Four Seasons Park
Location: Near Main Street, off of Barthel Industrial Drive NE | 11830 51st Street NE (map)
Features: Playground, shelter, gazebo, basketball court, tennis courts, paved trails
Walnut Park
Location: 1/4 mile west of Main Street on Walnut Avenue | 300 Walnut Avenue SW (map)
Features: Playground, gazebo, little library, picnic tables, baseball field, soccer field, basketball court, paved trail
When it comes to parks, I like to think of Swamp Lake Park as STMA’s best-kept secret. While it’s a little “off the beaten path,” this recreation area is definitely worth a visit, especially if you have young kids.
The park itself has no parking lot, so to access it you’ll need to park on the street and walk in via one of the trail access points. The quickest and safest place to park is located in the cul-de-sac on 2nd Street NW. (click here for map)
In addition to swings and a sand pit, the playground has both a small play structure for toddlers as well as a larger one for the 5-10 age group. My kids love to play hide-and-seek with friends on this playground because there are a number of tunnels and tube slides to disappear into. They’re also big fans of the tire swing and seeing how many buddies they can fit on it at the same time!
Be sure to pack along your stroller to give tiny toddler legs a break, and consider having your bigger kids bring their bikes or scooters as the long straight trail is a great spot to pick up some speed.
Swamp Lake Park
Location: 1/4 mile west of Main Street on Heights Road | 398 Heights Road NW (map)
Features: Playground, basketball court (located on NE end of park, between 1st and 2nd Ave), soccer field, gazebo, paved trail, green space
Playground Turf: Wood chips, plus a small sand area
Recommended age range: 1–10
Restrooms: Portable
Parking: Street parking
Trails: Single sidewalk separating playground and green space from wetland area
Welter Playlot
Location: South of Middle School West | 399 Ivory Ave NE (map)
Features: Playground, basketball court
Central Park in Albertville is one of our typical hangouts when the weather is nice. It’s located near our house, which makes it easy to get to either on a walk or as a quick stop while we’re out running other errands. But there are a few other features to this usually quiet, classic-style park make it worth a visit for us.
First, the merry-go-round. Whatever happened to merry-go-rounds? I feel like they appear at parks less and less often these days, and when you do see them at a “modern” park, they’re the huge plastic kind with built-in seats like this one. Don’t get me wrong, I love safety of that new style merry-go-round for my littlest kids, but there’s something about the old style that inspires creativity and lets kids experiment with physics and momentum. Sure, there’s danger involved, but some childhood memories need to include a little danger, haha! We all survived, right? 😀
Second, the smaller of the two slide structures is great for my 1-year-old. It has a set of wide, very shallow stairs that are perfect for a crawler or early walker, isn’t too hard for mom to supervise, and has a nice little slide that isn’t too intimidating or dangerous for the tiny ones.
Finally, there is a good bit of shade around. In addition to a covered picnic table right next to the playground, this park has lots of trees that provide shade for a picnic, nursing a baby, or just some quiet time for mom while the kids play.
Central Park also has a skate park, volleyball court, and basketball court that are located not far from the playground. There is also a large reserveable shelter as well as hockey and baseball facilities.
This park gets very busy during Albertville Friendly City Days and is also more popular on FYCC event days and during the farmer’s market (Thursday afternoons/evenings in summer).
Location: Near Albertville City Hall and the Church of St. Albert, on Lander Ave just off 57th Street (map)
Features: Playground, small gazebo with picnic table, skate park, volleyball court, basketball court
Playground Turf: Gravel
Recommended age range: 1–8
Restrooms: Portable
Parking: Street parking by playground, Paved lot within walking distance
Trails: None