Gardner Park
North Side, Milwaukee
6632 W Hustis St, Milwaukee
Gardner Park, also known as 67th & Spokane Neighborhood Play Area, offers two complete and thrilling obstacle-course style equipment sections: one designed for older, larger children and one perfectly sized for smaller, younger kids. It’s the only local playground I’m aware of that offers a smaller size course of this type.
The park is in a residential neighborhood, bounded by 67th Street on the west, Hustis Street on the east and Spokane Street to the south, with a wooded area to the north. The playground sits at the corner of Hustis and Spokane, and you can park along either of these streets. A sidewalk along the perimeter and continuing into the park makes this play area a neighborhood destination, and allows easy access for strollers, wagons, bikes and other manner of wheeled conveyance. The playground terrain is wood chips throughout.
The south side of the playground is dedicated to the younger set. There is a row of swings (four standard, two infant) and a separate disc swing, along with a few seated spinners. The obstacle course begins with a low rock wall, transitions into a rope climber with zig zag then features a variety of geometric bars to traverse. Next comes a set of ropes with disc platforms, a series of curved horizontal bars, and several “end” options - a solid arched climber with holes, an arch with rope webbing, and a rope spinner with a disc platform. Nearby, a traditional climbing structure sized for toddlers and preschoolers offers a set of stairs up to a slide, and a rectangular sandbox is adjacent as well.
A sidewalk divides this section from the more complex and advanced older kid’s area. Two benches face each other at the center with trash cans nearby, but they are in direct sun on bright days, so you might want to bring a blanket a perch in the shade which is plentiful in the grassy area north and west of the playground.
Across the sidewalk is a similar obstacle course with upgraded features for older kids. A sheer rock wall leads into a set of suspended plastic triangle climbers, then mimics the geometric bar feature only in double the height. There are several high rope grids, multiple different styles of monkey bars, including the round kind that allows several children to cross simultaneously, more free-swinging ropes with disc platforms, spinners, rope bridges, arched climbers with foot and handholes, and a giant spiderweb climber. A second set of stairs leads to a much higher, curving slide nearby. Though this section is great for older, taller kids, it has some great features that allow precocious smaller kids to enjoy it as well, including footholds, ladders and handholds to allow kids to get up to the higher obstacles. The web climber has landing spots to perch on at different heights.
The park also offers a large grassy space filled with beautiful trees, and an exercise equipment section along the sidewalk path that’s an extra feature of interest for kids as well as useful for adults wanting to get a workout in. There are no bathrooms, water fountains or picnic tables available at this park.
