Tucker Park
Hey Everybody! Today I’m giving my overview of Tucker Park located at 101 B Ave. in Hiawatha, IA.
This park features a splash pad, two different sizes of playground structures, two pavilions, and some nice shady picnic spots.
Other Features: Tucker park has a trail, a swing set near the smaller play structure with baby swings and accessible swings, another swing set a little ways away from the play structures with one of the old-school ‘merry-go-round’ spinning features near it as well. (I don’t know about you, but I loved those things growing up. I don’t think they make them anymore, though, at least not like they used to. It’s probably a safety thing, but I still miss having them on every playground.)
Toddler-Friendly Elements: The small play structure and splash pad are great for smaller kids. (Too bad I didn’t get a great photo of the smaller playground this time!) It’s worth mentioning that there is mulch as the surface underneath the smaller playground, so I just be prepared for that ahead of time if your toddler is one that likes to eat or throw mulch!
How to Get There: The first time I went to Tucker park, my GPS took me to a dead-end road on a residential street at one edge of the park. I turned around and found my way around to the small parking lot near the splash pad. If you’re trying to get to Tucker park, drive like you’re going to the Hiawatha library, but turn the opposite way of the library onto Willman street from Center Point Road. If you keep going, you’ll see the play structures at the end of the road.
Parking: There is on-street parking next to the play structures and a small parking lot near the splash pad. It’s a very quiet street, though, so there’s always been parking available when I’ve been there and I’m not too worried about traffic on the road near the playground.
Splash Pad Info: The splash pad at Tucker park is one of my kids’ favorites. It’s away from the road and small enough that I can watch the kids play from the grass. Most of our experiences with the Tucker Park splash pad have been good ones. If the splash pad is not on when you get there (during splash pad season, which I believe is Memorial Day to Labor Day), just put a hand on the top of the fire hydrant to make it start.
Restrooms: There are typical park bathrooms attached to one of the pavilions. Single-stall, metal toilet and concrete floor, pretty dark in there. It’s slightly too far for convenience from the splash pad, but still usable if you’re there at the splash pad. It’s close and convenient when utilizing the large play structure and pavilions.
Shade: There are a few shady trees and the 2 pavilions offer shade as well. There are a couple shade sails on top of the large play structure.
Picnicability: Did just make that word up? Probably. But I like it, so I’m sticking to it. We have picnicked many times at Tucker park beneath one of the trees by the splash pad in the summer and at one of the pavilions this fall. It is very conducive to picnics. Just plan to take your own trash out with you when you leave!
Surface: The surface of the splash pad is your regular splash pad surface. There is mulch beneath the smaller play structure and big rubbery black squares beneath the larger play structure. There is lots of grass surrounding the play areas and nice wide sidewalks as well.
Accessibility: Like I said, there are nice wide sidewalks around the play structures which are wheel-friendly. There are ramps to some of the features of the larger play structure. It also has one of those big boat-like things that rock back and forth. I think they’re sometimes called Aero-Gliders, but I’m not sure if that’s a specific brand name. There’s also at least one swing with an accessible chair. (By the way, if anyone has more experience than I do with the names and functions of various accessible playground equipment, we should get together sometime because I’d love to know more and make sure I’m giving accurate descriptions in these posts!)
Pros: The sight lines at Tucker park are pretty good for the amount of stuff they have. There are a couple places kids can hide in the larger play structure. The splash pad is one of our favorites in the summer and the shade trees are a big plus, especially with so much of our tree coverage lacking post-derecho.
Cons: While it’s a very quiet street, the larger play structure and pavilion are pretty close to a street, which can be a hazard for kids who like to run off. It can also be hard with multiple kids if they want to go multiple directions and do various activities since the features are pretty spread out.
Overall, we love Tucker park and it’s a perfect spot to go have a picnic before or after a library program at the Hiawatha library! (If you haven’t checked out the Hiawatha library programs in a while, you are totally missing out!)
Have you been to Tucker park? What did you think?
