Settler's Park and Adventure Island Playground in Meridian, ID 83642

The winner of our 2008 Parents' Picks quest to find the Best Playground/Park for Little Kids and the Best Playground/Park for Big Kids in the Boise area, Meridian's Settler's Park is a large city park featuring a fishing pond stocked by Fish and Game (regular fishing regulations apply), soccer/football fields, one picnic shelter area, concessions, and baseball diamonds.

During the summer months families can watch free movies in the park. Family-friendly flicks are projected onto a 25'x15' inflatable screen. The movies start at dusk. For a list of movies and dates visit www.meridiancity.org.

Adventure Island is a large all-abilities community-built playground featuring slides, swings, climbing areas, and a zero depth splash fountain. The main play area - Grand Voyage - has full ramp access throughout the entire structure. Play areas within the Grand Voyage have different themes - boat and outer space themes in the play areas for children ages five to 12, and a castle-themed play area for toddlers ages two to five. The Up, Up, and Away swing area features something for everyone - toddler swings, standard swings, tire swings, and accessible swings. The Fish Wreck water play area is themed around pirate ships and whales. Little buttons around the splash pad allow children to activate some of the water features. All the play areas have rubberized surfacing. As a whole, Adventure Island Playground encompasses about two acres of Settler's Park.

For more information about Adventure Island Playground, and to see how you can take part in its growth, visit www.adventureislandplayground.org.