Peabody Park

I'm starting to become a fan of Memphis' smaller green spaces. There are small parks and massive medians scattered around the city that are usually less crowded than the large parks.That's why I love Peabody Park in midtown. It's smaller and less crowded than nearby Overton Park, and it's got some unique features. There are two large metal sculptures by local artist Yvonne Bobo, a pavillion, and a large playground.But the best thing about Peabody Park is the splash park.During the summer, it's packed with kids trying to cool off in the intermittent spray from fountains, geysers, misters and rainfalls.The park is also home to the Raymond Skinner Center, a community recreation center that has special resources for people with mental and physical disabilities.The splash park at Peabody Park is free and open daily during the summer.

Peabody Park is my favorite park in midtown. There are multiple slides, swings (including infant swings), monkey bars, fun little tunnels and playground games for the kids. There's also a little pavilion near the playground and a larger one off to the side near the splash park. During the summer, our girls love to don their bathing suits and run around in the motion controlled splash park sprinklers. There are smaller ones for the little kiddies and larger splashes for the fearless older kids. The equipment is all in good shape, and I never worry about my kids getting hurt. When we go out for family day, this is one of our favorite stops.

My husband and I seem to have been enrolled in the "Adopt-a Kid-for-a-Day" program. Ever since we started talking about the possibility of having children our friends have more than happily volunteered their little ones on us. I have no issues with this as I seem to relate to the workings of a child's brain much more easily than those of adults any day of the week. We've had quite a bit of fun in the process. We took our friend's daughter here a couple weeks ago, and she had a blast. She is 3 and loved sporting her bathing suit and running amok in the "spray ground." There's something quite entertaining in watching little kids play, and there's nothing quite like the sound of children laughing. The kids here have a blast. They easily made friends with one another and we had a hard time pulling her away when it was time to go. Though it was much too hot this particular day for her to enjoy the playground portion of this park, I took note in how clean it was and how much fun I would have had there as a child. It wasn't very crowded, not sure if this was due to the heat index or just because it still a hidden secret for most Memphians. Either way, we had a blast living vicariously through her child eyes.

We stopped here for a place to let the kids play and stretch their legs whle traveling. They loved the fountains and played for a long while. The playground was nice and in a shaded area, so they enjoyed everything on a hot afternoon in July. We have gone to many parks with these water features and this was a nicely designed one. It looked like it could use a little maintenence,in one area the textured flooring was coming up and the concrete was exposed which could lead to some slips. 95% of it was fine. There was also a little trash around, but nothing that couldn't be picked up. The usual for a public space.Everyone was having fun and their were a couple of birthday parties going on, it was a great stop.

This is a cute little park in Midtown, right before the overpass that takes you into the main intersection of Midtown on Cooper and Young.It's also where Memphis Pride is held and is a very fun time for young and old. Be sure to get your rainbow snow cone.It's not too big, not too small, and always very clean. A good place to bring the kids or take a little walk away from the city feel. A nice little getaway.

When I was younger this park was always one of my favorites, especially because of the splash park area in the summer. Now I'm a bit old for that but I still enjoy coming here with a coffee and a book to read! Playground and splash park are consolidated to one end of the park, while benches in the sun and in the shade are spread over the other half. Seeing kids playing but not having them right in your face is perfect for me. Very enjoyable place, always has nice young kids and their parents around in the summer months, good place for whatever you need a park in Midtown to do for you!

This is a great little park for those in the neighborhood. I think it's not worth a drive over if you don't live around here.The splash park is great, but gets crowded really quickly since it's so small. We tend to only go on weekday mornings.The little park is great, and nothing to complain about. Swings, slides, and things to climb on are all you need for a decent park. Trash scattered about at times, but really it just looks bad, it's not a health issue. Overall, a great little green space that I love having so close to home!