Sunday Funday Playground Crawl
Veteran’s Memorial Park, Aberdeen, New Jersey
May is such a busy month, so we decided to take advantage of a rare Sunday with no plans. We packed up the car and headed south. We planned to hit a few playgrounds on our way down the shore, do the beach and boardwalk for a bit, and then return home. Little did we know, the playgrounds would be a huge hit and we would never make it to the beach.
Suskin Park, 91 Haines Avenue, Piscataway, New Jersey
Our first stop was Suskin Park, located at 91 Haines Avenue, Piscataway, NJ. I could not get the “Suskin Park” to come up on my phone, so use this address for maps. The park is about 2 miles off Route 287, which makes it a great stop if you are traveling that route. There is a lot without about 15-20 spots located in the park. At first glance, you may assume it is a typical neighborhood park, but they have an extraordinary playground area and a fitness section, as well as basketball and tennis courts. This is a great park for older kids, as many of the climbing features are challenging. My 6-year-old loved it, as did the 3-year-old, but the little guy struggled to keep up with his brother on some parts. There is a smaller climbing structure meant for younger children, and he really enjoyed that. There is little shade, but both climbing structures have canopies in certain spots, and there is a covered gazebo with picnic tables if you need a break from the sun. There are also benches all along the perimeter of the playground section. If you are traveling Route 287 on a longer journey, or run into traffic, this is a great stop to get out and stretch your legs for a bit. Do note, there are no restrooms at this park, but there is a McDonald’s right down the street should you need to use the bathroom.
I packed a picnic lunch for the kids, which they opted to eat on the way to our next stop, as they didn’t want to miss any playtime. My husband and I ordered sandwiches from Marco’s Deli in nearby Metuchen, to enjoy at our next stop. They have online ordering and I was able to pull up front and grab them with no wait. We will keep this in mind for future trips down the shore, as it’s on the way, reasonably priced, and there is something about a good sub on the beach.
Veteran’s Memorial Park, Aberdeen, New Jersey
Our next stop was Veteran’s Memorial Park in Aberdeen. This park has two main play structures, both of which are pirate themed. There is also a spiderweb-style climbing structure. There is no shade here, but there is a large gazebo with some benches. They also have a gated splash pad that opens Memorial Day Weekend. It looks like a great spot to cool off in the summer. There are basketball courts, some covered picnic tables, and my favorite feature, an actual bathroom with running water. Granted, they have the prison-style metal toilets without seats, which is weird, but it was clean and there was soap at the sinks, so I’m not complying! On the exterior of the bathroom building is a water fountain with water bottle filling stations. I love to see these popping up at more and more locations. Unfortunately, it didn’t appear to be working when we were there. There is a small parking lot adjacent to the park. It was not even close to full on the day we visited, but I could see it getting packed once the splash pad is open. You have semi-obstructed views of the water here, but you get to enjoy the cool bay breeze.
Fireman’s Park, Union Beach, New Jersey
From Aberdeen, we went east to Fireman’s Park in Union Beach. This is a small park, located on a small boardwalk on the bay. While this is certainly not a destination park, it is perfect for smaller kids, as the play structure is geared toward the younger crowd. It’s not too high and the slides are on the smaller side. My 3-year-old was so happy here and although it’s geared toward smaller children, my 6-year-old and many other older siblings were enjoying the park as well. This is another park with no shade. There is a small swingset and a water fountain. It appears that some kind of water feature was recently removed. There were no signs indicating what would be added to that spot. There is a small parking lot next to the park with a porta-potty.
Teddy’s Playground at Victory Park, Rumson, New Jersey
Our final stop was Teddy’s Playground at Victory Park in Rumson. This was by far the busiest park we visited, but there was so much to do, it didn’t feel too chaotic. There is street parking alongside the park. There is also a restroom on site, which is always great. There is a large lawn with picnic tables, many of which were shaded by trees when we were there late afternoon. The play structures are primarily wooden, with several sets of monkey bars, swings, and plenty of places to climb and slide. My kids loved the small beach on the Navesink River. Once they noticed the beach, the playground was immediately abandoned so they could wade in the water, skip rocks and search for treasures (seaweed and mermaid’s purses). This was the perfect spot to splash and play in the late afternoon sun. My husband ran back to the car for the beach blanket and the sand toys and we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing while the kids played. Once they had enough sun and sand, the kids finished out the day with a little more time on the playground before we headed home.
This was such a fun way to spend a Sunday and our kids thought hopping from playground to playground was so much fun. Even though we didn’t make it as far as we had planned, we explored at our own pace, discovered some new to us spots, and enjoyed the day as a family. We are planning a similar splash pad crawl after Memorial Day and my kids cannot wait!
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