by 2024 Summer Park Tour
Stop 31
Location
6772 Middlebrook Blvd, Brook Park, OH 44142
About the Park
We quickly realized that this park was in need of some serious TLC and had seen better days. However, despite the cosmetics, lack of parking, and obvious wear and tear, this park was great and my daughters had a blast! I recalled going there over 30 years ago as a kid, and it brought back a lot of fond memories. We felt at home there and had the park all to ourselves.
This playground had all the access, and if you were there at the right time, you could even catch a real live train flying by. Despite no parking lot, the playground is so far away from the street, that safety is not a concern at all. It had numerous slides and plenty of things to climb on and under. It had my personal favorites too, the tunnel slides!
One drawback was rust, rust and more rust. Mixed in with the perfect amount of chipped paint, and some more rust. If you get past that, you’re good to go. We also saw a dirty diaper under the one slide. There are plenty of benches, but the problem remains the rust on the benches, and their location directly in the sun with no shade. On the plus side however, the playground and the benches are set up perfectly so you can see everything you need to see all at once. Also, they have a great pavilion area still in working order.
Access to the park
Well, it is easy to find, sure, but there is no parking. You have to park on the street and when you have little ones, that is not the most ideal.
Things to do
1 double slide
1 straight slide
2 tunnel slides and 1 windy slide
6 deep swing set
Bouncy bridge
Roller slide
Monkey bars
A tunnel connecting both sides of the playset
Fire pole
Open Field to run in and watch the trains coming by
A triple canopy at the top of the steps
Places to sit
There are several benches near the playset but they are covered in rust and will hurt your butt and back after about 3 minutes. So, you may be better off setting up a blanket under one of the several trees.
Ground
A mulch grass mix
Bathroom Situation
Grade – A
Indoor working plumbing, clean, and easy to locate. That gets you an Ace every time.
Best part of the park
It has a great vintage feel. Like, I said, it brought back ALOT of memories for me.
Check out page two for a full photo gallery on the next page.
2024 Park Review: John Bernath Park in Brook Park Packs a Dino’s Rust With A Giant Tower!
They need to just close all those playgrounds, use the land and build homes, make one neutral playground as most cities have.