Friendship Park in Chelmsford

Friendship Park is a large, modern playground at Roberts Field in Chelmsford, MA. It is easy to get to and qualifies as a Destination Playground. Upon arrival you will park in a large, paved lot and then walk the short distance over to the fenced playground. The fence is not gated and there are three openings for entry/exit distributed around the space.

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The playground was designed to be inclusive and accessible which usually means you get the fringe benefit of being more toddler friendly. The design brings in extra sensory and interactive elements to round out a rich environment for playground visitors.

Friendship Park’s Little Kid Structures

First, the toddler and little kid area. Nicely balancing the abilities of both wobbly toddlers and adventurous little ones, this side of the park as two structures. There is a cute little house that was just never-not-filled with kiddos. It features toddler-sized steps going up, a tunnel on the opposite side and interactive stations for littles to fuss with while they stand.

Then there is the little-kid version of the large main structure. This spot has plenty of places for kiddos to climb, slide and exercise those gross motor skills. There is a well-placed bench on the other side in case you are lucky enough to get to sit down, you can see both the little house and this play area.

My favorite feature, a slide designed for climbing up! So much better than a climbing wall or another ladder for this target age group, the textured “slide” gives them something to work with in that trek up!

Friendship Park’s Main Structure

This big guy is the main attraction! Thanks to the ramp entry, littles who are ready for it can venture around pretty independently over here as well. The tower leads to two nice tube slides and the whole structure feels fairly spread out when you’re in it, leaving lots of room to run and explore the different levels. It was our personal experience that the slides are long but not fast like the similarly designed metal ones at other playgrounds.

Attached to the side of the main structure is this unique feature that gives me amusement park boat ride vibes. Jump and wiggle your heart out, this rocks and sways all on kid power.

What Would You Call This Thingamajig?

The coolest climbing tower around and a refreshing change from the rope pyramid things, this rope tower provides lots of different options. There are even some platforms on the higher level for taking a break. It looked like a good place for a secret clubhouse sort of meeting.

The Zipline!

This is my favorite kind of zipline, I was so excited to discover it here! This style is so much better than the previous handlebar versions that are almost always out of reach or broken.

In keeping with the accessible standards of the rest of the playground, there is an accessible seat zipline as well as the typical disc you can sit on. Many a little one was having a great time in the accessible seat and it is a great way for a hesitant kiddo to try out the zipline and find their confidence.

Other Features at Friendship Park in Chelmsford

In a very fitting move, Friendship Park has a friendship swing.

There are accessible swings, typical swings and bucket swings.

Friendship Park has a large sandbox with two installed diggers. One with a seat and one without.

Right by the entrance and the shady tree is a fun merry-go-round surrounded by rubber turf.

This picnic pavilion provides shade and has a pretty good view of the whole playground space.

Ice Cream Right Next Door

Chelmsford’s Country Creamery and Coffeehouse is right next to the playground. It is connected to the park by a nice bridge. When we stopped over for an ice cream break I opted for an iced coffee instead and almost immediately regretted my decision. Playground ice cream break is for playground ice cream, learn from my mistake and go for the soft serve – and get some sprinkles on there!

Walking Path with Workout Stations

After ice cream we took a walk around the fields and scoped out the workout stations. Shiny and new like the playground, there are four or five stations around the walking path. I haven’t seen anything this fancy and nice at a park before, I am very impressed and send my kudos to the town of Chelmsford!

To walk the loop once is about a half a mile – disregard the GPS glitch on the image, I in fact did not suddenly run across the road and back. A good contender for a stroller nap walk, the loop takes you out by the pond as well. There is a picnic table so if you have easily distracted kids who don’t eat when there’s fun to be had, this might be a good spot for you to give everyone a breather!

Friendship Park’s Quick Facts