Verdell Burdine Rutherford Park Playground
Southeast 167th Avenue & Southeast Market Street, Portland, OR, USA
Daily: 5am to 12am
$
playground
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Verdell Burdine Rutherford Park and Playground is a hidden gem tucked away in outer SE Portland and dotted with unique art sculptures.
Kiddos of all ages can swing, slide, climb, crawl and spin the afternoon away. In the summertime, there is a large interactive water table feature.
Verdell Burdine Rutherford Park and Playground is a new park and playground on 8 acres completed in Spring of 2020 (formerly known as Lynchview Park). It’s tucked away inside of the Centennial Neighborhood.
The playground is very modern, with several unique open-ended play structures for children of all ages to enjoy and let their imaginations run wild. In addition, a bouncy rubber mat is situated beneath almost the entire playground area, so even the littlest of children can crawl around in the summer. That said, you’ll definitely want to make sure to pack your sunscreen!
Children can swing, climb, crawl, spin and balance. If your kiddos enjoy playing “hot lava,” this is the perfect playground for them! There is a swing set with an all-abilities ADA swing, two big kids swings, and three baby swings (one of which features a chain front belt). The large climbing structure is built up along a hill and features hoops, ropes, pipes, and bars; at the top, there are individual spinners, and getting down the structure is most fun by slide! On a big, flat area, you will find half spheres to hop, climb and pull up on, a balance beam, individual spinners, and a large group spinner that is slightly tilted for an extra challenge. Because the ground is made of a rubber mat and is very clean, it’s also perfect for your babies who want tummy time may enjoy pulling up on the spheres or cruising along the balance beam.
In the summertime, the large, interactive water table feature is open; it is big enough for several children to play with together! It consists of a manual water pump, tons of channels for the water to flow, and devices to barricade, release, redirect and spin the water flow along.
There are flat, paved, wide paths that run throughout the park and connect to the entrance points into the neighborhood. These paths are perfect for wheelchairs, bikes, and scooters.
There are sprawling grassy fields, picnic tables, a picnic shelter, a water fountain (for humans and dogs), and a soccer field. There is an all-user ADA-accessible “Portland Loo” port-a-potty; however, this is only open in the summer.
If you need to change diapers, plan to do so on a picnic table, bench, grass, or in your vehicle.
Generally, the park is tranquil and not very crowded. However, Portland Parks and Recreation hosts outdoor summer camps at this park in the summertime, so you will find the playground busy during drop-off, pickup, and lunchtime from June to August on Mondays through Thursdays.
There is no official parking lot, and you will need to park in the neighborhood on either a street or unpaved alley that dead-ends into the park. For the quickest access to the playground, park at either of the entrance points on SE 167th ave. Entrance points can be found at:
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SE Market St & SE 167th Ave (Street Parking, paved sidewalk leads directly into paved paths)
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SE Mill St & SE 167th Ave (Unpaved, Alley Parking)
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SE Mill St & SE 164th Ave (Unpaved, Alley Parking)