Skinner (not Skinner's) Butte Park is the the location of the homestead of Eugene's founder, named…read moreEugene Skinner, and is one of the city's oldest parks. It's a large park right on the banks of the Willamette River and offers a variety of activities. There's the playground, RiverView Discovery Village, which is fairly large and has some pretty cool. It has various structures for kids to play on and around, representing storefronts, a stagecoach, and so on. There's the typical slides and swings and stuff that you'll find at a playground as well. They also have a "splash pad", which is a circular pipe sticking out of the ground about 10 feet, but it does spray so I guess it's something. The park fronts the river, and although the playground is not immediately on the bank of the river it's close enough that you'll want to keep a close watch on your children (every year there are tragedies along the Willamette). There is no fencing or anything around the playground, which seems like a no-brainer in this location but I guess not, and that's why I give the three-star rating instead of four. It's just a really nerve-wracking park especially for parents of small children. There could be more picnic tables around the playground... there's at least three, but that may be it. There's lots of green space for folks to spread out on the grass as well, which several people were doing whilst we were here celebrating my daughter's birthday. There was a drum circle that showed up about 20 minutes before we left as well and that was kinda cool. Part of the general park area are the Columns, remnants of a basalt quarry that existed for a few decades in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a pretty popular spot for rock climbing. It's a short distance from the playground area. I went with a class as a middle schooler and was not too keen on climbing myself. Then there's the titular Butte, which one can hike to the top or drive. I've never hiked up myself, but the drive is sometimes closed to traffic when fires are a concern. There are biking trails, a community garden, and the Campbell Senior Center is on the eastern edge of the park as well. There are bathrooms here, and although I didn't go into them my sister and friend did and apparently they're kinda weird--no doors on the stalls. I suppose that must be some sort of safety measure? It's fairly odd, regardless. There's a fairly decent sized parking lot to the east of the playground as well, and parking along the southern end of the park (at the base of the Butte).

It's always a nice time at Skinner's Butte Park no matter what time of year it is. A little colder…read moreon the path by the river, but still a breath of fresh air!

This small park is located high up in the Southwest Hills in a very quiet residential neighborhood…read more It has a big open grass area perfect for lying down in the summer to see the stars. Away from the light pollution of the city, it's the perfect place to see the Perseid meteor showers every August.

Nestled in the hills of Southwest Eugene lies this cute little park, perfect to take the kids to…read morerun around or ride their bikes in. The park is small but it's quiet since it's tucked away in a nice neighborhood. There are some benched and a water fountain but no bathrooms. There's a large grass area if you want to kick the ball around but it's pretty muddy in the winter. You have to park on the street but there are some paved pathways that are good for anyone whose handicap or for kids to learn to ride their bikes. I left a star off because the playground equipment really needs an update. It's geared towards older kids and not really toddler friendly besides the swings. Even the slide isn't accessible unless you can climb a wall. Everyone who was here was very friend and the street doesn't get much traffic because it's a dead end street which is nice. There are a few trees but it's mostly out in the open with a lot of sunlight.

I don't review many parks, but felt ABP deserved some mention. ABP is like the "Central Park" of…read moreEugene. It is huuuuge and has so many walking/biking paths, ponds, artwork, gardens, and many places to explore. You can definitely get lost and feel away from the city here. I loved that it runs along the river and has nooks to explore. The path goes across the bridge and has amazing views at the top. There's a fun little pathway to the island and it was cool to be able to go onto the island and be that much closer to the ducks and geese. Everywhere you go has something interesting. It was also extremely clean. The park is large enough to disperse the crowd, allowing privacy. We were able to let our dog offleash to run around for a bit. Just keep in mind there are a lot of people and dogs walking around, though. Around under the bridge, we did see some sketchy folks. Be careful not to lean on the railings because there were tons of webs AND the owner of those webs! I'm talking about a spider in between almost every railing. Parking was easy. We mapped it to ABP and it took us to a free parking lot with a lot of empty spaces. Overall, the park was a great escape from the city. Sunsets are so beautiful with the reflections and serene sound of the water.

