Craig Elementary School, Niskayuna, NY

Craig Elementary School, Niskayuna, NY

The physical location:
2566 Balltown Rd/146
Right by the Niskayuna Soccer Park

The setting:
The school is right on 146 but the playground is around the back of the school which is nice. There are a couple of basketball hoops and big fields here. The soccer complex is next door as well and we saw some people using the fields. I am not sure how parking is if there is a tournament as when we went there were no games in progress. No bathrooms, 3 picnic tables and a few benches. Some nice shade in the evening from a tree at the edge of the area.

The people: There were some tweens that wandered over from the soccer fields to use the swings and discuss Instagram but they were fine. There were two other families there when we were there and they were fine but no discussion between us and the kids didn't play together either for whatever reason.

The equipment:
This is an interesting playground with a lot going on! The whole thing is wood chips and has a few areas to discuss. There were nice swings that looked rather new. There are two "spider web" climbing structures. My son has been on things like this before but these had the wires set far apart and so he couldn't get very far into it. It's a good size for elementary-middle school age though. There is a metal two sided climbing wall that was very challenging. It goes very high and my son was only able to make it up part way (which was good for my anxiety level). The underside of it had some holds as well and I imagine that side would be very challenging.

The structure is made up of a variety of climbing and balancing pieces along with slides. The tallest part is reachable by two climbing walls, steep vertical plastic steps (the red ones in the picture almost shaped like a cone or skyscraper) climbing up the side of the "boulder" or up the standard steps. There are two slides from the same platform at the top of this. The climbing wall style is easier than the molded plastic ones I have seen in the past. This taller part connects to a lower portion via the "boulder". Once on the lower area you can monkey across the suspended platforms to a roller bar slide or traverse various balance and upper body structures. There are monkey bars, rings, chain grids to climb, zip line, etc.

Set apart from the structure are some small spinning and seesaw equipment pieces. All are modern and unique! There is also a smaller structure which would be good for toddler age. It has a slide (shown in the forefront of the top picture), wheels to turn, the basics. Right next to that is a cute train with two "cars" that my son loved. He liked sitting at the table in one of the cars and of course driving the train.

The verdict:
We would come back here but I would try to avoid soccer times. My daughters hands were already sore from her monkey bar adventures at another playground so she wasn't really into this one today but I think she would be on another day. My son loved this playground, especially the roller slide. It is only about a 1.5 miles or so from Hillside so I think we would probably spend some time at both to keep things fresh. If your kids like the game of "you have to make it around this whole thing without touching the lava (aka woodchips)" than this park is great as a large part of it connects if you can traverse all the obstacles. Next time we go I will take pictures of the toddler structure and train.

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!