Kids and parents want totally different things from playgrounds. Obviously, safety is paramount to the latter, or at least that’s what you tell the other parents. But just as important: a shady place to sit. Kids, of course, just want fun stuff they can run around and climb and slide down, plus as many swings as possible. The new playground at Bellevue’s Red Caboose Park checks a lot of boxes. It has that fun bouncy stuff on the ground underneath the equipment to protect delicate noggins. Its merry-go-round is zero-entry, which has the dual benefit of safety and allowing kiddos to build up more speed. There’s all the usual playground stuff — and tons of it — plus some fake trees for climbing fun. It’s surrounded by a fence that has just one entrance, and there are a dozen comfy picnic tables, gloriously located under a pleasant stand of wide-canopied trees. J.R. LIND
Best New Playground
Red Caboose Park
PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS
