Benton Street Playground

This is a pocket park with newer equipment.  It is just off Emmaus Avenue.

Slides: 3 (1 twist, 1 double, 1 small double)
Bridges: 1 suspension
Tunnels: 0
Climbers: standard ladders, rock climber, wavy climber
Swings: toddler, regular
Other: cargo net, hand bike, balance beam

There are benches but no picnic tables.  Parking is in a lot.

This is a small playground near some apartment complexes.  The equipment was in decent shape, but there was a lot of graffiti, even on the benches.  If you have a child that can read, this probably isn't the park for you.

Here is a Google map of the location.
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Percy Ruhe Park

This is a medium-sized park with new equipment.  It is on South 24th Street, near Lehigh Street.  It is also referred to as Alton Park.

Slides: 3 (1 twist, 1 double, 1 small double)
Bridges: 1 rubber suspension
Tunnels: 1 mesh
Climbers: standard ladders, arch climber, snake climber, inverted arch, curly climber
Swings: regular
Other: overhead ladder, see saw, balance beam, hand & foot bike, zip line, cargo net

There are benches and picnic tables with a pavilion.  Parking is in a lot.

This park is partially shaded and has cool kids picnic tables that have letters and numbers in them.  There are no toddler swings, which is unfortunate because this is a really nice park.  It is well maintained and I never see much trash there, which is amazing because it is very heavily used since there are sports there, too.

Here is a Google map of the location.
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Websites for kids

If you have kids that love to learn and are looking for some sites that might be interesting, here are a few.  Feel free to add your favorites in the comments.

Activity TV has activities and printables
Cool Math has a wide variety of math games
Enchanted Learning has materials for educators that you can use at home
FunBrain has games, web books, info for teachers and a blog
KidsKnowIt has educational games, activities, printables and free online classes
National Geographic Kids has games, videos, activities and articles
Nickelodeon has games, videos, printables and music
PBS Kids has episodes of shows, educational games and printables
Sesame Street has games geared toward toddlers
Starfall has games to learn to read
ToonTown is by Disney and has some free and some paid games
Xoax has videos to help children learn colors, letters, numbers, math, shapes and other concepts
Yahooligans has games, music, jokes, sports, ecards, horoscopes and a parents' area
Ziggity Zoom has games, videos, stories, crafts and parents info

Breinigsville Park

This is a large park.  It is in Breinigsville, just off route 222 west of Allentown.

Slides: 9 (1 twist, 2 single, 1 tunnel, 1 small double, 2 small single, 1 double, 1 twist tunnel)
Bridges: 1 fixed, 1 suspension
Tunnels: 0
Climbers: chain ladder, snake climber, pommel climbers, rock wall, curly climber
Swings: toddler, regular
Other: checkers table, spring riders

There are lots of benches and two big pavilions with picnic tables.  Parking is in a lot.

We love this park.  There are four separate structures and it has a pirate theme.  Even when there are a lot of people at the park, it is so open that there is plenty of room to find other things to do.  There are also quite a few different play panels.

Here is a Google map of the location.
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Ott Street Park

This is a small park in West Allentown at the intersection of Ott St and East Texas Blvd.

Slides: 2 (1 single, 1 tunnel)
Bridges: 0
Tunnels: 1
Climbers: standard ladder, arch climber, snake pole
Swings: toddler, regular
Other: trapeze ring ladder

There are a few benches and a pavilion with picnic tables.  Parking is on the street.

There is a lot of space to run around at this park, but it is near the street and there is no fence between the park and the road.  The park is well maintained.

Here is a Google map of the location.
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Trout Creek Park

This is a medium-sized park with newer equipment.  It is just off Mack Boulevard / 8th Street.

Slides: 5 (1 twist, 1 double, 1 single, 1 double small)
Bridges: 0
Tunnels: 0
Climbers: standard ladders, arch climber, snake pole climber, rock climber
Swings: toddler, regular
Other: overhead ladder, overhead circular ladder

There are benches and picnic tables.  Parking is mostly along the street.

This park is all shaded and has potential to be a great park, but there was so much trash, we couldn't enjoy it.  My son was kicking trash out of the way to get to the equipment.  It is definitely the dirtiest park that we have been to in Allentown.  There were a number of people walking on a path in the park and it looked like it was nice.

Here is a Google map of the location.
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Clearview Park

This is a medium-sized park.  It is in Bethlehem, just off Pennsylvania Avenue.

