Melanie Jan LaPlant Dressel Park — Attraction in Tacoma

I’d agree that there is literally nothing else down here. There’s a burned and semi-demolished building next door, so that’s a scenic addition. A weirdly short boardwalk by the boats, a tiny gravel parking lot, then a dirt lot on the opposite side of the park right before Pacific Seafood. That’s it. The park is very small. It has this epic slide that my almost 4yo was stoked to try. Well, the only way to get to the top is to climb a very tall and intricate ladder thing that is not appropriate and was too scary for my gutsy kid. This seems a bit ableist too, only a very specific demographic of people can utilize this slide. Other than the epic slide, there’s a large bridge, some climbing logs, picnic tables, a meeting space and a small slide here. The landscaping is very pretty. Overall, this park is a letdown. There’s just nothing to do besides...

Who is Melanie Jan LaPlant Dressel?

Melanie Park is a nice addition to the Thea Foss Waterway. The Esplanade is expanding and filling in the missing pieces. Fun spot for the kids to take a break. And lots of seating, tables, and a restroom. Watch trains and boats go by.

Melanie Jan LaPlant Dressel’s accomplishments and community service are extraordinary. Both professional and personal. As a sample:

Board of the Washington State Historical Society.

Member of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council.

Chair of the Board of Mary Bridge Children’s Foundation.

Board of the Tacoma Art Museum.

The 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking.

The...

BEWARE the terrifying contraption that is the climbing tower. We had thought this might be similar to net climbs in other playgrounds we've been to but NOPE. It is a nice new place that might be fine for teens, older kids or acrobats but on our visit the thing was surrounded by a number of weeping young children wishing to access the attractive looking tube slide but tormented by this vertigo inducing net climb, ending with a shoulder height pull-up to the slide level. There is also a tot slide on the nearby hill that only induces more tears with how boring it is (probably good for 1 year olds with poor vision who aren't aware of the...