Sand Lake

Because we had a lot of posts about playgrounds last month, I didn't post right away about this particular one. Sand Lake playground and the park area next to the playground were recommended to me by two different women who I spoke with on school playgrounds. They both said it was their favorite because there was not only great playground equipment, but access to the lake. After visiting the play area twice, I agree with them. Unfortunately this play area is a little too far for us to visit regularly. We need a two hour block of time to drive there, play, and then return home. We don't often have a two hour block of time in the later afternoon when the playground is open to the public because Viva's gymnastics and the boys' karate hem our schedule in.

What is so special about this play area? The playground is small, but very nice with a spider web climbing area and an intriguing modern design seesaw. It rates a solid 4 out of 5. It's the park behind the school that makes this location a must to visit. There is a short path from the playground to Sand Lake. 

The path leads to a boat dock which the local crew club uses to launch their shells (boats). Lincoln and Evan had a great time throwing rocks in the lake. The older children checked out the lake's depth at the end of the dock. I had to pull the children away from the dock area to check out the path leading around the lake. It was a gorgeous walk through green woods. The children explored a side path closer to the lake where they found a fort. 

I first took the children to Sand Lake on a Thursday afternoon. It was a very overcast day, so the children wore their hooded jackets. I should have had them grab their rain coats. About half way through our visit it started raining. The children didn't care. The upside of rainy weather is that we had the playground and lake area to ourselves for most of our visit!

Opa and I took the children back Labor Day weekend. It was a beautiful, sunny day and I expected the area to be crowded, but it wasn't. Was everyone at the state fair?! The first seven and last two photos are from our first trip to Sand Lake. The other photos are from Labor Day weekend.

After our first trip to Sand Lake, I took the children out to dinner at the nearby Tastee Freez. They had burgers and fries and then ice cream cones. (Bentley, of course, did not indulge in the latter.) I look forward to spending some great afternoons next summer at this play area.