Young Life in an Old Town: The Playground at Lyles Crouch School

Most students in Alexandria are on summer vacation, and this means there are more public playgrounds to add to the weekday rotation.

Even though we live in an urban area, I love the variety of parks we have in our neighborhood. Last week’s feature, the is the perfect for toddlers. The Lyles Crouch elementary school playground is the place to go with older and more adventurous kids.

This space was designed to entertain children from kindergarten through 5th grade, so the climbing structures are higher. Overall. there’s a lot to do here. Some of the equipment might be dangerous for your preschooler, but if your child is like mine, she will want to conquer it anyway.

This can be frustrating as you will either have to hover over your little one, flinch while they climb things that seem too big for them, or say no repeatedly.

This is a great park for all ages but be prepared to keep a closer eye on young children here.  

Location: 530 S. St. Asaph St. Only one block east of S. Washington St., this playground is within walking distance to two of my favorite retail establishments: Firehook Bakery and coffee house and Balducci’s market. Faccia Luna and Southside 815 are only a few blocks south so it’s a perfect place to let kids run off some steam before going out to dinner.

Equipment: There are six swings, which eliminates a lot of the turn taking consternation at other parks. None of those swings are bucket swings. There are two large play structures complete with a bumpy bridge, a tall tunnel slide, two smaller slides, monkeybars, and lots of climbing feature.

There is a bus-shaped structure that little ones enjoy, one of those old fashioned merry go rounds where kids hold on while you spin them, and some other tall, free-standing structures for climbing and hanging.

Shade: Yes, but not a lot. A few of the benches are under shade but there’s really any coverage in the areas where the kids play.

For Adults: Several benches and picnic tables if your kids give you a chance to sit down.

Fenced: The overall perimeter of the school is fenced but the playground area is not separated from the playing fields and basketball hoops. There’s almost a full square block to roam and explore – again making it necessary to keep a closer eye on little ones.

Bathrooms: No. Your best bet is probably the Firehook bakery. Treat yourself to a coffee and cupcake.

Miscellaneous: Because this is a school playground, there’s also a small ball field, several picnic tables, green space to run and play and basketball hoops. I love that the playground area has the soft, squashy ground underneath with no mulch. There is also a pretty butterfly garden right next to the playground. During the school year, this space is only available during the evenings and weekends so summer is an opportunity to make use of this nice little space in South Old Town.