Western Springs Park — Attraction in Riverton

“Come for the sledding hill. Stay because there’s nothing else to do.”

“More roll than play.”

Western Springs Park is what happens when someone designs a park by saying, “Eh, grass is good enough.” It’s got a playground, technically—but it’s pint-sized and best suited for toddlers who still think peekaboo is thrilling. Pre-teens and younger teens? Forget it. They’ll be left loitering awkwardly or, like our crew, rolling down the sledding hill for fun. And when rolling down a hill is the highlight of your park visit? That’s not exactly a glowing endorsement of the playground equipment.

The splash pad? Let’s call it Trash Pad: Summer Edition. It was covered in litter and had the charm of a convenience store parking lot after a 4th of July sale. As for the beach volleyball court—more like sand pit of forgotten dreams. The whole place could use a little love... or a park ranger with a rake and a trash bag.

Now, in winter? That hill probably becomes the MVP of the entire park. Honestly, it might be worth coming back just to see how fast we can launch down it on a sled. But in summer, the charm wears thin. Lots of open space, yes, but very little in the way of things to do.

Bottom line: 🛝 Too small for older kids 🗑 Splash pad is more “splat” than “splash” ⛄️ Potentially redeems itself as a sledding spot in winter

Until the snow falls, Western Springs Park is just a grassy expanse with a side of disappointment. Two stars—for the hill...

Park is very out dated and needs maintenance really bad. There are a lot of opportunities for children to hurt and cut their feet especially around the splash pad. The rubber pad on the playground equipment has massive holes inside that are exposing the shredded rubber and present themselves as perfect choking hazard for kids. It also presents a trip and fall hazarf when they're running from the splash pad over to the park. As we all know kids aren't going to follow rules when they're playing. The park sees a lot of people and I would think a park that is used this much and that has a splash pad would be maintained a lot better. There is a power grid box in front of the the splash pad that has exposed metal with sharp serrated ends that are supposed to cover the lock and that is exposed right in the grass. The drains are heavily rusted and the benches are calcified. The city definitely needs to come in and take care of this park or even upgrade all of the equipment it's a beautiful neighborhood and a very fun park that is used a lot but this is a park that the city stopped...

Excellent playground and surrounding park for lots of recreation. Sand volleyball, horseshoes, baseball diamond to the north, playground with splash pad, fields and hills, great views, quiet location. Good amount of parking, and the road leads all the way through the lot (no dead end). A large pavilion with a dozen bench-tables, a restroom building near the playground, some uncovered fixed-bench square picnic tables to the south, and I even saw some hammock loungers using a couple of trees there to the south of the playground. The playground equipment has fun for all ages, and lots of interactive games too. It has some surrounding and internal shade, and some tree shade, so that's very nice. Several benches around the equipment that had the particle padding ground cover. The splash pad has the same particle material but it's not padded. This visit the splash pad wasn't on, but we look forward to that option...