Norton Park

Norton Park is tucked in on a dead end street in the Norton Park neighborhood of West Duluth.  There is a community center and baseball field, basketball court, picnic table, and large trees to one side.

The playground has a coarse sand surface (almost like gravel is mixed in) and:

• 2 baby swings
• 2 swings
• 2 bouncy riders
• See-saw
• Ladders (NO stairs, but my two year old could make it up one of the ladders)
• Monkey bars
• Double slide
• Swirly slide
• Tunnel
• Corkscrew
• Fireman pole

Duluth Parks page

Morgan Park

Morgan Park might be a favorite for bigger kiddos, but there is also a typical playground set for younger children too.

The park itself is a large area that features a community center, hockey rinks, basketball courts, disc golf, and volleyball court.  There are gazebos and benches along the playground areas.

The smaller playground has a sand surface and:

• 1 slide and 1 double slide
• Corkscrew
• Digger
• Tic-tac-toe
• Speaking tube
• Stairs and ladders
• "Serving area" (my kids always pretend these are ice cream shops)
• Ball maze
• 3 baby swings
• 1 accessible swing

The other area is directly across the street from the Morgan Park Middle School and has structures designed for about that age.

The surface is wood chips and some of the items I can describe (haha!) are:

• Rock wall
• Monkey bars
• Climbing hold wall
• Stepping stones
• Track glider
• 4 swings
• All sorts of slide-like surfaces and climbing/spinning/hanging items

Duluth Parks page

Washington Center Playground

Washington Center is a Community Center in downtown Duluth.  The grounds have a nice view, a community garden, parking lot, and playground.  There is fencing on two sides facing the streets.  There are benches and a picnic table.

The surface is wood chips.  This park did have some trash on the ground, despite nearby garbage cans.

Features include:

• 1 slide
• Monkey bars
• Spinning screw
• Corkscrew
• Pull-up bar
• Twisted ladder
• Stairs

Duluth Parks page

Wheeler Field

Wheeler Athletic Complex is a huge area of baseball fields, tennis courts, a skate park, and a field house with bathrooms.
The playground is near the fields, so it would probably be great to have little siblings to play at while a game is going on for the big sibling.  It is also right next to the parking lot and has picnic tables nearby.  The playground has a sand surface, and as my 5 year old told me, "this is the Y park."  They're beginning to identify the identical play structures.  :)
This one has:

• 1 slide and 1 double slide
• Corkscrew
• Speaking tubes
• Ladders/stairs
• Rock climbing holds
• Monkey bars
• 2 baby swings
• 2 swings
• Digger

Duluth Parks page

Irving Park

Irving Park is a nicely fenced park in a rather quiet area (at least when we were there).  Interstate 35 is nearby, so there is noise from that, but it is nothing like some of the parks on main streets in town.

It has a large field area for soccer, football, and basketball courts.  There are a lot of trees bordering the park and shady areas to rest.
There are a couple of benches around the playground area, which is a sand surface.  The play structure has:

• 2 swings
• 2 baby swings
• Speaking tubes
• 1 slide and 1 double slide
• Digger
• Stairs/ladders
• Arm pedaling crank
• Monkey bars
• Fireman pole
• Corkscrew
• Tic-tac-toe spinners

Duluth Parks page

Grant Park

Grant park is a playground that we had visited right after moving to Duluth, but had completely forgotten about.  It is a really nice playground right next to Meyers-Wilkins Elementary school and has a community resource center on site.  There are soccer fields, basketball courts, and a community garden.  I did have to watch the two year old near the garden boxes since he thought it looked enticing but after that, they playground captured his attention.  The park is fenced on two sides and there is only one road nearby.  It might be a concern on school days since it appears to be the school entrance, but it was very low traffic when we visited. There are picnic tables, benches, and shade trees.  It is in full sun and we got pretty hot before 10 a.m.  I assume there are bathrooms inside the community center but there was a group using the center when we were there and I didn't want to intrude.
The playground is sand surface with some rubber mat beneath the main steps.  Some features are:

• 2 swings
• 2 baby swings
• Bouncing circle to stand on
• Rock structure (no holds)
• Rock wall with holds
• 3 slides
• Speaking tubes
• Corkscrew
• Monkey bars
• Plastic ladder nets
• Ladders and stairs
• Pull up bar
• Spinning wheel to hang from
• Fireman pole
• Steering wheel

Update August 2017: the roller slide has been removed and replaced with a wavy plastic slide.  The covered corkscrew slide has been removed and replaced with a rock wall with holds.  My boys were very sad to see the roller slide gone but it's still a quiet and large park that is very pleasant to visit.

