Kenai Park Strip Playground

The playground at the Kenai Park Strip is located along Main Street Loop, in Kenai, centered between the ball fields. It is accessible by parking along the curb of Main Street or using Coral Street from either the Spur Highway or 1st Avenue.

I have been coming to this park for years. Like other parks in Kenai, the equipment is outdated, but this has also held up better than most. While I don't like parking along the street, parking is available around the other side of the park, and the play ground is set quite a way back from busy Main Street.

Nearby are some public restrooms (above) - nothing fancy, but it beats an out house and they are generally clean. It is much closer to the street than the playground.

 Nearby is a covered picnic facility with cooking grills available. To reserve a grill and table for an event, you can contact the city of Kenai at 283-3692.

 I didn't consider this park toddler friendly, but my toddler did have a fair time with the help of her older siblings. I can say that it kept my climbing kid happy.

 I don't like that there is graffiti on the equipment. This seems to be a problem at several play grounds locally and indeed, many other playgrounds around the world. My son reported that there were some bad words inside the tunnel. Oh joy. How he saw it, squeezing through there, I'll never know. At 10, he is almost to big for the tunnel.

 Where are your shoes, child?!

 View from the side, baseball field in the back ground

It was easy for my 3 year old to climb up the equipment and he had a grand time. I would say that this park is just right for kids 3-8 years old. Avoid it busy times like during ball games, unless you want to go to the game, then bonus! There's a playground! There are many summer time public events along the park strip, so keep that in mind if you are looking for a place to play and want to avoid the crowds.

Beaver Creek Park

Beaver Creek Park is located off the Kenai Spur Highway. From Kenai, take the first left after Beaver Loop Road, at the top of the hill, just before the curve. Parking is a loop, and you will probably want to parallel park. There is a water fountain in the island at the center of the loop, a great place to stop to fill up water bottles while you are out and about. The road continues past the park to a neighborhood of private residences. If you are riding or walking on the Spur Highway bike trail, this is a nice stop for lunch or a rest.

There is a bathroom, though it is more of an out house but, hey, its something. There is also a covered picnic table and a solitary trash can. Don't forget the wobbly bench.

Again we see a Kenai favorite, the green play structures. Were these bought in bulk? I have to admit that the bubbles are futuristic and space agey, but I hope that a playground update is on the list for this park. There is a basketball court.

 Though the playground itself is small, there is a large open field, great for frisbee, football, and picnics. My son's soccer team met here a few times for practices. It was ideal.

 I have an artistic niece. She takes amazing pictures; "POS Paint"

Ah, graffiti. Or an attempt at it anyway. Apparently, I'm not the only one who feels this way about the park. Is it the equipment or their can of spray paint they are commenting on?

The play ground is cushioned with sand. It works well. I don't recommend letting small children walk around public parks barefoot. She just wasn't having it. I only set her down to take pictures, honest.

 We explored the woods nearby. It looks like the surrounding area is being developed for something. I would love to see a campground go in here. It would be a great place for families who are on the peninsula for fishing season, near the boat launch and only 3 miles through Beaver Loop to get to the city docks.  All in all, the green space is what this park is all about. The City of Kenai could give it an update. This park could be a lot more popular if it wasn't so out of date.

Found some tiny flowers. They were pretty. I love Alaska.

Old Town Kenai Public Park

The day that we visited this park, it was gorgeous outside. It was sunny, a little breezy , but a really wonderful day. We came to the park for a picnic with friends and stayed well in to the evening. I think we left the park after 9 that night and the sun was still high in the sky. I was sad that I didn't have my camera with me and that I would have to come back for pictures. As you can see, I did and it wasn't nearly as nice that day.

Old Town Park is located at 816 Cook Avenue in the historical district of Kenai. The buildings that housed the first library and jail for Kenai are located on the block that the park joins. There is a walking tour of Old Town that includes the surrounding buildings, if you are interested in seeing more of Old Town Kenai. I don't know when the park was established, but it has been here as long as I can remember and I played here as a kid once or twice. A large wooden structure that was older than me was finally replaced a couple of summers ago. It's an improvement. I think they could stand to replace the turquoise tunnel structure as well, but at least the City of Kenai did something to improve the playground. My children were not in the least disappointed with the turquoise thing.

The park is frequented by area residents and children from the nearby apartments and houses. It is a popular place for basketball.  There are lines painted on the basketball court for hopscotch and four square. If you bring a ball, you can have a little old school fun in Old Town!


 Old Town park also has the best swings around! There are 5 or 6 swings, which is a lot for one little park. There are a total of 3 slides that are built for varying ages and stages.

There is a covered area with a picnic table. That is a downside - there is only one table in the park. If you want to have a picnic here, I recommend bringing camp chairs for extra seating. The grill is pretty handy though.

The new red and blue equipment is just right for little kids. My 1 and 3 year olds both enjoyed this structure and found it easy to climb and older children were able to help them get up without much stress on my part.  I'm not fond of the pea gravel that surrounds the playground equipment, but again, my kids weren't fazed by it. It was a relatively gravel-in-the-shoe free day.

Don't let the chain link fencing intimidate you - there is access to the park on each side as well as parallel parking around it.

Old Town Park is a simple park. Locals use it. It is easy to walk here from other activities in Old Town Kenai or meet with friends for a quick play date. Its not the newest park, but it is a classic .