Slides: 4 (1 triple, 1 single, 1 twist, 1 metal)
Bridges: 1 fixed
Tunnels: 2
Climbers: standard ladder, bent ladder, DNA climber, snake pole, clover climber, tread climber
Swings: toddler, regular, tire
Other: mountain wall, spring riders, monkey bars

There are a few benches.  Parking is on the street.

We liked that there were some different climbing options on the main structure here, but there was a lot of graffiti and the spring animals were fairly close to the road with nothing to stop kids from running out.  There also aren't many benches.

Here is a Google map of the location.
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Lone Lane Park

This is a large park that has a nice variety of equipment.  It is in the west end of Allentown.

Slides: 7 (1 spiral, 1 triple, 1 single, 3 small, 1 double)
Bridges: 2 (1 fixed, 1 suspension)
Tunnels: 0
Climbers: double side step climber,steel climbing wall, step pole climber, arch climber, curly climber, vine climber, rock wall climber, separate large rock wall
Swings: toddler, regular, tire
Other: zip line, floating stones, overhead wheels, split see saws, bouncer, trapeze overhead ladder, climbing rocks

There are a benches and picnic tables in the playground and also picnic tables in a pavilion.  Parking is in a lot.

This is a nice park with a good variety of things to do.  It is partially shaded, but the big slides are in direct sun in the mornings and they get very hot.  This park also tends to get very crowded.  There are some trails in the woods next to the park, too.

Here is a Google map of the location.
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Ricky Trail Park

This is a medium-sized park with new equipment.  It is just off Snowdrift Road west of the Turnpike entrance on Tilghman St.

Slides: 5 (1 twist, 1 high single, 1 single, 1 small, 1 double small)
Bridges: 1 fixed
Tunnels: 1 rock wall tunnel
Climbers: standard ladders, arch climber, rock climber, curly climber, vine climber
Swings: toddler, regular
Other: rock wall, see saw, overhead wheels, spring riders

There are benches and picnic tables with a pavilion.  Parking is in a lot.

We like this park a lot.  There is a good selection of slides, including one that is probably the highest around.  There is also a half tunnel that is a rock wall on the outside for kids to climb on.  There is a path that goes around the area for people that would like to walk.


Here is a Google map of the location.
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Green Acres Park

This is a small park that has a variety of equipment.  There is no central structure, everything is spread around the park.  It is in west Allentown near the Swain School.

Slides: 1
Bridges: 0
Tunnels: 0
Climbers: standard ladder, arch climber, chain ladder
Swings: toddler, regular
Other: monkey bars, merry go round, spring riders, see saws

There are a few benches and picnic tables in a pavilion.  Parking is on the street.

We like this park.  The swings and spring riders are in the shade.  It is typically pretty quiet and there is a fence.  The slide is fairly high, so it is good for older kids.

Here is a Google map of the location.
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West Catasaqua Playground

This is a medium-sized park with a combination of newer and older equipment.  It is near the Walmart on MacArthur Rd.

Slides: 4 (1 twist, 1 tunnel, 2 small)
Bridges: 0
Tunnels: 0
Climbers: standard ladders
Swings: toddler, regular
Other: large rock wall, monkey bars, zip line, fire truck climber, 8 spring riders, spring see saws

There are a lot of benches and picnic tables with a pavilion.  Parking is in a lot.

If you have a kid that likes rock walls or spring riders, this is the place for you.  There are a lot of benches in the shade, so it is great for sitting and watching the kids play.  Some of the spring riders are also in the shade.  The fire truck climber is not in great shape, but apparently still a lot of fun.

Here is a Google map of the location.
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Canal Street Park

This is a large park with mostly older equipment.  There is a huge wooden structure and other smaller ones throughout the park.  It is in Northampton on Canal Street.

Slides: 4 (1 double, 1 metal, 1 small, 1 very high metal)
Bridges: 2 (1 wooden fixed, 1 wooden suspension)
Tunnels: 1
Climbers: standard ladder
Swings: toddler, regular, tire
Other: 4-way bouncer, see saw, spring riders, merry-go-round

There are a benches around the park.  Parking is on the street.

This park would probably be great for older kids.  The wooden structure is definitely not designed for toddlers.  There are other things for younger kids, like the dinosaur slide, but good luck convincing toddlers not to climb up the ramp.

Here is a Google map of the location.
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