Kacie Jane Park
525 West Lytle-Five Points Road
Springboro, OH 45066
“Kacie Jane Park, established in 2019, was made possible through the generous donation of the Hausfeld Family who wanted to honor and remember Tom and Kacie Hausfeld who passed away in a plane crash.”
That’s a great way to honor a loved one – to bring a little slice of happiness in the world for families to gather and enjoy.
This playground is nothing short of phenomenal and worth the 30 minute drive from the Northern suburbs of Cincinnati.
Traditional Playground
The traditional playground has a variety of features including several slides, obstacle course features, and a climbing net to reach the top. It is shaded with a large umbrella.
A second smaller toddler set is nearby with slides, climb through tunnels and very cute detailing such as “Kacie’s Playhouse” lettering. There is some separation between the large and small playset to discourage older kids from overtaking the small set but still close enough to watch children on both.
Wet Playground
This is what really makes this park stand out – it is one of the best (if not the best) free splash pads in the Southwest Ohio area. I’ve always been a big fan of the splash areas at the Hamilton County Parks – but with those being closed two seasons now – this is our new go to. It is well maintained. It has plenty of splash to go around even on very crowded days. There are interactive features including a “water gun fish” and a big dumping feature that everyone rushes to gather under.
The water feature turns on at 10:00am and according to their webpage – the season ends in September or October (weather dependent).
Parking
Parking is the one of the only “flaws” of this park. On hot days – it gets very busy. Arrive before 10:00am for best chance of finding a morning spot. We arrived around 9:00am to enjoy the dry park and we were the second car in the lot but by 10:30am – the lot was entirely full and stayed full.
Safety
If my children (6 and 3) were a bit younger, this park would have made me more nervous. It’s very easy to watch several kids if they stay in one section (dry vs. splash), but it would be difficult to watch several kids if they are scattered between the two sections. This park is at the intersection of two roads that seemed to have a fair amount of traffic with no fence separation between the park and the roads or the park and the parking lot.
A fence and more parking would make this playground flawless.
Potty Training
Large bathroom building located between the two sections of the park. The bathrooms were very clean. The large family bathroom has a counter style changing area for those bigger kids still requiring changing, catherization, etc.
Seating
This park has A LOT of seating, but if you want priority table seating near the splash pad – get there early. Additional seating is located near the dry play area and under the bathroom pavilion. A half wall around the splash area provides full sun seating.
If shade is important and you aren’t arriving early, bring a blanket to sit on as you can squeeze a bit of space on the ground underneath one of the table umbrellas.
Final Thoughts
This park is located in Springboro, Ohio which is a bit of a drive for those of you in Metro Cincinnati, but it is well worth it. You could easily make an entire day of it with a stop at Kacie Jane in the morning, lunch break at a nearby restaurant, and then an afternoon at Kid’s Clubhouse just down the road. (See my review for Kid’s Clubhouse here).
