So after reading Stevens review here on Yelp I had to try this park... I went last night (as you can see from my 392 pics uploaded - sorry I take a lot of pic, Dont Judge me! lol)... I loved that it was gated, Loved the rubber Floor... Loved the little watery thing and the idea that he can make tunnels in the sand at the end to make water flow all through it (even though I have crazy OCD and go nuts when baby gets the slightest bit messy)... Loved the Tree-House Like structures (Yes, I stole Stevens description of them and have actually Googled what they are called to only find "Bases" or "Equipment", Ive been reviewing ALOT of parks lately - I have a toddler. So Im stealing & running with Tree-House Like Structures)... So back from my rant... Loved that there were a few different ones... None too overly Big Kid that I was scared to let my 2 year old freely explore. There could be more benches over by the swings & water thing (that arent picnic tables)... People have come & donated TONS of toys... My son loved one of the cars that was there & rode it around for a while... There were several little Kitchens & Stove Play things in this little hut area that made it the perfect little cover to hang out... There is a Baseball Field ( you cannot access from the Playground) and tons of picnic tables and benches at the front of the park also. The lights in the park even came on as it started to get darker it was soo cool & they were cool OldStyle Lights... The park was wonderful & the reason I cannot give it 5 stars is because there was no Sprinker or Water thingy to play in & get wet for summer time.... Otherwise if I had found this park in the Fall I prolly would have given it 5 stars, but because Water Parks are my main thing right now I have to give it 4... Will be a frequest stop for me... Love the park - Give it a try! read more

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Is it illegal or just creepy for me to review a park and playground, considering I don't have any children of my own? Hold on just a minute, someone is knocking at my door. Oh hey, how's it going Chris Hansen? In all seriousness, while babysitting our preschool-aged nieces, my wife and I became very well acquainted with the playground at Hodgkins Park in Davis Square. This review is both an evaluation of the beautiful park and playground, which was recently renovated by the City of Somerville, and a testament to how far playgrounds have come since I was a child. Not being professional parents, we asked ourselves what would one do when their children had enormous energy reserves to burn? Go to the the playground, of course! It just so happened that the City of Somerville had recently revamped Hodgkins Park in Davis Square, so we strolled on down to take a look. As we passed through the front gate, under the steel Hodgkins Park sign, past the exquisitely manicured baseball field, we turned left to enter the gated playground. When I was a child, our playgrounds weren't gated or fenced in. I wouldn't say that we were encouraged to run-off, but with freedom so close, we were tempted. The first thing I noticed was that the pavement was spongy under foot. Can this be, I thought? But it was true...a rubberized surface! Children can repeatedly fall face-first from their scooters without any loss of teeth or IQ points. When I was a kid, we paved our playgrounds with asphalt and cement, and a fall from anything meant butterfly stitches at best. We continued further, and found treehouse-like structures with all sorts of fun accessories. After climbing into the treehouse by ladder or stairs, you could make a fast or slow descent via straight or curvy plastic slides, respectively. Well now smack my butt and call me Susan! If this wasn't the most revolutionary thing in slide technology I have ever witnessed. When I was a child, we had metal slides. Not only did you rocket down these things like a greased pig, always missing the "soft" (i.e. dirt) landing, but they were great conductors of heat. In the summer, the hot metal burned our legs, and in the winter, it stuck to our tongues like super glue. Next, we arrived at the playground's sand box. This wasn't really a box, per se, but rather an exhibit in interactive sand design. There were plastic buckets, shovels, trucks, and numerous other ways to move sand from place to place. This was sand Nirvana, and there was oh so much of it! When I was a child, you had to bring your own toys to the sandbox, and then hope that no one stole them from you. Furthermore, real sand was considered a luxury. If we were lucky, "sand" was delivered once a month. The street sweeper would back up to our playground and empty its contents into our 8' X 8" wood bordered sand box. Oh the fun we had separating the "sand" from cigarette butts and other refuse. Many future recycling and reclamation workers were trained in that sand box. Perhaps this is one instance in which it was better when I was a child...our playgrounds provided career training. Next we moved on to the swings, which were well anchored into the ground, and whose chains didn't pinch young fingers. They seemed perfectly safe, and the girls loved them. The Hodgkins Park Playground has a water feature! I was in awe! Water cascading down metal chutes, inviting children to splash and soak each other in the hot afternoon sun. Again, in my day, we had stagnant mud puddles. We stopped briefly at the merry-go-round. The children sat safely behind bars that held them in place as we spun it faster and faster. When I was little, the bars were meant to be held onto, in order to counter the centrifugal force. If you let go, bones would surely be broken. Last, but not least, the playground has a variation on a jungle gym with monkey bars, which our older niece gleefully enjoyed. She swung back and forth dozens of times, and if she accidentally fell, the surface was as soft and safe as the rest of the park. When I was a child, I specifically recall that our jungle gym was constructed from reclaimed lead pipes. We risked tetanus and heavy metal poisoning every time we climbed upon it. Despite these hazards, we would climb to the top of the jungle gym to look at the curious little score marks in the pipes. You see, it was rumored that one of the older kids, Billy "Screw-Eye", used to hang from the upper rungs by his teeth. I wonder what ever happened to Billy? We left, completely exhausted, after more than an hour of pure, blissful playground fun. The children enjoyed themselves so much, and I was amazed at how far playgrounds have evolved since I was a child. Kudos to Somerville and its workers for providing local children and parents with such a fun, safe place to play. Tremendous design and topnotch construction! Now if you'll excuse me, Chris wants me to take a seat and tell him what's in the paper bag. read more

