The playground at Honeygo Run Regional Park offers a fun place for kids to play while waiting for siblings who are attending rec center activities.
Welcome to “Let's Go Play,” a weekly series that looks at the playgrounds, play places, and play spaces around Maryland. Pretty much any fun, kid-focused play area will fall within the scope of this series, and before long, Maryland parents will hopefully have a wide range of possible new places to go when the kids say “Let's go play!”
The Details:
WHAT: Honeygo Run Regional Park
WHERE: 9033 Honeygo Boulevard, Perry Hall, Maryland 21128
COST: Free and open to the public
For the Kids:
Without being super-huge, this playground still has lots of fun to offer. There are two distinct structures—one for toddlers and one for older kids. The toddler equipment features four slides and easy-to-climb stairs, as well as a pretend fire truck for the little ones to “drive” and a corkscrew style fireman’s pole to spin down. It's all fairly low to the ground, making it perfect for most toddlers.
The larger equipment has a lot more going on with it. There are both large and small slides, and the larger ones come in both twisty and bumpy varieties. There are also multiple ways to climb, including a vertical ladder, stairs, a rock wall, and curved ladders. There are monkey bars and a zip line as well.
In addition to the climbing structures, the park features swings (four standard-style and two toddler-style) and two bouncy seesaws.
Image courtesy of Map of Play
For the Adults:
If you're looking for a shady spot to sit in during the heat of summer, you will likely find yourself against the wall of the rec center rather than in the middle of the playground. There are four benches for parents to sit on, but they are on either side of the walkway that bisects the playground, and there are no trees near them to provide shade. There are also nearby pavilions with picnic tables, but those are available by reservation only during the summer months.
The other drawback of the benches is that they are on the opposite side of most of the equipment from the parking lot. The playground has no fence, and while the parking lot is across a sizable stretch of sidewalk, a speedy toddler might make it there if a parent was distracted by other kids.
So bring sunscreen and hats (for everyone), and if you're planning on camping out for long, you might consider bringing your own chair or blanket and claiming the shade of a tree.
The playground and some of the adjacent fields are lit at night by overhead lights, though the one directly above the playground often flickers off and on. The equipment on the playground is well-maintained and generally very clean, and since it is mostly plastic, it doesn't get as hot as metal equipment would in the summer sun. Finally, the surface of the playground area is mulched wood chips.
Other Considerations:
Aside from the playground, the Honeygo Run Regional Park offers space for many other activities. There is a walking/running trail, assorted ball fields, and even a dog park. The White Marsh Rec Council offers classes and activities in the rec center, and there are clean, well-maintained bathrooms inside the building. There are also multiple water fountains along the trail, including one very close to the playground. There is a large parking lot, though it can fill up when there are multiple activities happening on the fields and in the rec center.
Is this one of your favorite playgrounds or is there another you'd like us to cover? Let us know in the comments.