Duluth Parks page

Portland Square

Portland Square is a large square in a neighborhood with housing on three sides and some business, including Ski Hut, on the other.  4th Street is a fairly busy road but the playground is situated a good distance from it.  There is currently one porta-potty on site.
The park has large trees and some grassy area, plus a large circular sidewalk that is great for practicing riding bikes up and down hills and there is a sprinkler in the center of the circle that we have only seen on a couple of times.
There are two separate playground areas, one for younger children and one for older.  There are no baby swings at this park.

The little kid area has:

• Gears
• Xylophone and drums
• Spinning seat
• Steering wheel
• Connect four
• Porthole
• Mirrors
• Periscope
• Steps
• Double slide

The big kid area has:

• 4 swings
• Tire swing
• Corkscrew
• 1 slide
• Triple slide
• Rock climbing wall
• Bridge
• Fireman pole
• Spinning wheel monkey bars
• Monkey bars
• Ladders and steps
• Speaking tube
• Finger mazes
• Steering wheels

Duluth Parks page

Morley Park

Morley Park is a square in a residential area with the playground area taking up half the square and the other side filled with grass and small trees.  The streets are rather low traffic and there is a decent distance from playground to street.  It is a wood chip surface and has benches and a picnic table.  There was no porta-potty when we visited.
The park is quite far up the hill and has no large trees so it gets a good amount of sun.  We like to visit on cooler days when the ample sunshine will help keep us warm.

Some features:

• Tire swing
• 2 baby swings
• 2 swings
• 2 bouncy riders
• Rock wall structure with "grill" in the middle (standing platform made up of metal bars)

There is a little structure off to one side of the playground for smaller kids with:

• Steps and ladder
• Corkscrew
• Slide

The large playground structure is almost an L-shape and features: 

• 3 slides
• Monkey bars
• Spinning oval
• Climbing wall with holds
• Ladders and steps
• Built in picnic table and benches

Duluth Parks page

Endion Park

Endion is a little sand surface playground in a square in a residential neighborhood and next door to a synagogue.  It is much like other playgrounds in the city, but also has a grassy area that would be good for tag or a little soccer practice.  Parking is on the street but we had no trouble finding a spot.  The park is surrounded on its non-synagogue sides by tall trees.  There was no porta-potty in view.

It has:

• 2 swings
• 2 baby swings
• Digger
• Speaking tubes
• Fireman pole
• Monkey bars
• Ladders and steps
• 1 slide and 1 double slide
• Corkscrew
• Tunnel connecting platforms
• Benches and a picnic table
• Tennis and basketball courts

Duluth Parks page

Woodland Rec Center Park

This playground is located right next to the Woodland branch of the YMCA.  There is also a hockey arena and baseball fields using the same parking lot.

The surface is wood chips (outdated photos) and the playground features:

• 1 slide and 1 double slide
• 2 swings
• Digger
• Speaking tubes
• Monkey bars
• Corkscrew
• Ladders and steps
• Rock wall with holds

Duluth Parks page

Cascade Park

This playground is located in the middle of a residential area on a rather steep part of the hill. It used to contain a waterfall with a gazebo, but the waterfall has since been routed underground.  You can still go up in a gazebo and get a great view of the harbor.

The playground is a sand surface and contains:

• 2 swings
• 2 baby swings
• 3 slides
• Monkey bars
• Digger
• Speaking tubes
• Wobbly steps
• Balance beam
• Steering wheel
• Corkscrew
• Pull-up bar
  
  
  
  

Duluth Parks page