There was no way we were coming to Tracktown and not going for a run. Of course, in my dreams it…read morewould have been in Hayward Field but I'm not a track star (that's my son). I'm a distance runner so outdoor on a gorgeous trail suits me perfectly! I knew I wanted to hit Pre's Trail and now I wish we'd gone more than once. This was such a lovely loop, I could have easily done it 3-4x. The longest distance is 4 miles. If you're a marathoner one loop isn't going to cut it for a majority of your needs but it's really nice out here. The trees were all changing colors, we spotted some gorgeous birds and I LOVE birds. It made my entire morning and I'm glad I got to experience it with my bestie. I've been cycling 300+ miles a week lately and it really felt good to get out of the saddle and move my legs in a different way. It's almost marathon training time for me, so getting out on Pre's Trail helped jump start my transition into incorporating my running back into my daily routine. If I lived nearby I'd be here daily for walks and runs. Beautiful park.

Tugman Park is a nice park in South Eugene. This neighborhood park has a large lawn area and a nice…read moresized playground at the back of the lawn. I like where the playground is situated, as even a runner is unlikely to find its way to the street before a caregiver catches up to them. The playground is has a sawdust surface throughout. There are some toddler swings and a structure that's suitable for small children which I appreciated. They had the "regular" type of baby swing but also combined swing I hadn't ever seen before, on which an older child or adult is on one side and the baby/toddler is on the other so they can swing together. Kind of a cool setup. There's also a sand pit here. I never know whether that's a good or bad thing... I put my little one in it so she could feel the sand and she was not having it. We'd met my friend here and her kids had a lot of fun in the sand until we moved to another area of the park. In addition to several benches scattered around the park, there are flush toilets here too. Parking is on the street only, but there's plenty of it.

Tugman Park is a well maintained neighborhood park in South Eugene. There is a large grass area for…read morepicnicking, easy street parking and a walking trail for a morning or evening stroll. This park does have bathrooms which is very convenient when bringing your kids here. This park has your average play structure along with some old school equipments like metal slide, metal jungle gym and teeter totters. On a hot day those might be too hot for the kiddos but there is a separate play structure and a coupe of benches to hang out on. There isn't much shade here besides one tree in the grass. It stays pretty quiet here which is nice and relaxing. If you need some food you are a short drive to Safeway, Albertsons or even Hideaway Bakery!

While visiting a friend we decided to go for a little walk and stumbled across Creekside Park. This…read morepark is located right on the edge of north Eugene but if you live in this area it's a great park to take the kids or just walk around in on a nice day. I think this park has one of the most modern, fun and safe play structures I have seen in a while. I'm a nanny part time so I'm always taking the kids I watch to different parks to keep things interesting so I see a lot of different playgrounds. I saw a bunch of kids playing in a cool water area with water pumps which seemed super fun and a great way to keep them occupied. There is also a bike path here which can be for walking or biking through the park. I love how there is also a big field if you want to throw a ball around or play some corn hole!

This is a neat little park that is quite small but out of the way. Nice place to just stop and…read morechill from time to time.

Small but nice park in the Fairmount area near the University of Oregon. Though it's on the smaller…read moreside as far as parks in Eugene go, it has a lot of amenities. There's a place to play basketball, as well as playground equipment. There are picnic tables too, and luckily restrooms available too. There's an area on one end of the park that has a water feature to play in as well. The park is accessible--I'm not sure if there was any particular accessibility for the paths and other equipment, but I do believe the bathrooms were made accessible.

merry go round not that fast, swings pinch your hips. teeter totter can barely be considered one,…read morenot high enough off ground. scooper has no seat, shit range, and nothing to draw from. can't even jump to obelisk in the middle of the sand pit, and border curbs are slanted which makes it hard to walk on. also no lights??? public bathroom is a plus.

This is a cute little neighborhood park that you'd never know about unless you lived in one of the…read moreneighboring apartment complexes. It's basically an open field with a few nice picnic tables. The land boundary choices are a little odd, there is a beautiful river surrounding the park but you can't get to it because the entirety of the park is fenced in. I can almost picture the city planners in their meeting saying "Yess.... yess.. this is the perfect place for a park. We can give people a place to enjoy nature, and also not enjoy it too much at the same time!".