Paternity Leave Project: Playground Explorers

Welp, the Hulces were at it again.

We welcomed our third (and probably final 😅) child into the world back in the spring, and I've thoroughly enjoyed a long break to bond with family these past few months (thank you fantastic Netflix benefits!). We've done some amazing things as a family since my newest daughter was born:

Spent TEN days in Disney World
Visited grandparents and children's museums in THREE states
Won a May the Fourth event with the best dressed family
Had an epic water balloon fight with ~300 water balloons
Entertained a wedding in St. Louis with shouts of "Mommy!"
Designed an epic Star Wars car
Enjoyed ~40 lone turns with 1:1 parent-kid activities
Swam in the ocean for days
Snuggled for ~15 movie nights

But my personal favorite that tops all of these (and the one I'm about to talk your ear off about) has to be that this summer we explored and ranked 27 of the best parks and playgrounds in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex to crown the Playground King!

Our Ultra Sophisticated Parkcentific™️ Ranking Methodology

If you know me, you know there was no way this was going to be just a “wow, that slide was fun” kind of ranking. Nuh, uh, we're going to overengineer this into a data-driven summer odyssey.

Every park earned a score from 1–10 in the following categories:

Cool Factor – unique features and visual displays that made the kids sprint for them (zip lines, 3-story climbing nets, 20-foot climbable elephants, etc).
Size – not just square footage, but how many unique activities are there to climb, explore, or try.
Safety – because the fun can only last as long as no one's being rushed to the ER.
Shade – the Texas sun does not play around, and neither does Dad when he forgot sunscree again.
Bathrooms – critical. If you know, you know.
Non-Playground Experience – trails, ponds, splash pads, or anything else that made us linger.

I averaged the category scores, broke ties with the “Cool Factor”, and then adjusted on vibes to arrive at our final Overall score, and correspondingly, our rankings.

🥇 #1 – Kid Country at Andrew Brown Park East (Coppell)

Score: 10/10 overall, 10 cool factor, 9 size, 9 safety, 9 shade, 7 bathrooms, 10 non-playground Ideal Ages: All Why it won: Kid Country is playground maximalism done right: sprawling wooden forts straight out of a kid’s imagination without a dangerous exposed drop in sight. With tons of natural shade amongst the trees, trails wrapping around ponds, beautiful pavilions, a water park, a disc golf course, and a rec center all immediately next door, what more could you ask for? The only possible ding here is that compared to some other parks on our list, the bathrooms are about a 5-minute toddler-paced walk from the playground, which, if you've dealt with potty learning toddlers, is a bit too far for comfort in an emergency.

Overall though, Kid Country takes the cake for being the place our kids ask to go the most and always want to linger.

🥈 #2 – Heritage Park (Flower Mound)

Score: 10/10 overall, 9 cool factor, 9 size, 10 safety, 9 shade, 9 bathrooms, 10 non-playground Ideal Ages: Toddler - Early Elementary Why it placed: Heritage Park was basically engineered for our family. Giant, flat playground? Check. Tons of artificial shade across the entire area? Check. Bathrooms so close you can still see your kid on the monkey bars? Check. Then there’s the extras: a disc golf course, beautiful trails, a pond with pier, game courts, and enough open green space to host a small music festival.

We came for the forts, stayed for the trails, and left only when the promise of a Lenny's hot dog lunch was dangled as a bribe.

🥉 #3 – PlayGrand Adventures (Grand Prairie)

Score: 9/10 overall, 9 cool factor, 9 size, 6 safety, 8 shade, 9 bathrooms, 1 non-playground Ideal Ages: All Why it’s special: PlayGrand Adventures is an incredible hodge podge of playground components, and I could see it overtaking as the king when the kids are older. This park has tons of challenging climbs for older kids, a separate, fully shaded toddler area, and plenty of contraptions in between. The safety score takes a hit thanks to a few large exposed drops that gave me heart palpatations, but if you can trust your kids to know their limits, it’s a downright fun experience. Just know that the playground is the whole park, so once you’ve climbed, swung, and zipped, that’s the whole show.

A collage of selfies from our summer of park exploration!

While these were the cream of the crop, all parks were a blast to explore, and more often than not, the kids were excited to find a new park over a repeat visit. The thrill of finding a new gem will remain for quite some time, now I just need you to wish me luck on finding new ones to keep going to 😅

At the same time, we'd be remiss if we failed to mention some of these other top contenders that almost made our top-3:

Kids Kingdom at Pecan Grove Park in Rowlett - awesome, sprawling wooden fort with adjacent water park.
Bicentennial Park in Southlake - beautiful grounds with fenced in playground, zipline, sandbox, and splash pad.
Hope Park in Frisco - another sprawling wooden fort with lots of running space.
Spirit Park in Allen - a terrifying playground for toddlers, but incredible structures that will definitely be a favorite in a few years.

If you're DFW-based, drop me a line, so I can give you the full 27-park ranked list. You can pick your own favorites based on your kid’s age, your tolerance for heat, and how much risk you’re willing to accept in the pursuit of fun (or even add your neighborhood's hidden gem!).