Fantasy Fortress — Attraction in Marysville

So when I was a little girl my guardians would take me here and it was a way for me to escape my situation (legal custody battle) and have fun. In a sense, I'm really grateful for it because it really was a key factor in how my life ended up, and a core memory I can now pass down to my kids. Although without the traumatic events.

I was surprised to see that there was only a few other people there, as I thought on a perfect day of 75° with a breeze more people would have been enjoying the park like my husband and kid were. There was two older girls who invited our 3 yr old to play with them. Recently I've been in an accident so I couldn't get around much, but I was spectator mom taking pics & enjoying the cool little shady spot on the structure.

We will definitely be back to play longer, and hopefully I'll be healed up enough to run around with the kiddo. It brought back a lot of memories, some good, some not so great, but mostly I'm just really happy that it has been maintained throughout the years. Of course me being me, I had to pick up some trash because I love being able to do my part to keep our parks clean for the next group of people coming to play hide and go seek or king...

The Fantasy Fortress is actually the playground for Cascade Elementary School. This means that the playground is closed to the public during the school hours of 9:10 AM to 3:10 PM - Monday through Friday.

While it is pretty dated, it is the largest and most impressive wooden play structure for any school that I have ever seen. It has a small toddler area, but the majority is wooden stairs, platforms, bridges and walkways for elementary age kids to enjoy.

Because this playground was truly designed with school kids in mind, it is barely large enough for parents to walk through with their kids. The swings and tire-swings have all been taken down, but there are still 3 metal slides that remain.

There are a couple of picnic tables and garbage cans that can be used by the public, but no available restrooms. If kids get bored on the big wooden structure, there is a smaller (but more modern) play structure around the back of the school just past the covered basketball hoops.

Absolutely...

Not only is this park gigantic, it is a work of art. My son kept saying "castle!" While we were there. I can totally imagine bringing a daughter dressed as a princess. It felt like we were in Disney World.

However, the entire thing is built out of wood. And, while that makes it unique, it also makes it impossible to maintain. There's many places with exposed nails and splintered wood. And there are several areas that are already taken down. Furthermore, the whole park is mulched and there are weeds and exposed landscaping fabric throughout the park. Even the picnic table is falling apart and missing a plank.

I wish they had built this park out of hard plastic and made it half the size. It would be less unique, but at least it wouldn't be as dangerous.

I know this sounds like a negative review, but Fantasy Fortress really is an amazing sight to see...