Highlights

• Best for ages 2 to 5
• Features include a playground, swings, ride on toys, play house, green space, and more
• The playground is fully fenced in!
• Very easy for a toddler to navigate

Playground

The playground at Dogwood Park was designed for ages 2 to 5, and it’s very easy for that age group to navigate without too much help. The main playground structure has several levels and slides, all which are connected by stairs – rather than something more difficult like a ladder.

There are several ride-on toys, as well as a row of swings. A cute little playhouse was added to the playground in 2022.

Other Features

On the other side of the playground fence, you’ll find a picnic shelter, a bell tower (where the bathrooms are!), and ball fields. There’s a small parking lot next to the playground, street parking, and another, larger lot further down.

At the back of the playground you will find another gate and steps leading down into the woods. Here you’ll find the old Boathouse that used to house boats and canoes for a lagoon over 200 years ago. You can read more about it here.

The Not So Greats

While Dogwood Park is a must visit if you’ve got a toddler, there are a few things I don’t love. The bathroom is all the way in the nearby bell tower, and it isn’t always open (during the winter). There are only a handful few parking spots right next to the playground. There is ample street parking and a larger lot further down, but it’s nice to be right next to the playground when you’re schlepping a bunch of little kid stuff with you.

Also, there is mulch thorough the playground. Mulch isn’t my favorite in general, but especially not with toddlers. And since the playground was designed for 2 to 5 year olds, there’s not much to do for bigger kids or babies.

Highlights

• Great for all ages
• Fully fenced in with one entry point 
• Features water play and a sandbox in addition to playground structures
• Parking garage located conveniently underneath the park and nearby streetcar stops
• Beautifully designed and landscaped with a mix of natural and artificial elements
• Manned by 3CDC staff member 
• Nearby sprayground and dog park

Overview

The Children’s Playground is located the southeast part of Washington Park. Designed to honor the rich history of Cincinnati, this half-acre playground is semi-shaded and offers a solid-surface ground throughout. No need to worry about mulch here!

Enter the playground through the large gate to find the canal and a shipwrecked canal boat in front of you. To the left are the restrooms, benches and picnic tables. Further in is the ruins play area with hills and valleys. To the right is a shaded area with swings and more benches. 

Back to the left, a deck walkway borders a nature area. Follow the deck to find the sandbox and musical toys. Continue along this path to reach the castle play structure at the back of the playground. 

There is a large parking garage underneath the park, as well as street parking nearby. You can also get to the playground by streetcar. Two streetcar stops are adjacent to the park.

The canal

At the front of the playground is a small canal that runs towards the front corner of the fence, ending near a canal boat. This feature pays homage to the Miami and Erie Canal that flowed down what is now Central Parkway nearly a century ago. The canal is separate from the nearby sprayground, and is the perfect spot to cool down your toes or watch a leaf boat race downstream.

The ruins area

In the heart of the playground is the ruins area. The highlight of this area is the large structure designed to look like a ruin for kids to climb and explore.

In the center is a large valley that is a blast to run down and up. Large stones designed for climbing or sitting also border the valley. Grippy solid surface rubber coats the ground in this area.

The swings are also in the ruins area. The swings sit under a row of large trees towards the edge of the playground. Two bucket swings and a saucer swing are nestled in their own alcove in an area covered by artificial turf. And look for a little library housed near the bucket swings.

The sandbox area

Take the deck walkway leading to the side of the playground closest to Race Street to find the sandbox. The sandbox is off the side of the deck, right across from the musical toys.

It’s not the largest sandbox, but it’s nicely landscaped with large boulders to play on. A small crew of kids could play here together quite comfortably.

What I like most about this sandbox are the facets stationed next to the sandbox to conveniently wash off sandy fingers and toes.

The castle

Way in the back of the playground is a castle structure for kids to climb and explore. The castle boasts two slides – one dual slide and one spiral tube slide, a rock wall, and a cool staircase.

To reach the castle, you must either scale the artificial turf hill leading up to the front of the castle or journey along the path from the sandbox and musical toys area.

Washington Park Sprayground

Washington Park boasts one of the largest spraygrounds in town. This interactive water park is 7,000 sq. ft. and runs from 10:00am to 10:00pm from April through October.

While the sprayground isn’t within the gates of the playground, it’s only a short walk away. You can find this water feature just up the path from the playground, in the center of Washington Park.

Don’t miss my complete guide to Cincinnati Splash Pads for a full list of places to cool down.

The bathrooms

When you gotta go, look for the family bathroom in the building next to the gate. If the family bathroom is closed, other bathrooms can be found around the other side of the same building, just outside of the playground gates.

The not so greats

The gate may be open. While the Children’s Playground is fully fenced in, the big gate is sometimes open. This is something to be aware of if your kid is a runner.

Few swings. There are only 3 swings at this playground, and there are no regular swings for older kids.

Not a lot for the littlest littles. A baby could happily crawl around in this playground or swinging on one of the bucket swings, but there aren’t any playground structures designed on the ground level for a baby to enjoy. (But don’t miss these other playgrounds that are perfect for baby.)

Big variety, but low volume. There’s a great variety of things to do – from water play to sand to swings to climbing to slides. But each area isn’t very large, and doesn’t keep kids engaged for long. We typically spend about an hour at this playground.