Happy Valley Park

This park has some great features, but there are also some things that could use work. The playground is sort of small, and is better for older kids. My 2 year old didn't have as much fun on the play structure. He had more fun running around and playing with the wood chips. There isn't a separate smaller kids area, which would have been nice. Also, there are only a couple benches right next to the playground and they are pretty old. One is breaking, even.

The feature that makes this park worth it, though, is the splash pad they just opened up! It has all these different water jets that shoot up out of the ground at different angles. I'm not sure what time they turn the water on, but the water turned off at 6pm when I was there during the week. There are nice bathrooms right next to the water area, with some covered picnic tables. Lots of grass to spread a blanket on and relax while your kids play.

And if your child is a little water-shy, they can always start out splashing in the big puddle next to the splash pad, then slowly work their way over to the water jets. Thats what my son did! I was there on one of the first days it opened, and a photographer from the Oregonian actually came up to me and asked me some questions. When I checked the Oregonian website the next day, my son's picture made it onto the site! Pretty cool :)

Address: 13770 SE. Ridgecrest Rd., Happy Valley, OR