Playground Hopping

Have you been as stir crazy this year as I have been? It seemed like the cold weather just didn't want to let go. Well, now that the  snow is gone (and hopefully we won't see any more) all I can think about is how nice it will be to get out of the house! I love going for walks or bike rides with my kids, or even taking a nice leisurely drive.

But this rain! We have all been cooped up in the house, waiting for everything to dry out. And while the rain does have its perks, like raising the river levels for White Water Rafting, and making the Waterfalls gush, I decided I had to take the kids out and do something.

So, we traded our sneakers for rain boots and made it a plan to hit every playground from Speculator to Morehouse —  no matter how wet we got! 
We started the day out at Mountain Market, gassing up the car and the kids. Had to make sure we had plenty of snacks to stay energized! Then it was on to our first playground.

Speculator Ball Field 

Kids at Speculator Playground
Kids at Speculator Playground

First up was the playground at the Speculator Ball Field and Pavilion. This is also the home of the Sacandaga River Pathway, a fantastic walking path just behind the ball field. Another attraction here is Route 66, a small "community" of buildings modeled after a gas station, a post office, and more. At this point, the kids were still dry and ready to go! So I set them loose on the playground to burn off some energy. They played on the slides for a while, getting soaked in the mean time. Then we walked around checking out the little buildings. My daughter had quite a scare when she got to the barber shop; there are two men inside, which my daughter didn't realize were mannequins!  

Lake Pleasant School 

Kids at Lake Pleasant Playground
Kids at Lake Pleasant Playground

Next up on our rainy adventure was the playground at Lake Pleasant Central School. This playground is basically brand new, erected sometime in the last couple of years. My daughter gets to play on it all the time, but it is somewhat of a treat for my son because he isn't in school yet. He loves playing with the tractor toy and digging in the dirt! My daughter is the monkey of the family and loves to climb on everything. We didn't stay here as long, because the rain started falling even harder.

Piseco School 

Kids at Piseco Playground
Kids at Piseco Playground

Although this location no longer functions as the Piseco school building, the district offices are still housed within the building, as well as a small gym, a library, and the municipal offices for the town. There is also still a fantastic playground around back that has lots of great vintage playground toys, some that are the same ones I played on 20 years ago! There are a couple of metal slides, a merry-go-round, and a huge play fire truck. It brought back a lot of memories being there with my kids. 

Piseco Airport 

Kids at Piseco Airport Playground
Kids at Piseco Airport Playground

Did you know that there is an airport in Piseco? Neither did my kids! It is a very small airport, but a pretty neat thing to have in such a small town. There is also a great airport-themed playground onsite. There is a helicopter, an airplane rocker, and even a steering wheel that controls a propeller at the top of the playground. While we were here, it began to downpour! But the kids didn't care - they were having too much fun.  We had hoped to see a plane, but between the weather and the time of year I figured it was unlikely.

Morehouse Rec Center 

Kids at Morehouse Playground
Kids at Morehouse Playground

Our next and final stop on our rainy day play date was the playground at the Morehouse Rec Center. This place is a great, little-known secret. It is located just off of Route 8 in Morehouse. There is a cute little pond in the front where they hold a fishing derby every July. They also have a basketball hoop and horseshoe pits. It is my kids favorite playground, which is lucky for me because it is one of the places that is close to home! The kids played for a while here, but they were fading fast. They were soaked right through, so we packed up and headed home. 

It was a memorable day for sure. We got home and changed into some cozy jammies and snuggled up for the night. While a rain-filled playground day might not be everyone's idea of fun, I would recommend to anyone with kids - especially those camping in the region and looking for a short side trip -  to make sure they check out these playgrounds! It seems, rain or shine, they are a hit! I hope to make it further north to maybe Indian Lake or Inlet to check out their playgrounds next!