Where can you find inclusive playgrounds in the Fox Valley and beyond?
The weather is warming up, and parents may be looking for places for their kids to play. That includes parents with kids with a variety of physical, mental and emotional abilities — and that's where inclusive playgrounds come in.
Inclusive playgrounds are meant for children with a wide range of physical, mental and emotional abilities to play together.
More and more communities are seeing the value in creating these kinds of spaces, even though inclusive features on a playground can be more expensive than traditional playground equipment.
Common inclusive features at playgrounds can include poured-in-place rubber surfacing, ramps, adaptive swings, communication boards and others.
A number of these projects are in the works, namely one at Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay, La Follette Park in Kaukauna, Verhagen Park in Kimberly and Highlands Elementary School in Appleton.
We drove throughout the Fox Cities, Oshkosh and Green Bay to find as many playgrounds with inclusive features as we could. Here's what we found.
Playgrounds near Oshkosh, Appleton and Green Bay with inclusive features
Northeastern Wisconsin already has a slew of playgrounds designed specifically to be inclusive. There are even more playgrounds that aren't branded as inclusive but have inclusive features.
To see the playgrounds on an interactive map, visit bit.ly/FoxValleyInclusivePlaygrounds.
We put both types of these outdoor playgrounds on a map, along with the features they offer. That way, before families visit a playground, they can have an idea as to whether it meets their children's needs. We've also noted whether the playground is at a school or in a public park, which can affect when they're open to the public.
Please note that this is not a comprehensive map; not every playground with inclusive elements may be on the map, and a playground may have more accessible or inclusive features than are listed. Click on each symbol to learn more about the features.
We plan to update the map this summer as more playgrounds with inclusive features open. For now, let us know if we are missing your favorite playground with inclusive elements by sending an email to [email protected] or [email protected].
Here's a list of inclusive playgrounds in the Fox Cities, Oshkosh and Green Bay
Please note that this list is not exhaustive and may not include every possible inclusive feature.
Parks specifically designed to be inclusive:
Pamperin Park, 2801 Brown County RK, Green Bay
Resch Miracle Field, 1650 Libal St., Green Bay
Robert Cloud Memorial Playground at the CP Center, 2801 S. Webster Ave., Green Bay.
Voyageur Park, 100 William St., De Pere
Emmanuel Lutheran Inclusive Community Playground, 349 N. Main St., Seymour
Plamann Park, 1375 Broadway Drive, Appleton.
Universal Playground at Appleton Memorial Park, East Witzke Boulevard, Appleton
Washington Park, 631 Winneconne Ave., Neenah
Menominee Park, Hazel Street and Merritt Avenue, Oshkosh
Oshkosh Inclusive Park - South Park, 659 W. South Park Ave., Oshkosh
Bay Beach Amusement Park's Inclusive Playground, 1313 Bay Beach Rd., Green Bay
Jefferson Park, 915 Third St., Menasha
La Follette Park, 402 Brill St., Kaukauna, was designed to be accessible
Parks and schools with five or more inclusive features:
VFW Park, 730 Grant St., De Pere
Hortonville Elementary School, 240 Warner St., Hortonville
Greenville Elementary School, W6822 Greenridge Drive, Greenville
Dr. H. B. Tanner Elementary School, 2500 Fieldcrest Drive, Kaukauna
Electa Quinney Elementary School, 2601 Sullivan Ave., Kaukauna
City Park, 500 E. Franklin St., Appleton
Jaycee Park, 1200 S. Jefferson St., Appleton
Pierce Park, 1035 W. Prospect Ave., Appleton
Vosters Park, Ashbury Drive and Sourapple Drive, Appleton
Highlands Elementary School, 2037 N. Elinor St., Appleton
Huntley Elementary School, 2224 N. Ullman St., Appleton
Janet Berry Elementary School, 3601 S. Telulah Ave., Appleton
