The year’s best playgrounds combine inclusive features, bold design, and state-of-the-art function, creating fun for all.
Soft Play — Tripp’s Treehouse
- Facility Name: Tripp’s Treehouse—Lafreniere Park, Jefferson Parish
- City, State: Metairie, La.
- Type of Facility: Park/Rec outdoors
- Architectural Firm: Little Tikes Commercial, Unlimited Play, Soft Play
- Lead Architect Name: N/A
- Status: In Design
Opening soon in Lafreniere Park, Tripp’s Treehouse will stand as a powerful symbol of inclusion, imagination, and community partnership. Designed collaboratively by Little Tikes Commercial, Unlimited Play, and Soft Play, this destination playground invites children of all abilities to play, learn, and grow together in a space built for shared discovery and joy.
In Jefferson Parish, where one in 10 residents lives with a disability, Tripp’s Treehouse is designed to break barriers and celebrate every child’s right to play. The treehouse-inspired design will feature accessible ramps, elevated pathways, and sensory-rich play components that promote independence, creativity, and connection.
Beyond its physical design, the project embodies a broader mission—to foster belonging, encourage empathy, and strengthen community through inclusive recreation. Supported by local partners and generous donors, the $1-million playground demonstrates how thoughtful design and collaboration can transform public spaces into places where all families feel valued, welcomed, and inspired.
When complete, Tripp’s Treehouse will redefine play in Jefferson Parish and set a new standard for inclusive recreation across Louisiana.
Landscape Structures – Ford Woods Park
- Facility Name: Ford Woods Park
- City, State: Dearborn, Mich.
- Cost of Project: $500K+ (playground only)
- Playground Consultant: Penchura, LLC
- Status: Complete—Installed April 2025
Discover a world of local nature and inclusive play at Ford Woods Park in Dearborn, Mich., where children of all abilities can climb, play, and explore. This public city playground features custom animal climbers—a rabbit, a dragonfly, and a fish—that invite local wildlife to play through innovative design.
The dragonfly climber hugs the ground with peek-a-boo panels for eyes, cable-net climbing elements, and an Oodle® Swing beneath one wing. The fish climber invites explorers inside its hollow body, onto its wobbly tail steppers, or along exterior handholds for climbing challenges.
The geometric rabbit climber offers climbing inside its sculptural, angular frame, while the lake-grass-themed 12' Super Netplex® Tower includes slides, adjacent steppers, a Swiggle Stix® bridge, and net-climber, all that mimic waving reeds. Additional inclusive features like the We-Go-Round® and We-Saw® encourage cooperative play, while SkyWays® shade sails and rubberized surfacing ensure comfort and safety. Ford Woods Park combines natural inspiration, accessibility, and imaginative design for a playful, community-centered experience.
Landscape Structures – Loma Alta Park
- Facility Name: Loma Alta Park
- City, State: Altadena, Calif.
- Cost of Project: $500K+ (playground only)
- Playground Consultant: RecWest Outdoor Products, Inc.
- Status: Complete—Installed June 2025
Rebuilt after the devastating 2025 Eaton Fire in Los Angeles, Loma Alta Park in Altadena, Calif., celebrates community resilience with a vibrant, inclusive playground designed for children ages 2 to 12.
The towering Volo Aire™ features three exhilarating tunnel slides and has a central cable-net structure offering multiple activity layers and endless exploration routes. Complementing this amazing structure is the net-based Crab Trap®, with a slide and climbing challenges that provide a play option that is lower to the ground.
Inclusive highlights are the colorful rubberized surfacing, the wheelchair-accessible, multi-person We-Go-Swing®, and the next-generation We-Go-Round® merry-go-round, which ensure all children can play together.
The dedicated 2-to-5-year-old area showcases a PlayBooster® structure complete with sensory and imagination panels, a bridge, climbers, and a double slide.
A triple-bay swing set features the innovative hammock-like Flexx™ Swing alongside other swing seat options for various ages and abilities. SkyWays® shade structures provide crucial sun protection, while the bold design palette of golden yellow and bluebird blue creates an energizing, joyful atmosphere.
This playground represents more than recreation—it symbolizes community renewal and universal design excellence, welcoming every child to play, grow, and thrive together.
Landscape Structures – Live Oak Park
- Facility Name: Live Oak Park
- City, State: Temple City, Calif.
- Cost of Project: $500K+ (playground only)
- Architect: SWA Group
- Playground Consultant: RecWest Outdoor Products, Inc.
