Hillside Elementary School, Niskayuna NY

Hillside Elementary School, Niskayuna NY

The physical location:
1100 Cornelius Ave
146/Balltown Rd to VanAntwerp Rd to Cornelius Ave

The setting:
In a neighborhood, the school is not on a busy road. No sports fields here where there would be a lot of people. Parking is plentiful. No shade to speak of. Restrooms are not available and there were not any trash cans. A few picnic tables were present but they were up the hill a bit and not anywhere I would feel comfortable sitting while my kids played. No benches. The clock on the building is handy!

The people:
We went on a Summer Sunday afternoon and there were 3 other families that meandered in and out during the 90 minutes or so we were there. They were all pleasant and the kids and adults had a good time together.

The equipment:
This is a modern playground with a few really neat elements that I don't see at every playground. The ground is wood chips and the swings are in a separate area but nearby. It had the standard swings (6 I think), and two old metal climbing structures off to the side. No special needs or baby swing at this location.

In the main playground there was a large structure made up of two parts and then some stand alone entertainment. The main structure's shorter end has easy to climb stairs that lead over to slides, tic tac toe and a musical element. Also on the lower level on that side is a small climbing wall (only about 4ft tall) that also leads to the slides. There is another climbing element that is a bit trickier as it is hand/foot holes on vertical plastic with large gaps in between the area where the holes are. Leading from that lower level is a series of round suspended discs that you have to monkey across by putting your feet on the small platforms and holding onto the chains (same idea as the larger platform/chain combos seen in the pics). There is also a "zip line" leading from a middle platform to the base of the larger slide area. Coming up from the lower level of the smaller structure (seen towards the back of the picture below) there are steps and two different types of angled ladders that lead towards the top to a straight slide and a solid bridge that leads over to the taller section of the playground. There is also a climbing wall to nowhere, it's a stand alone molded plastic type similar to the ones leading up to the slides on the larger part.

The taller structure consists of one straight slide, one spiral slide, two climbing walls, a chain/rubber climbing structure, curves "ladders" and standard ladders/steps. It is pretty high up where the climbing walls meet the top platform.

The stand alone elements are pictured below. There is a "worm" type structure that you can walk or crawl along and it shifts with your weight. Someone can also stand on the ends and make it seesaw. There are two different monkey bar style pieces over here as well as some balance elements. Finally there is another area where you monkey between the suspended platforms.

The verdict: This is a playground we would drive the 20+ minutes to visit again. It was great for my 2.5 year old (who is very agile) as well as my 8 year old. For those with toddlers who aren't as adventurous as mine there may not be as much to entertain them but they might like the few smaller slides and the stairs/bridge should keep them busy. The worm would probably also be a big hit. I am going to try to get some better pictures next time we go!