Fairfield Township Community Park
6116 Morris Rd. Fairfield Township OH 45011
Fairfield Township Community Park is located at the corner of Millikin and Morris roads in Fairfield Township. It was completely renovated with a grand reopening in October of 2020.
This park is everything that Summit Park aspires to be, but it really is much better. One of my biggest problems with Summit Park is that it lacks in quality visibility when watching children of varying age groups. Couple that with the sheer volume of people that park serves and you’ve got a slightly anxious mama. While providing a traditional play experience – it also opens up a world of imagination play for both young toddlers and older children. There is little to complain about with this park and the designers definitely deserve praise.
Play Structure
There’s a lot to unpack with this park. One colossal colorful play structure towers above the turf (no mud!) below. It has several enclosed and open air slides, standard ladders, stairs, and twisty ladders. The mounted awnings provide a fair amount of shade for anyone playing. Portions of the park floor are more “mulchy” in nature, but we’ve gone after rain and snow with little mess.
Toddler Village
I have no other way to describe this section of the park other than a little musical toddler village. Located in close proximity to the big kid play structure is an adorable little menagerie of houses, musical instruments, a small slide, and a just-right-sized seesaw. This is little village is perfect for so many reasons – the layout allows for play without feeling overcrowded and the closeness to the big kid structure allows for parents to keep an eye on kids of various ages without some serious eye strain by the end of the visit.
The colors, the layout, and the functionality of the musical instruments just scream “fun!”. Even my five year old was drawn first to the toddler village over everything else located in this park.
ZipLine, Spinning Tree, and SpiderWeb Climber
The most unique item at this park is a zipline. It’s just the right size for ages 3+. My daughter who is a small 3 has no problem holding on for the ride though she does need assistance actually getting onto the seat. Kids load onto the seat on a raised platform and the zipline does the rest – sending them on a thrilling ride clear across the playground. It is located in such a way that there is little worry about a wandering child meandering directly into the path of the zipline.
This park also features a “spinning tree”. I am not sure how else to describe this crazy thing. Kids can climb inside, hang from the sides, sit criss-cross apple sauce, or lay down while a parent gives them a go. You can really get this thing spinning quite fast.
In addition to the spinning tree, there is also a standard rope climbing structure. It’s a bit large for a three year old to navigate, but my five year old had an easy time with it.
KING OF THE HILL
My absolutely favorite aspect of this park is the big mound in the middle of the playground. It is artifical turf – so no worries about a muddy mess. This thing is inspiring! I have seen kids play everything from mountain climbers, to zombies, to “lets try to toss eachother down the hill” with this. If you’ve got a solo kid who is a bit shy at making friends – this hill does the trick. My son walked away from it one day with 4 new “friends” after an hour or more of just playing on this hill. There is also a crawl through tunnel for bonus fun.
Accessibility
There are some accessible features here. There is a “spinner” that is wheel chair friendly located in the middle of the park. It does not spend very fast and does require someone not on the spinner to manually give it a go. There is also one full harness swing at this park.
Swings
Standard swings, accessible swing, and baby swings are located near the play structure.
Restrooms
PortaPotty in the Winter. It was clean as those things can be. Normal flush toilets are available in summer.
Parking
Close proximity parking. On particularly nice days, parking can be a little tight here. I have seen people occasionally pull into the lot only to notice that it is full. But I’m talking about “first nice spring weekend day” kind of crowds, not a typical day.
Safety
Watch your kid with some of the spinning elements and give them a heads up to use their “big kid words” if they want to stop to let whatever parent is pushing it know.
This park sits at the corner of two relatively busy streets, however, I do feel that the distance is adequate with good visibility. No water features or ponds to worry about. I wouldn’t mind seeing them put some sort of fencing along the Millikin portion of the park, but again – I have a “wanderer” and I felt it was sufficiently safe.
Picnic and Walking
There is a paved walking path. It’s a nice intro path for a quick walk with little legs or for learning to bike. It’s not usually a very crowded path.
Two picnic shelters are available near the playground. Not much else is currently available in terms of seating though I do hope that changes. This park is still undergoing some construction as they plan to add a veteran’s memorial. So pardon the dust for now…(3-1-21).
Negatives
Truly, the only negative that I have about this playground is that is lacks shade. I would love to see some more shaded tables placed near the playground structure similar to what is at the other park run by Fairfield Township. Shaffer’s Run Community Park.
