October 16, 2015

A Day at Plaswijckpark

There is nothing in the U.S. that is quite like Plaswijckpark. It is part petting zoo, part indoor/outdoor playground with a few rides and a boat tour thrown in. Seriously, its your kids’ perfect day.

Coming from the U.S. I’m continually amazed at the sort of things kids can do here in Europe. There was this one ride with a boat on a ramp that looked both fun and terrifying. (You can see a video of it here.) Mostly though there are just huge climbing and jumping structures where kids are allowed to play and explore. We “lost” H a few times in the climbing structure but found him when he popped out of one of the tubes. We are also always the only parents following our child around. (Honestly, that’s probably not going to change! Some things just run deep.) Most parents enjoyed chatting on benches and seats in the play area.

The park is small making it completely manageable with the kids. Even though it is small we spent most of the day there. (On the way out of the park we discovered an area we never even explored!) We visited on a perfect weather day but there are plenty of indoor activities if you happen to be visiting when it is cold and rainy. They even had the water park up and running, but it was a bit too chilly for that. (Although it looks amazing and is on my summer list to check out.) There were a few school groups visiting, but on our weekday visit, the park was not crowded.

We drove, although it is possible to reach the park by public transport. Car parking is available on the street and there is plenty of bicycle parking just outside the gates. We brought a stroller, which was helpful when the kids got tired and to tow our stuff around. They have little wagons you can rent for five Euro for the day.

We packed snacks and lunch. There are plenty of places to sit and enjoy a picnic. There are also several snack bars and a restaurant serving your normal Dutch fried stuff. We got a few snacks there as we stayed later than expected.

I honestly think the best way to show you how much fun we had at Plaswijckpark is through pictures. Enjoy! (Click on one photo and use the arrows to flip through the gallery.)