Okeechobee County Sports Complex

The playground at the Okeechobee Sports Complex is a well-​hidden GEM, I tell you. I’m guessing all the locals know about it, but I did a couple of pretty thorough (or so I thought, anyway) internet searches and never came up with anything even remotely resembling a playground anywhere near here. Luckily, we have the awesome breakfast lady at Hampton Inn to tell us about such things. And even draw us a MAP. Score! :D I felt like I was privy to some insider info that I was most definitely Not Supposed to Have, which only makes it that much more cool.
So this place is probably the most awesome true playground I’ve ever seen. Not like I’m a huge playground aficionado or anything, but still. It’s this ENORMOUS collection of wooden fort-​like structures with all kinds of slides and swings, tons of stuff to climb on and explore and have an absolute blast. The entire thing looks to be relatively new, and they definitely are keeping up with stuff like mulch on the ground and maintenance on the structures themselves (I saw a couple of pieces of newer wood, in comparison to the older more weathered stuff that the rest of it is built out of). There’s a little area of sand, which kids looooooove and moms hate. Ugh, sand on my floorboards. And in his shoes. And his socks. And then the floor inside when he takes off the shoes. *laughing* There are also a couple of park benches along a little path for the moms to hang out, and a pretty large pavilion right there next to the play area with a whole bunch of tables, a water fountain, a Coke machine, and I’m guessing restrooms somewhere as well (Speculation! Pure speculation!). The good news /​bad news is that this thing is huge and sprawling. Good news for the kids: bigger = better, and spread out = more room for running like wild beasts! But somewhat bad news for the moms: there’s absolutely no way you can actually keep your child within eyesight without moving around, and moving around a LOT. The structures themselves prevent you from being able to see much more than little bits of blonde hair go running by, a glimpse of legs and shoes elsewhere… you get the idea. And that’s fine, really — I am perfectly okay with not being able to see my kid at Every Possible Second and don’t feel the need to Helicopter parent him. But. BUT! The place isn’t enclosed on all sides, and there’s not a single stationary vantage point where you can ensure that your child hasn’t wandered out of the area completely. I’m pretty laid-​back about a lot of stuff, but I’m totally not okay with the idea that my kid could walk off (or be taken off, yikes!) while I idly sit in the shade sipping on a frosty beverage. Not a big deal with older kids, but at his age? Yeah. I still need to watch him like a hawk. Anyway, allllll of that was to say — moms, watch your little ones because they can slip right out the back side and you would never know it. And take note playground people, you could totally make this SO MUCH MORE SAFE by extending the fence line a little further around the back side so the only way in and out can actually be seen from one place, be it a bench or the pavilion or even hanging out on the sidewalk somewhere. I don’t need creature comforts, I just need to be able to make sure my kid hasn’t escaped.
A few other things that keep it from being a whopping 5 stars as well. No shade for the kiddos, like every single playground ever in the history of mankind. I dutifully greased up the boy with sunscreen before heading out and of course he still ended up with a slight burn. And nothing that can really be changed on the part of the playground folks, but something for potential playground-​goers to be aware of: at 215ish, there was a massive influx of teenagers that walked over after school and completely took over the pavilion. They weren’t hanging out in the play area while we were there, but rumor has it that they’re always there in the afternoons, and that they do sometimes decide it’s fun to play on the equipment. Not sure if they get rough and rowdy or not (they were perfectly well-​behaved in the few minutes we were all there together), but something to keep in mind if the «big kids» make you antsy.
Because I’m lame and the only picture I took is crap cell phone quality and is only a portion of the entire play area, you can check out some pics at the page I pulled off the county website (and see some of the other little hidden playground areas too, those scheming playground-​hiding punks!!), just scroll on down to the sports complex. And be warned, their photos don’t do it any justice either:
All told? SUPER COOL playground. 5 starts from a kid’s point of view, only 4+ stars from mom due to lack of shade and effective kid-​containment.