Gegan Elementary School, 675 W. Airport Road, Menasha
Horace Mann Elementary School, 1021 Oak St., Neenah
Congress Ave Tot Lot, 1410 Beech St., Oshkosh
Westhaven Circle Park, 1625 Westhaven Drive, Oshkosh
Read Elementary School, 1120 Algoma Blvd., Oshkosh
High Cliff State Park, N7630 State Park Rd. in Sherwood, has an accessible playground in the Upper Park area
Parks with some inclusive features:
Braisher Park, 630 N. Winnebago St., De Pere
Jim Martin Park, 255 Libal St., De Pere
Legion Park, 1212 Charles St., De Pere
Optimist Park, 801 Cook St., De Pere
Patriot Park, 1101 Colleen Lane, De Pere
Sand Acres Park, 3687 Misty Meadow Lane, De Pere
Doyle Park, 100 Van Buren St., Little Chute
Van Lieshout Park, 721 W. Elm Drive, Little Chute
Treaty Park, 508-200 E. Maes Ave., Kimberly
Van Daalwyk Park, 1320 W. Third St., Kimberly
Arrowhead Park, 5000 Aster Lane, Appleton
Derks Park, 3220 Guyette Drive, Appleton
Erb Park, 1800 N. Morrison St., Appleton
Green Meadows Park, 65 Pheasant Court, Appleton
Hoover Park, 600 E. Roeland Ave., Appleton
Jones Park, 301 W. Lawrence St., Appleton
Kiwanis Park, 2315 N. Nicholas St., Appleton
Lions Park, 1920 S. Matthias St., Appleton
Lions Park - Grand Chute, 3155 N. Longwood Lane, Appleton
Lutz Park, 1320 S. Lutz Drive, Appleton
Palisades Park, 2525 Theresa Ave., Appleton
Prairie Hill Park, 2901 N. Abendroth St., Appleton
Providence Park, N. Providence Ave., Appleton
Telulah Park, 1300 E. Newberry St., Appleton
Town Center Park, 1900 Grand Chute Blvd., Appleton
Veterans Park, 1208 S. Memorial Drive, Appleton
Woodland Park, 1815 Schaefer Circle, Appleton
Butte Des Morts Park, 301-373 Frances St., Menasha
Clovis Park, 974 Ninth St., Menasha
Fritsch Park, 1651 Sandys Lane, Menasha
Palisades Park, 2525 Theresa Avenue, Menasha
Wittmann Park, 920 W. Airport Road, Menasha
Anunson Farm Park, 2085 Big Bend Drive, Neenah
Apple Blossom Playground at Neenah Memorial Park, 1175 Apple Blossom Drive, Neenah.
Baldwin Park, 897 Baldwin St., Neenah
Castle Oak Park, 2696 Marathon Ave., Neenah
Fritse Park, 937 N. Lake St., Neenah
O'Hauser Park, 1986 Oleary Road, Neenah
Riverside Rocket Playground, 147 N. Park Ave., Neenah
Schildt Park, 1780 Cold Spring Road, Neenah
Southview Park, 200 W. Bell St., Neenah
Fugleberg Park, 2000 Doty St., Oshkosh
Stoegbauer Park, 6th Avenue and Idaho Street, Oshkosh
Roe Park, 408 Washington Ave., Oshkosh
Schools with playgrounds that have some inclusive features:
Chappell Elementary School, 205 N. Fisk St., Green Bay
Jackson Elementary School, 1306 S. Ridge Road, Green Bay
Sullivan Elementary School, 1567 Deckner Ave., Green Bay
North Greenville Elementary School, N2468 Learning Way, Greenville
Park Community Charter School, 509 Lawe St., Kaukauna
Victor Haen Elementary School, 1130 Haen Drive, Kaukauna
Horizons Elementary School, 2101 Schaefer Circle, Appleton
Johnston Elementary School, 2725 E. Forest St., Appleton
Spring Road Elementary School, 1191 Winnebago County II, Neenah
Tullar Elementary School, 925 Tullar Road, Neenah
Emmeline Cook Elementary School, 1600 Hazel St., Oshkosh
Oaklawn Elementary School, 112 Viola Ave., Oshkosh
Oakwood Elementary School, 1225 N. Oakwood Road, Oshkosh
Roosevelt Elementary School, 910 N. Sawyer St., Oshkosh
More inclusive playgrounds: Inclusive parks are for everyone: Some accessible playgrounds to visit in Wisconsin
Madison Lammert covers child care and early education across Wisconsin as a Report for America corps member based at The Appleton Post-Crescent. To contact her, email [email protected] or call 920-993-7108. Please consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible gift to Report for America by visiting postcrescent.com/RFA.
Rebecca Loroff is a K-12 education reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. She welcomes story tips and feedback. Contact her at 920-907-7801 or [email protected]. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @RebeccaLoroff.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Inclusive playgrounds in Appleton, Oshkosh and Green Bay