One of the biggest rewards about joining a local community of moms like Dallas Moms Blog or MoPS is learning about new activities and events that I would never have known about through my small circle of friends. Recently I’d been hearing about Celebration Park in East Allen, so this past week I decided to make the trek up north and explore this park. Although it might be a little bit of a drive for Dallas residences, if you plan accordingly, it will be worth it!
This 99-acre park (That’s right! 99 acres!) is located just off of Exchange Parkway past Greenville Avenue. It’s tucked back into a group of developing neighborhoods (similar to Breckinridge Park in Richardson). Immediately, I was impressed by the more-than-adequate parking lot. I’m used to having to fight for parking spaces at neighborhood parks, and it was nice to see a large, open parking lot right next to the play area. I could leave the stroller in the car!
After seeing just a few pictures online, I couldn’t help but be in awe as we walked up to this amazing playground.
One of the first things I noticed that was different about this play structure compared to others I’ve been to is that it was built to be entirely handicap accessible; which to me also means it’s toddler friendly! I loved being able to walk through the structures with my son without feeling like I was having to squeeze through tiny tubes or up small stairs. The park was designed for ages 2-12, and the way the structures were painted can help your children identify heights that might be appropriate for them. For example, we stuck to the yellow, green, and red sections for slides and stairs. The orange and purple structures were easily at least 5′ and might not be safe for the younger ones.
This was one of the few downsides I found. Being that everything is attached by ramps, I didn’t feel safe letting my son play on his own. I didn’t want him to get stuck or fall off of one of the taller structures.
After we explored the play area, we ventured over to the splash park. It wasn’t abnormally large compared to other Dallas spray grounds, but as a parent, I did appreciate the large spacious covered picnic area right next to the water and playground. When my son gets a little older, I know he’ll enjoy being able to easily move from the spash park to the swings to the play ground without having to cross a large muddy distance between the two.
As I mentioned, Celebration Park sits right in the middle of suburbia where minivans and SUV’s reign. After speaking with several of my Allen friends, I’ve come to learn that the park can get pretty busy during the summertime! When my son and I arrived around 9:30am on a Tuesday morning, we basically had the whole place to ourselves; however, by the time we were getting ready to leave at 10:30am, 4 daycare buses had pulled into the parking lot and were unloading children.
I’ve also recently learned that Celebration Park is where Allen hosts their 4th of July Celebration. So, if you’re looking to make use of the park during the summer, be prepared to go early and face the crowds of different-aged children.
Despite these common summertime park problems, I’m excited to add Celebration Park to my list of places to go through out the year. I’m sure my son will love it even more as he gets a little older!
I had a lot of fun at the park and took a lot of pictures! For more Celebration Park pictures, check out my blog The T-Shirt Mama.
