Fort Liberty Playland
6845 Van Gorden Rd
Liberty Township 45011
I have a love/hate relationship with this park. I absolutely love how unique this structure is and pretend play as knights, princesses and court Jesters would be amazing here – but it is HUGE and this is definitely a park where mom and dad get as much of a work out as the kids do.
This is one of few parks that I believe truly appeals more to older children. My 3 year old has a blast here but It is difficult to keep track of him without being in constant motion myself. The size of this structure is well suited for older preschoolers, kindergartners, 1st and 2nd graders. The castle is typically populated with toddlers in the early AM until about 10:00 when bigger kids come out to play.
Play Structure
Huge and unique! It is made of Wood – so it has more of an old school vintage vibe. So many nooks and crannies to hide, tall towers to peer down from, steps to conquer, bridges to cross and 3 slides. There is a separate smaller structure for tiny tots that features steps and a slide, a pseudo-tire swing, and a train engine structure. This is a park where Imaginations can run wild. It promotes role playing.
Unique
1)A tire swing! Not many parks feature these anymore. It is a hot ticket item here – so be prepared to wait a bit for your turn. Some kids really get that swing going so be careful about letting your small tot jump on with bigger kids – even if they are offering!
2) This Park has a kid fitness course set up with metal fitness to swing from, monkey bars, tight ropes to cross and more.
Visibility
Visibility is awful here. I’m not a helicopter parent but I like to keep an eye on my kid – even from a distance – to make sure he doesn’t run off. Impossible here without trekking back and forth. There is one set of double benches underneath a shady tree adjacent to the tiny tot area – that gives you the best shot of keeping track of the kids on the large play structure.
Potty Training
Unless you enjoy tip toeing around messy floors and the smell of excrement in hot weather – go before you come here. The bathrooms are within a building – but they are “outhouse style” with no running water. On busy summer days – they can be quite messy.
Parking
Large lot, very convenient to park. Wooden ranch style fence separates parking from park.
Swing
3 very nice baby swings, several big kid swings, one tire swing, one accessible swing.
Accessibility
One accessible swing. The partner park “The Reserves” is much better for accessibility.
Safety
Other than visibility issue – there are a lot of dogs at this park due to the proximity of the walking path. When my son was younger – this posed a problem as he was constantly darting off the structure at full speed to go see the dog. It’s a good place to teach your kids the necessity to ask before touching a dog..that’s for sure.
There is also a hole in the middle of the structure – it is surrounded by a tire. Older kids enjoy scaling from the ground up through the hole and back down. Younger kids may unsuccessfully attempt to emulate.
This is also a mulch playground and it can lead to some tears.
Picnic
Two large covered reservable picnic areas and several stand-alone picnic tables. This park has some of the best “circular” picnic tables and they are well maintained.
Walking
Walking trail connects this park to The Reserves Playground. Short walk. Little shade. Paved.
Bring your older knights and princesses to this park – they will definitely make friends. Out of all the parks I’ve been to – this seems to be the one that kids tend to play the most collaboratively at. The unique features just really get those imaginations going and it is fun to watch them!
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