2011 Updat: Franklin's new playground is up and running.  It's got a great design for groups of multiple age kids, with smaller equipment for little kids and more challenging/spinning/climbing equipment for older kids.  Nice swings, too.  Franklin is a great park, go check it out.

2010 Update: Franklin's wading pool is still alive and kicking. The playground needs some help and will receive an update ahead of the rest of the park renovation, hopefully this summer. Franklin's still a great place to go for a wading pool, picnic shelter, Summer Playground Program and USDA free summer meals, but don't come for the playground.

Yesterday, we drove over to "Lots for Tots" expecting to find a park, what we found was grass that looked like it hadn't been mowed this season and a less than halfway finished playground. I guess I should have found this page before we left.

Since that didn't work out, we drove almost all the way home to Franklin Park, a pretty spot with wide open spaces, a Big Toy, and a community garden. There are big plans for this park, including replacing the wading pool with a sprayground. (For this year, the wading pool at Franklin will open on the 25th, along with the Playground Program.) Some folks hope for something even bigger, the restoration of a historic lake that used to be a popular swimming hole.

The existing Big Toy is great for school-aged kids, it's a got a real speedy slide and plenty of things to hang from. The park also has a basketball court, baseball diamond, and a picnic shelter.

Franklin Park
South 12th and South Puget Sound
Tacoma