- Status: Complete—Installed June 2025
The stunning, colorful Live Oak Park playground in Temple City, Calif., isn’t only a place to play—it’s a cosmic adventure that's more like stepping into a science-fiction cartoon landscape that's unlike anything kids (or adults) have seen before. Designed with a bold, space-age theme, this destination playground rockets beyond ordinary play, transforming climbing, spinning, and swinging into an out-of-this-world experience.
Soaring overhead, custom SkyWays® shade structures sweep across the play space in a futuristic arc, casting dramatic shapes against the sky. Beneath them, young explorers dive into a universe of discovery: twin rocket-shaped PlayBooster® towers that launch imaginations sky-high, a Hedra® Scout for preschoolers with its geometric playscape, and angular Hedra® swing frames that push the limits of design. The exhilarating Global Motion® spinner and multiple swing designs ensure that every child, caregiver, and community member finds their place in the adventure. Even the safety surfacing adds to the drama—its bold colors and bumpy textures mimic the rocky surface of another planet.
As part of Temple City’s visionary renovations, Live Oak Park sets a new standard for epic, inclusive play—a playground where visitors of all ages and abilities can step into another planet while stepping into their local park.
Landscape Structures — Explorers Park
- Facility Name: Explorers Park
- City, State: Punta Gorda, Fla.
- Cost of Project: $500K+ (playground only)
- Playground Consultant: Rep Services, Inc.
- Status: Complete—Installed March 2025
This wetland-themed custom playground in Punta Gorda, Fla., is sure to impress with multiple one-of-a-kind play features! A bright-green custom alligator climbing structure is sure to draw oohs, aahs, and eager explorers. Made with geometrically shaped perforated metal panels, the Florida gator hides all sorts of fun play options, whether kids are exploring inside or climbing on the outside!
Follow the gator's open mouth to find a bright orange custom fish climber. With sensory panels and a shorter slide, this fish is ideal for preschool kids to play and explore at their own level.
What's more, a custom fishing boat playhouse adds to the wetland theme, as does the colorful pour-in-place surfacing depicting marshland. Lifelike GFRC farm animals and wildlife add a playful twist and enhance the local feel.
Freestanding play items such as the inclusive We-Go-Round® and the multi-person Oodle® Swing are great options for kids to find the motion they crave. And best of all, SkyWays® shade sails overhead ensure that the fun can continue on even the sunniest of days.
Landscape Structures – Palmetto Park
- Facility Name: Palmetto Park
- City, State: Punta Gorda, Fla.
- Cost of Project: $500K+ (playground only)
- Architect: Kimley-Horn Associates
- Playground Consultant: Rep Services, Inc.
- Status: Complete—Installed March 2025
This nature-themed custom playground in Punta Gorda, Fla., provides endless excitement for kids with treehouse-like play towers and bright green "limon"-colored play components that reflect the lush surrounding area.
A section for preschoolers ages 2 to 5 offers gross motor and sensory exploration to enhance early childhood growth. A crawl tunnel, slide, and sensory panels invite them to learn and challenge their bodies and minds, while a nearby Bobble Rider offers the vestibular movement they crave.
Two tall PlayBooster® towers constructed with Recycled Plastic Lumber give the appearance of a forest hideaway for children ages 5 to 12, and custom GFRC hollow log elements make the environment look and feel even more authentic. A thrilling Traveler Climber connecting the two towers offers risk-takers a fun challenge as they navigate the wobbly crossing high in the air.
A double-bay ZipKrooz® zipline with an inclusive seat option and a multiple-bay swing set makes the feeling of soaring through the treetops even more real. Looking to cool off on a hot day? An Aquatix splash pad is right next door.
Landscape Structures – Freedom Trail Park
- Facility Name: Freedom Trail Park
- City, State: Yukon, Okla.
- Status: Complete
Landscape Structures – Mike Yokel Park
- Facility Name: Mike Yokel Park
- City, State: Jackson, Wyo.
- Status: Complete
Burke — Marilyn’s Oasis
- Facility Name: Marilyn’s Oasis
- City, State: Green Bay, Wis.
- Status: Complete
For more than 130 years, Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay, Wis., has been a place where generations of families return to connect, play, and adventure. This legacy destination recently welcomed a vibrant new addition—Marilyn’s Oasis, a Burke® playground that redefines what an inclusive community play space can be.
One of the largest playgrounds in Wisconsin, Marilyn’s Oasis is the result of a strong collaboration between the City of Green Bay, dedicated local partners, and the Burke exclusive representative for Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Lee Recreation.
Named in honor of Marilyn Kress Swanson, daughter of Green Bay Packaging founder George Kress, Marilyn’s Oasis is more than a playground—it’s a place where everyone can discover the best of themselves through play.
