Happy Summer Solstice! It’s now officially summer in Broomfield! We love everything about summer including the long days. Well almost everything…sometimes those long days can translate to early mornings and late nights. Here is why: we shoot most family portraits during the Golden Hour (the hour just after sunrise or just before sunset – named for that lovely golden glow). So we are often meeting our families at 6:30 am or 8pm! We are glad Starbuck’s opens so early!
Yay Starbuck’s Iced Coffee! Yay Summer! – long days – afternoons at the pool – warm temperatures – What better time to introduce our new Community Series: Top 20 Parks for Parents of Young Children. This will be an in-depth review of local parks, focused for families in the Broomfield/Westminster/Lafayette and Louisville area.
As parents of young children ourselves, we know it can be a hassle to gear up to visit the park (3 loads to the car before you have even loaded up the kiddos!), so it’s nice to have the inside scoop on a park before you visit it, to be sure it will be worth the trip. At the same time, it’s also nice to explore, to visit new parks and find new favorites.
That’s what we want to provide in this Broomfield and Westminster Park Guide – a real feel for what the park is like so you can discover new favorites. In addition to a detailed review with snapshots of the park, we’ll also include a 360 degree video (taken on an iphone, so please excuse the video quality), and an aerial shot.
Would you like to join our team of Parent Park Reviewers? Do you have a local park you think should be included in our review? A certain question you like to have answered before you visit a park? Let us know!
We’ll kick it off with an unassuming little gem of a park, Amhurst Park in Westminster.
Amhurst Park in Westminster
13085 Pecos St. Westminster, Colorado
Quick Summary:
Nice little park with something for everyone including soccer field, basketball and volleyball court, and even in-line skating. It’s a smaller park, but has great wide open space for running. Avoid just before or after elementary school hours.Parents of very young children will want to know:
On the positive side, it’s pretty far back from the neighborhood streets and there are no creeks or lakes to worry about. Being next to an Elementary school (Arapahoe Ridge), this park can get busy before and especially after school. Also, the playground is right next to the drop off lane for the school, so when school is in session, you’ll have cars driving right by the playground. The ground beneath the play structures is sand. Some people don’t love that because of the mess, but kids sure love to dig in sand! Sand = additional sensory opportunity. There are tall bushes surrounding the gazebo, which could create a visual barrier between you and your child. If you are watching more than one young child, this sort of visual barrier could become stressful. On the plus side, if you are having lunch together, it’s a nice feel to be surrounded by greenery. Or, as the Knights Who Say Ni would say, “Shrubbery”. [caption id="attachment_3532" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Amhurst Park in Westminster from NataschaLeeStudios/LocalParksGuide[/caption]
Eating:
Picnic tables under the gazebo.Shade for playing:
Very little.Shade for parents to sit in while you watch the kids play:
There are some trees around the playground, but just a few and they aren’t large. You could bring a blanket and keep moving it to try to stay in the shade. The gazebo is shaded but (as mentioned before) there are tall bushes between the gazebo and the playground, so if you are relaxing in the shade of the gazebo, it will be hard to see your kids. [caption id="attachment_3516" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
A few shade tress around the playset at Amhurt Park in Westminster[/caption]
Play Structures:
Two structures – one for younger kids, one for older ones. Plus the separate swing area: 2 regular, 2 for babies. [caption id="attachment_3534" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Separate playsets for small and big kids[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_3533" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
small kids playset[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_3518" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Swing set[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_3519" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Big Kid’s Playset[/caption]
Fields/Running:
Lots of wonderful fields all around, lots of running space. Soccer goals, baseball backstop. [caption id="attachment_3522" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Lots of space to run[/caption]
Mixed Age Kids:
Will appeal to a variety of ages, with playgrounds, basketball, volleyball and in-line skating. But it’s hard to see the other play areas while at the playground.Special Features:
Basketball and Volleyball court, Inline Skating [caption id="attachment_3530" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Basketball Court at Amhurst Park in Westminster[/caption]
Parking:
There are three spots right next to the playset, parking in the school parking lot when school is out, and another parking lot far from the playground area where N Pecos turns into W 130th. See the aerial shot below for more details.Call of Nature:
Porta-Potty very close to playground.Water Fountain:
YesOur Favorite Feature:
How quiet the park was on a weekday afternoon. [caption id="attachment_3528" align="aligncenter" width="900"]
image source: Google Maps[/caption]
]]>