Murphy Playground

The John E. Murphy Playground is the kind of playground that explains (partly) why I started this project - within easy walking distance of my home, great place to take my kids, yet I never knew it was there. This is a fully-enclosed park with two separate playground areas, a sprinkler, a basketball court, and a large grassy area. Like the Rose Garden, it appears to be a playground where people will leave used toys, so there are a bunch of riding toys for kids to use, and even a water table in the sprinkler - which, based on my kids' reaction, is an unexpectedly brilliant idea.

Pierce School Playground

Pierce School Playground is another nice, medium-sized school playground, with a fully-enclosed toddler area + several sandboxes, a larger play structure, a sprinkler, and a field. There's also a fairly steep hill that proactive kids might make good use of. Despite being adjacent to two very busy streets (one entrance is from School Street, another from Harvard Ave right off Harvard St), this is a quiet, pleasant oasis, at least when school is not in session. There are lots of trees, some older-growth, which both provide shade and make this playground very peaceful and pretty.

Clark Playground

Clark is a super-cool playground; every structure in it is different from the usual - from the inground sprinklers with fancy water tables to the spiderwebby climbing structure for older kids to the multi-kid seesaw. It's not huge, but it's interesting enough to be worth a special trip. (I walked, but it looked like there was plenty of parking on the two side streets that lead into the playground off Cypress St.) Decently well-shaded in the afternoon, but almost no shade in the morning.

Margaret E Robinson Playground

Margaret E Robinson Playground is a small, pretty playground perched at the edge of a huge field/dog park. There's no fence between the field and playground, which can be either a plus or minus depending on your children's feelings about dogs. (My toddler was so busy running after dogs he couldn't be bothered with any of the playground equipment.) The playground itself has a toddler-sized climbing structure, swings, and sprinklers. There's also an enclosed concrete area off to the side that, when I was there, was being used by kids for skateboard and scooter practice.

Lincoln School Playground

Lincoln School Playground is another school playground I've only visited during the summer. It has an upper playground that, as far as I can tell, is accessible only via a set of steep stairs, and a lower playground (right inside the entrance to the Brookline Music School) that is geared toward older kids, with several interesting types of monkey bars. There’s also a sprawling field and a basketball court. Almost no shade, especially in the lower playground, but otherwise very enjoyable.

Coolidge Playground

Coolidge Park, an easy walk from Harvard Street, has a great playground with a "volcano sprinkler" (my kids inform me that's what it's called), a toddler section with a sandbox, and an older-kid section with some cool and unusual equipment. Kind of free-range with the different areas separated from each other by trees. Also has a field, tennis court, and basketball court.

Peterborough Street Playground

Today we trekked out to Peterborough Street Playground, near the Landmark Center. It's cute, well-kept, and tiny - my toddler had a great time but my older kids needed jump ropes and chalk pretty fast. It's down the street from Ramler Park (also pictured) - not a playground, but very pretty, with paths and a fountain my kids enjoyed exploring.