The project came together through the support of generous partners, including the George Kress Foundation, McDonald’s Companies, Wisconsin Public Service Foundation, Friends of Bay Beach, and the City of Green Bay, which saw the need for an inclusive play environment and championed the project from the start.
Every inch of Marilyn’s Oasis was designed with inclusion in mind—and the result is a place where kids of all abilities can play together. With dedicated spaces for different age groups and features like the PlayHouse, Roller Slide, Burke PlayEnsemble® outdoor musical instruments, and Serenity Spot®, there’s something to engage and excite every child.
Marilyn’s Oasis invites children to push boundaries, explore safely, and grow through play. It’s more than just fun—it’s a community-powered play destination that brings people together and keeps them coming back for more.
Burke — Ashdown City Park
- Facility Name: Ashdown City Park
- City, State: Ashdown, Ark.
- Status: Complete
In Ashdown, Ark.—a small town with a big vision—the local park has become more than just a place to play. It’s now a dynamic training ground, a community fitness space, and a place where people of different ages and fitness levels can move together. Ashdown built something exciting and impactful—a Burke ninja-style course that’s redefining fitness.
Adding the new ELEVATE® Fitness Course adjacent to their existing Burke playspace at Ashdown City Park creates a destination where kids, families, and community members can gather for movement and play.
The ELEVATE Fitness Course brings ninja-style training to children 5-12 and everyone 13+ and combines challenge, play, and competition to help everyone gain fitness and confidence. Kids might race to ring the bell atop the Victory Wall. Parents take on the Doorknob Challenge and rediscover play. A 25-year-old might train for their next obstacle course race with a team of friends. Anything is possible.
For Ashdown and the people using the space, it’s about more than only play and fitness—it’s about building a community that moves together. When communities move together, it helps kids develop physical literacy—the competence, confidence, and motivation to stay active for life. It's about learning to move well, developing resilience, and celebrating small wins together every day as a community.
Ashdown’s course is proof that small towns can do big things—and that when a community invests in active play and fitness, it creates lasting impact.
Soft Play — Teddy and Friends Unlimited Play Inclusive Playground
- Facility Name: Queeny Park
- City, State: St. Louis, Mo.
- Cost of Project: $2.4M
- Type of Facility: Parks/Rec—outdoor
- Architectural Firm: Little Tikes Commercial, Unlimited Play, Soft Play
- Status: Complete
The Teddy and Friends Unlimited Play Playground at Queeny Park is a vibrant, inclusive destination where children of all abilities can play, connect, and thrive together. Developed through a partnership between Little Tikes Commercial, Unlimited Play, and Soft Play, and inspired by local advocate Erin Gooch’s mission to honor her son Teddy, the playground embodies the power of play without limits.
A whimsical, board-game theme brings color and creativity to every corner, while thoughtful features—soft rubber surfacing, wide ramps, saucer swings, and custom adaptive play structures—ensure that children with physical and developmental challenges can play safely and independently. Every design choice fosters side-by-side interaction, breaking down barriers and building a stronger sense of community connection.
Supported by St. Louis County and generous private donors, this project continues Unlimited Play’s legacy of compassion and innovation, transforming Queeny Park into a joyful symbol of inclusion and the boundless potential of play.
Soft Play — Fort Greely Family and MWR
- Facility Name: Fort Greely Family and MWR
- City, State: Fort Greely, Alaska
- Type of Facility: Army/recreation
- Architectural Firm: Soft Play & Northwest Playgrounds (regional playground company)
- Status: Complete
- Square Footage: Sky course area—1,025; Toddler area—888
- Number of Floors: Multi-level playground
In one of the most extreme climates in the U.S., Fort Greely Family and MWR now offers a warm, imaginative space where military families can play, connect, and recharge together. Designed and built by Soft Play in collaboration with Northwest Playgrounds, this new multi-level indoor playground transforms the challenge of Alaska’s long winters into an opportunity for year-round recreation.
Inspired by the success of a recent installation at nearby Fort Wainwright, the design accommodates a broad age range, featuring two distinct play zones: a 1,025-square-foot SkyCourse for older children and an 888-square-foot toddler area for the youngest adventurers. Together, they encourage exploration, imagination, and movement in a safe, weather-proof environment.
More than just a playground, Fort Greely’s installation underscores Soft Play’s commitment to bringing the power of play to all audiences, including military families who serve and sacrifice for our communities. By creating spaces where joy, connection, and resilience can flourish, Soft Play helps ensure that every family—no matter where they’re stationed—has a place to play.