Spooner Park — Attraction in Little Canada

PLAY AREA REVIEW ONLY Here's what you need to know: Parking: Lot Age range (playground): 2+ Sidewalks: Paved around park (not directly to play area) Seating: Several benches around play area Bathrooms: NA Picnic tables: Several in picnic shelter Grills: Several by picnic shelter Sports field: See the website for details on what's here

As soon as we turned into the parking lot, all we could see were "allergies" (dandelion seeds) floating in the air, literally turning the air white. For people with seasonal allergies, wasn't necessarily a warm welcome.

The play area is a few minutes' walk from the parking lot down a well-paved sidewalk (unfortunately, the sidewalk isn't a straight walk from the lot; it curves this way and that).

On the way down we passed a lovely stone picnic shelter and plenty of open, grassy areas for lounging about or (maybe) even a game of volleyball.

The play area is split into two sections. One accommodates kiddos ages 2+ and the other accommodates kiddos ages 5+. Both are laid with sand, made of wood, and have metal slides.

Zoey (16 months) had a hard time navigating the smaller playground due to the tall steps and long drops. She was also uncomfortable with feeling wood under her feet (we took off shoes to keep them from trapping sand).

Titus (3) and Madi (4.5) were uninterested in the smaller playground because it's pretty bare: a single slide, bridge, some steps, and a tiny tunnel (less than a yard long).

Madi was eager to try out the big kid playground, but had a hard time doing much on her own. She was able to scale the curved wood ladder and take the steps up to the top of the playground. She also found the balance beam (her first ever) an especially fun challenge.

She couldn't, however, navigate the monkey bars, which comprised half of the playground. She quickly grew tired of this section.

Each playground has swings suitable for the intended audience. The big kid playground also has a tire swing, which Titus enjoyed; and a big digger, which Madeline enjoyed.

We were here for no longer than 20 minutes when we decided we'd had enough. None of the kids were comfortable scaling the equipment due to its composition and even when they did, there wasn't much for them to do.

I wanted to keep exploring in the city of Little Canada; but both of the two closest parks (one of which we've been to) looked just about as impressive as Spooner, if not less.

My guess is Little Canada's parks and rec system isn't as current as surrounding cities'. As is such, we won't be coming back unless we know updates have...

This is a great neighborhood park, and its adjacency to the elementary school and the fire station trails amplify its recreational value. The pavilion is roomy with great cooking options including a brick chimney and outdoor grills. The kitchen space is also roomy; easy to have multiple people working in at once. Great for family and community functions. There is a playground that is friendly for even quite young children as well as a sand volleyball pit. Good mix of sunny and shady spaces, restrooms,...

A nice visit. There were two guys that were smoking (not cigarettes) in the pavilion area. They kept staring us down, and thinking whatever about us, and we ended up moving completely. Frankly, I don't care what other people do as long as I'm not involved. It just made us uncomfortable because of the staring. Otherwise, we love coming here to hang out, have a picnic or...