Hanby Park — Attraction in Westerville

Points for having clean restrooms, shaded tables, and a small splash pad with seating. Outside of that, I can't say this park seems well thought out.

There's no dedicated parking lot. Just GPS to the nearby library and park there. It's behind the park so just a short stroll to reach it.

I was a bit confused by the choice of a play structure. Aesthetically, it's impressive, but it's not very logical as a play structure. There are two slides that can only be reached by climbing a vertical rope system - no steps/ladders as alternate routes. In order to use the slides, children must climb vertically up a rope system and then sideways to a somewhat narrow opening to reach the slide platform. When making the transition, there are no ropes/nets to the left to catch a child should they fall. Your child would simply fall straight to the bottom.

The swings are limited to one set and offer two traditional and two alternative types. The play structure for littles seems like an afterthought and didn't interest the children we saw present. There's no shade system over it so I imagine it could get very hot to the touch, especially for toddlers. Westerville parks are usually a guaranteed excellent playdate but we wouldn't return to...

The new playground at Hanby Park isn't having it's official grand opening until Saturday, May 12th, but my daughter and I stopped by a couple days early after a trip to the Westerville Library (which this playground is conveniently located just behind). This is an awesome park with a great location, and I'm sure it will be extremely popular. There's a really fun climbing/slide structure that's sure to be a hit with little climbers. I'm most excited that this park will be home to Westerville's first splash pad. What I love about the splash area is that there are big swings for parents to lounge on overlooking where their children can splash around. I can foresee the perfect summer day in Westerville: take advantage of the numerous bike paths for a family bike ride to Uptown, where you can grab a coffee, grab some donuts or lunch, and visit the library before finishing out the afternoon...

We were excited to check out a new splash pad but were extremely disappointed. This is a great park for little kids (say 4 and under) and the slide is a unique feature for bigger kids (maybe 7 and up? I'm bad at ages). There's not much for the kids who fall in the middle of those ages.

The climbing/playground equipment is minimal and the splash pad is small. The design of the slide looks cool but doesn't allow for much varied play or for many kids to enjoy it at once. And if a kid can't climb straight up and/or doesn't cope well with being jammed into an enclosed space with every other big kid, forget it.

The swinging benches look amazing, I just wish they were at a park that would keep my...