Baker Park, Upper St. Clair

Today’s featured playground is a quaint little playground in Upper St. Clair.  It is very easy to find by car and is also accessible from a walking trail that connects the park to the Morton Field Complex.

Baker Park, 1434 Morrow Road, Upper St. Clair

This is a really sweet little playground that my kids really enjoy.  We’ve visited it a couple times so far and each time my toddler finds something new to occupy her attention!

This playground features:

• two regular swings and two infant swings
• a three-piece crawl-through tunnel
• a three-seat spring bouncer
• a climbing apparatus, accessible by climbing platforms or a bungee ladder
• two slides; one straight, one slightly curved
• a sandbox
• port-a-potty
• picnic pavilion

My thoughts on this playground:

• My seven month old enjoyed this playground because it had an infant swing.  He’s not too picky, and would give this playground 5 out of 5 stars.
• My toddler LOVES this playground.  She enjoys the broken apart tunnel and the low, easy to climb platforms.  The slides are short and not too scary for her.  She likes bouncing on the spring bouncer.  She can swing side-by-side with her brother.  And what’s not to love about a sandbox?  But her favorite thing about this park is all the little extra details.  There’s a windmill feature she likes to put woodchips in and watch them twirl to the ground.  There’s a spinning bowl she can put the woodchips in too, and watch the chips fly when she spins the bowl.  Every time we visit this park something new fascinates her.  She would definitely give this park 5 out of 5 stars.
• I think this park is just adorable.  It seems designed for the younger child and I love seeing my daughter discover some new feature every visit.  The park has a pavilion that offers shade, in addition to the shade from surrounding trees, and the sandbox is covered, too.  There’s a water fountain and port-a-potty, should the need arise for either of those.  The park is well-maintained with no litter or vandalism present.  There’s also ample parking available, with a paved path leading down to the playground.  I would give this playground 4.5 out of 5 stars, simply because I wish the sandbox wasn’t RIGHT THERE next to the playground.  Playing in the sand adds quite a bit of clean-up time, and many times, with two under two, when it’s time to go, it’s TIME TO GO and we don’t have the extra 5 minutes to clean sand out of every nook and cranny.  (Tip: Keep baby powder in the car; it works like a charm at getting sand off of skin!)  That’s my only complaint about this park, and it’s a pretty nit-picky one.  We will definitely visit this park again!

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