Great park for kids of all ages. My niece loves it here - she can adventure on her own, the slides are big enough for me to go down as well, and there are always lots of other kids to play with. There's parking nearby, and a field if you want to do more of your own thing (play soccer, etc.). This isn't a park that will make your weekend perfect and it's not worth driving a long ways for, but if you're in the area with some kiddos who need to let off some energy, definitely stop by. read more

Children who frequent this playground with me are 4 1/2 and 9. Pros: It's a short walk from where we live. It has a rubber walking surface. The water pump feature in the sand area is fun for kids of all ages. It has two playground structures, one for littles and one for bigs. As well as two sets of swings. Cons: It's on a somewhat busy street, hold hands walking there. read more

I have mixed feelings about this park, but I'm slowly warming to it. Steven P's review does a good job of breaking down all the features of the park, so I won't rehash that info. A note: this review is from the perspective of a parent with a 16mo old. Hodgkins is incredibly busy, so it can be overwhelming, especially when the local daycares tromp in with 15-20 kids. In the spring months, there was a complete absence of playground toys, but more toys keep popping up, which is good. With the park being so busy, there is a lot of potential for conflicts over the rare trucks. The sand area isn't really well defined or placed well in the park (IMO) and has a lot of rocks/boulders in it, so if your kid isn't steady on his/her feet, that could be a hazard. The 2-5yr climbing structure is great and I love the main slide on it, which is really really wide. But the best part (now that it's operational) is the water table setup, which is basically a water hand pump that pours into a series of troughs. It has breathed new life into the playground for me (and Capt. K). Inevitably, the kids make a dam in the last trough and the water pools up. So all the kids gather around, splash the water, try to maintain the dam (or in Capt. K's case, try to destroy the dam), and generally have a great time. I also find the parent dynamics to be complicated. Maybe because there are simply so many parents, I feel there isn't much interaction or chit-chat between parents who don't already know each other. I find I'm able to meet and talk to parents far more easily at other playgrounds. It could be a layout thing too. But if you're around Davis Square and need a playground, Hodgkins is definitely worth your time. read more

Love taking my son here. There are baby swings in addition to regular swings, baby slides, a big grassy field, and lots of benches and tables. read more