Universal City Park

Location: 305 North Blvd, Universal City, TX 78148

Amenities:playground, swings, tunnels, pavilion, picnic tables, basketball

Ground cover: Sand

I don't think I have any closer pictures of the play structure, but it has some pretty cool and unique parts.  There is a zipline type sliding thing at one end.  The preschoolers were able to hold on to it really well and we gave them a big push. It was a big hit.  One was able to do it all by herself, but young kids will definitely still need help getting down!  I imagine it is popular among older kids too.  There are also some slides and a bridge that bounces on the play structure.

There are monkey bars (hard to see with that sun! This part is obviously not shaded.)

There are swings; two for older kids and two bucket swings.  I'm tagging it as toddler friendly only because of the bucket swings.  Also there are two cement tunnels.

One of these bouncy things again...

And this climbing arch was a big hit.  It was a pretty fun park, but shade was really limited so I wouldn't want to be there in the heat of summer.

North Converse Park

Location: 8200 Spring Town St, Converse, TX 78109

Amenities: volleyball, basketball, football, soccer, fishing, wildlife (birds), playgrounds, swings, restrooms, bbq, picnic tables, pavilion

Ground cover: sand, wood chips

This place is HUGE.  We got to see a lot of it because we ended up parking by the lake, not knowing that the play structure that is most age appropriate for preschoolers was pretty much on the other side of the park.  It wasn't too bad of a walk, and thankfully the child in question was willing to walk and not be carried.  On the plus side, we got to get up close and personal with some swans.

I wish we had brought something to feed them.  There were also some ducks hanging around looking for handouts :)

 This play structure is closest to the lake.  It seemed like it would be fun for my 3.5 year old as we approached.

 Then I realized half of it was really high up monkey bars.

There is ONE slide on it.  So if you can't reach the monkey bars, you basically can go up stairs or a ladder and go down this one slide.  It would probably be a lot of fun for someone older who could reach those bars. 

She did really enjoy climbing the big rocks that were around that playground.  I think I took this picture to show the pavilion in the background.

There are quite a few volleyball courts.

Here is the playground that is better suited for toddler/preschoolers.  It has a parking lot as well so you don't have to walk across the whole place.  It's actually the first lot on the way in, we just kept going to see what else was around.

There are two sets of swings.  Sixteen swings altogether!  The swings have sand underneath and my 3.5 year old thought it would be a great place to build a sand castle (I should probably take that poor child to an actual beach).  So just know that's there.

And this.  We had one of these growing up and I have not seen one since.  I don't know what it is technically called.

See saws!  This park has it all.

But this was her favorite part.  She had to ride on each one.  Even though some are duplicates.  All in all, this part of the park was really toddler friendly.  There were so many things to play on that it would be great for large groups.

Pickrell Park

Location: 703 Oak St, Schertz, TX 78154

Amenitites: baseball, basketball, pavilion, restrooms, playgrounds, concessions, picnic tables, pool

Ground cover: wood chips

This park is enormous, and my three year old could easily spend all day playing here.  In fact, we spent most of our time on the large playground, and really only did a quick walk by of all the rest for pictures.  There is a lot to do for all ages here, although some of the stuff that is best for the very little kids is quite far from what I consider the main playground.  Something to keep in mind if you have a bunch of little ones with you.

Here's the pool with its awesome-looking slide (we haven't actually used this pool so I can't review it.  But my guess would be fun and probably crowded during the summer.  Feel free to check it out and get back to me.)

Large pavilion with basketball hoops and concession stands.

There are three separate structures at the "main" playground.  This is the most toddler friendly of the three.  You can access all the slides from the stairs and it's not super high up.

Here's another structure. Obviously taller, but the slides can also all be accessed by stairs, so toddlers and preschoolers can manage well.

There i also a really impressive rock climbing wall.  Which makes up for this one...

Maybe they should just take that down??

 This is the third structure.  Lots of fun things going on here, and it extends past the picture with some monkey bars too.  The first time we came to this park my daughter was 18 months or so, and she couldn't access most of these slides because you can't get to all of them without some climbing (that she kind of still can't do two years later...but other preschoolers can totally manage it).

To get to all but one of the slides on this structure you have to climb up these things.

 There' another, smaller, playground a the south end of the park.  It's a great size and just the right level of challenge for younger kids and toddlers. Probably not challenging enough for school age children.

Whee!

 Then if you head north and west (across the drainage ditch, which is generally empty and easy to cross as long as it isn't storming like crazy) you will find the swings.  They are far enough away that you can't really see them from the big playground, so your kids will actually run around inside of just sitting on a swing begging to be pushed (unless of course you walk alllll the way over there like we did).  There's also a parking lot on this side, in case you really are just there for the swings.

 There's even an extra set of bucket swings. 

 There's another little toddler-friendly playground over here, right by the swings.

 It also has a few more challenging things to climb on for preschoolers.

 And another pavilion.  I didn't count how many there are total. But there were a lot.  And tons of picnic tables throughout the park. Maybe next time we will bring lunch!

On the same side of the drainage ditch as the swings, we saw (and of course slid down) one stand alone slide.  Then it was time to go! 

Niemietz Park

Location: 618 FM78 Cibolo, TX 78108

Amenities:Baseball field, Basketball court, Football field, grills, kitchen, meeting room, pavilion, picnic tables, playground, restroom, soccer field, volleyball, walking trails,

Ground cover: wood chips

I have had these pictures on my phone for over a year now.  I really meant to put them up right away. But life happened.  So now I am looking at these pictures of  my child and her friends and remembering how super small they were when we visited Niemietz!  This awesome park is just off 78, but you may not even notice it when you drive by.  We had all been enjoying some coffee at Emily's Place and no one felt like heading back home, so we took a quick drive down the road to Niemietz.  There's a lot going on at this park, but our two year olds were only concerned with the playground. 

Here is the main playscape from a few different angles.  It is very toddler friendly, and partially shaded by a tree. It's probably not very exciting for school aged kids.

There are a few bouncy, ride-on things. 

And these interesting structures to climb.  These were a little too challenging for our group, but look like a lot of fun for kids who are older.

 This part also was a little too challenging for the toddlers, but preschoolers and school aged kids would enjoy rock wall, stepping stones, and the climbing rungs. 

She tried.

There are sling swings, a bucket swing, and one accessible swing.

And a stand alone slide!

This was a really short tunnel to nowhere and I believe there were some drums or something else slightly musical also attached to this part of the playground.