Doyne Park

Doyne Park

Story Hill Neighborhood, Milwaukee

5300 W Wells Street

 

Doyne park is tucked between the Menomonee River and the Oak Leaf trail just north of Story Hill in Milwaukee. The park features a golf course and soccer golf course along with basketball hoops, its own parking lot, and a bathroom building.

With the Oak Leaf trail running through there are often bikers, pedestrians and plenty of dogs passing through. Lots of room to ride bikes around the paths or the paved space.

The playground is surrounded by shady trees, though the placement of the two benches is not ideal. The terrain under the playground is sand, which provides another entertaining piece, but can get hot in the summer.

There is a row of swings to one side, and a large playground structure with various slides and climbing options, including monkey bars and tunnels. While it has some neat spots for the youngest climbers, the bridge across the middle has high bars that offer minimal side support and can be hazardous for inexperienced children.

The playground equipment isn’t especially remarkable, but this park has a fabulous hiking path that takes you through the woods right along the Menomonee River, with several neat lookout spots and bridges. We love doing the full loop from the Oak Leaf trail around the hiking path and back to the park - and sometimes we’re lucky to glimpse a train going by or kayakers on the water. You can jump on the path from the Oak Leaf trail to the west, or head to the east end of the park and enter the trail through the wooded area just a short way off the path. Continue along the Oak Leaf trail and you’ll be at Jacobus Park. Two blocks south of Doyne park are some great restaurant options on Bluemound - Story Hill BKC, Caliente, and several sports bars.

Doyne park is also a great place to fly kites, or bring your sleds for some fun in the winter. The sledding hill is a nice size - not too high for the younger kids to climb but still a good ride down.

Bridge along the river hiking path

Bridge along the river hiking path

Sand

Space to ride around

Sledding hill

Hiking path along the river

Train view

Path along river

Kite flying

Swings

Monkey bars

Washington Park

 

Washington Park

Washington Park neighborhood, Milwaukee

1859 N 40th St, Milwaukee

Washington Park is an incredible treasure trove so packed with options that we can never get to them all in one trip. Located in the eponymous Washington Park neighborhood of Milwaukee, Washington Park is home to a branch of the Urban Ecology Center, a bandshell for outdoor concerts, a large lagoon, and an outdoor swimming pool, as well as seven different playground areas, paved walking paths, sports fields and picnic areas.

The park is nearly 135 acres, but it’s easily traversable by children. The paths throughout are paved, so we often bring bikes or scooters, and strollers or wagons for the younger ones can help to cover the distance.

The main large playground is at the intersection of Lisbon and Lloyd, just across from the Washington Park Library branch, though I recommend parking in one of the lots off 40th St and taking the path over. This playground is partially fenced, and features rubber playground terrain (as of 2021 there are several spots where the rubber is worn and crumbling - beneath the swings and around the merry-go-round especially).

The playground is large with lots of options for kids of all ages - all types of slides, rock walls, obstacle course type climbers, and several different ring and monkey bar sets. The center of the playground is designed to look like a tree which has cave-like hideaways tucked below. I love that even the large playground has ramp access, as well as bars that reach the floor along all the sides of the bridges and stairs so young children can’t fall.

There’s an additional smaller climbing structure with lower slides near the row of swings, and there are several spinning apparatus, including an old-school merry-go-round which is always a hit.

There are several benches and a few shade trees, but this play area definitely gets hot with full sun. For a shadier play experience, head to the series of six pocket parks located at the southeast end of the park. I like to park in the lot at 40th and Galena by the pool, and from there take the path in a loop to hit all six. These mini-playgrounds each feature an ecology-themed design along with informational signage exploring the topic.

Trees

Bees

Leaves

Butterflies

Mushrooms

Pond life

At the Trees, Nature’s Air Filter play area, kids can climb tree-shaped ladders, dangle from a web, shimmy up tree trunks and stumps, and duck into a log tunnel. Continue on to the Butterflies, the Magic of Metamorphosis zone where you can squeeze inside a caterpillar, spin around in a cocoon, or dangle from the webbed wings of a butterfly. Bees, Fantastic Farmers is the next landing spot along the loop, where you can perch on a bee, or crawl inside a giant honeycomb. When you check out the Leaves, Nature’s Paintbox area, you will scale a mountain, jump from leaf to leaf in a forest, and take a spin on a revolving leaf seat. My favorite section is the Mushroom, the Kingdom of Fungi one - even older kids and adults will get a good ride on the giant spinning mushroom. The littler ones can hop from mushroom to mushroom or crawl through a log tunnel. The final feature is Pond Life, a Busy Ecosystem. Scale the giant fish, teeter (or totter) on the dragonfly wings, or hop on for a frog ride.

If you’re done with the playgrounds, or just looking for some nature exploration, head to the lagoon area for a scenic nature walk. The park is teeming with wildlife - birds, frogs, bugs and plants of all sorts. There’s even a wide open step area below the bandshell where kids can poke into the water. The UEC has canoes and fishing gear (as well as snowshoes for the winter!) available.

In the summer, the Washington Park pool opens, offering a full size pool as well as a wading pool and splash pad. Head to the Milwaukee County website for more details on their eight outdoor pools and other aquatic options.

There are bathrooms in the Urban Ecology Center and the Pool when they are open, otherwise there are portable restrooms available in some areas. There are no benches near the pocket playgrounds, but there are picnic tables scattered throughout, and the area is well shaded with lots of trees. Parking is available in several lots as well as on the street. There is a city bus stop located right at the park entrance. Sports facilities availabe include baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis and bike polo. This park hosts concerts and other events as well as a variety of UEC programming regularly.