soccer fields and little league baseball diamonds. Come school your trash-talking son in a game of soccer he insists on, forgetting that you were a slightly above-average soccer player once. In first grade or something.

 

Play

We happened to be there a day or so after rain. The fields had dried out, but the playground was awfully swampy. You'll note the blue paint that Snohomish County must have gotten at a mega-discount sometime in the 90s. It was pretty fun when you weren't stepping into a foot-deep puddle.

Review

Buoyed up by some very nice fields and a fun playground, we recommend Forsgren Park as a departure if you're stuck going to the same couple of parks. The fields and parking suggest accommodation for larger events, but the plumbing-related non-offerings and relative lack of seating would put a damper on big gatherings.

Aparkolypse: Brier Park

All the City of Brier Parks are within about a mile and a half, and unfortunately, we came to the excellent Brier Park last. It's easily Brier's best and one of the crown jewels of the Aparkolypse tour.

Amenities/Facilities

There is an incredible amount to do here. Around/through the park is a paved sidewalk. Importantly to us, Brier Park also has actual working bathrooms and water fountains, along with plenty of places to park. Check out the facilities for families, leagues, and small to large groups.

Athletic Surfaces

You'll find two large, well-maintained soccer fields next to two baseball diamonds, one in very good shape and the other in pretty good shape.

We can't get too excited about the super-narrow, half-hearted attempt at a basketball court, even if it is "full court." The tennis courts looked nice.

There's also a weird fenced-off dirt/gravel area we couldn't find an explanation for. Does Brier hold mini-rodeos here? Please feel free to tell us if you have any idea.

Exercise Equipment

A feature increasing found in newer parks, Brier has adult exercise equipment. While it may be great for keeping in shape, we recommend putting your small children on it, especially the high-IQ ones who don't like following instructions.

Picnic Shelter

If you were to go the the city's Geocities-looking webpage and dig around for a while, you'd discover that this fine gazebo is available to rent for $40 for 4 hours for Brier residents, $60 for non-residents. In the case that your event doesn't require overhead shelter or a grill/fireplace, there are plenty of tables and grassy areas for your outdoor dining pleasure.

Skate Park

This is where we'd make jokes using skateboarding slang, but frankly we don't remember any since it was 15+ years ago since we so much as played the Tony Hawk games for Playstation, so we'll just show the pictures of the skate park.

Next to the skate park is an entrance portal for you to use on your way to defeat Koopa and/or Bowser.

Play

Aside from (or maybe because of?) the color scheme looking like it was designed by The Joker, the toys were a lot of fun. It might be tough to navigate for really small kids, though.

We enjoyed the low-key bug sub-theme of the playground.

Refresh yourselves with some pears after you play!

Review

Brier Park rules. We had so much fun there and could have spent an entire day playing and exercising. With warm weather coming on, it's time we got back here.