Rotary Park at Railroad Lake - Blue Springs

Rotary Park at Railroad Lake encompasses Blue Springs' largest playground in their park system. This was the 4th PAW this year - and it wasn't raining! So far, I've been able to schedule out PAW days pretty much right when it's been raining - my own little perpetual raincloud following me from park to park. Hopefully, my bad luck is breaking because it was very beautiful today - sunny, and hot.



Location: 600 NW Vesper
Blue Springs, MO 64015
This park is fairly easy to find. If it impresses you, I was able to find it no problem the first time I went there today (I went twice; once to play and once to go back and take some pictures), however, I managed to find myself all the way in Independence when I went back to take the pictures. So this doesn't happen again, I made sure to actually look where I was going: the driveway is nestled right in between Zarda's Barbecue and an oil changing place right off Vesper.



Amenities: This park really does have it all. It reminds me a bit of Burrus Old Mill Park, with all the different activities this park offers. It has a sand volley-ball court, tennis courts, a gazebo (which able to be rented, by the way), walking paths, and horseshoes in addition to the two different playgrounds which we were using today. It's a gorgeous park.



There are two very different playgrounds here. One is more like the ones that you and I remember from our youth (probably because it is old enough to be from our youth). It has a lot of the things that a lot of the modern parks have done away with. The slides and jungle gym area are still made of plastic, though - no awesome metal welded cars here like there are at McCoy Park.



This park sported a honest-to-goodness merry go round! You remember, these things? They probably did away with them due to the fact multiple kids would jump on it and then start spinning it faster than is totally necessary. Next thing you know, kids are thrown 10 feet into the air, getting dragged along the side in the dirt while holding on and others vomiting up their bologna sandwiches. Which of course, at the time made it totally awesome.
It also had a see-saw, although it wasn't really working well at the time. The kids didn't really know what to do with it, so they stood on it, and then worked their way up to jumping on it, until the slow dawning fact appeared to them that this just isn't working.



It was a really neat vintage playground that appealed to me, because it reminded me of 'the good ol' days' when every playground wasn't a bastion of nauseating safeness. Honestly, Addi actually preferred this little vintage playground over the newer, larger playground on the other side of the park. Interesting!
This entire playground is directly in the sun, however. No shade to be seen anywhere on the playground - bring sunscreen!



The second playground is the one I assume they are talking about when they say, "Largest playground structure in the Blue Springs park system". It's enormous - a giant maze of bridges, slides, and climbing equipment. There are benches set around the playground that are in some shade, however, the playground itself is entirely in the sun. As one of the moms said, "It makes you wish for Harris Park!" (because Harris is almost entirely shaded) - and on days like this, I agree. It certainly would be nice if there was a bit of shade on the playground.






There is a bathroom at this park, but it is a little bit of a walk from the playground - so hope for no "toddler emergencies". There are also two different shelters for picnicking or finding some blessed shade, as well as a very pretty little gazebo (I hear its great for weddings!).
The park itself is pretty clean! We didn't see hardly any litter on the walking paths or playgrounds, and there are trash cans all over the park - no reason for people to litter! If you decide to litter at this park, you are just seriously lazy because there is almost a trash can at your elbow anywhere in the park.


Railroad Lake is at the center of Rotary Park. It is designated 'No Swimming' for good reason - there are ducks and geese all over the park, and everyone knows how the water is at a duck pond. Addi loved putting her hands in the water and I had to keep reminding her not to touch her face afterwords - super gross. It is pretty enough, with a fountain in the middle and sculptures surrounding it, and well maintained.
The ducks and geese were quite tame, although not enough for the kids to pet them, much to their dismay (the kids, not the ducks).



The Results:
Pros: Bathrooms, of course are a excellent addition to any playground. This park also has plenty of seating around the playgrounds. It would be great for picnicking - there are shelters and grills if you would like that, and plenty of green space for picnic blankets. This would be a beautiful place to lay out on blanket on a sunny day while the kids are fighting playing.
Addi loved the vintage playground toys and chasing the ducks around the pond. There is also some really interesting train sculptures/mosaics situated around the lake that she had a good time climbing on (no worries, they are kid-friendly).



Cons: The biggest thing this park has going against it is the lack of shade. It was about 88˚ today and the kids were hot, red-faced, and sweating like pigs from running around in the sun. At one point Addi flopped over in the grass and cried, "Just leave me here! I can't go anymore!", I told her I had a personal 'Leave No Child Behind' oath to uphold and ended up carrying her the rest of the way around the park. So in essence, bring lots of water and lots of sunscreen.