Earl R. Carmichael Park

PARK REVIEW

Ehhh…is all I have to say about this playground. It was just “ok”. This is a 10.5 acre park that has one playground, tennis courts, basketball goals, and a baseball diamond. It is alongside Benton street in a residential area. The playground has equipment mostly geared towards older kids, but there are some things that the little ones can do as well. It’s not a bad playground by any means, but I’ve seen better. The grounds were landscaped nicely and the grass was freshly cut, but there was a lot of graffiti on benches and other surfaces.

PARK HOURS – ½ hour past sunset

ADDRESS -- 3445 Benton Street, Santa Clara

PLAYGROUND RATING

(2 out of 5 stars)

Reviewed:

May 2008

PLAYGROUND

The playground is an older wooden structure. The equipment requires a lot of climbing, so the little kids are going to have more trouble. There were no stairs on the equipment; mostly ladders and surfaces to climb, so moms and dads need to stay with the toddlers to help them climb up.

There is not a designated toddler section, but there were a few things that they could do. They did have a baby swing, and a couple of slides. They will also enjoy the sand box. However, they will need parental assistance to climb on the playground equipment. A 3-4 year old would probably not have any difficulty climbing up on their own, but the really young ones might.

  • Playground Equipment

    • 2 Big Swings

    • 1 Baby Swing

    • 2 Large Metal Slides – two different heights

    • 1 Small Metal Slide – good for a toddler

    • 1 Small Plastic Slide – good for a toddler, except stand at the bottom to catch them

    • Sand Box

    • Rocking toys in the shapes of an elephant, bunny, duck, and a frog

    • Sliding Bar

    • Monkey Bars

    • Bridge

    • Lots of ladders and structures to climb

  • Playground Construction

    • Wooden

    • Equipment located on sand

  • Shade Level

    • There was no shade over the playground. There are some tall trees around, but in the middle of the day, they provide little shade.

  • Seating

      • There are 4 park benches for parents. Two of these benches were under the trees for a little bit of shade protection.

Sliding Bar

Rocking Animals

Swings

Earl R. Carmichael Playground Equipment

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

PICNIC AREA

There is a grassy field that has a few picnic tables. They are under some trees. It was a nice area to have a picnic.

WALKING PATHS

This is not a huge park, but there are sidewalks that go around it which would make for a good walk. A big portion of the sidewalk runs along Benton Street. It is not a heavily traveled road, so there are not too many cars.

MAINTENANCE

The park was somewhat clean. It was nicely landscaped and the grass was cut. However, there did seem to be a good amount of trash around the playground equipment. It was not so much that it would deter me from returning to the park though. There was graffiti on the park benches and surrounding surfaces.

RESTROOMS

There were nice restrooms located right next to the playground. They had multiple stalls, and there was a baby changing station. The bathrooms were clean.

WATER FOUNTAINS

There were 2 water fountains located on the building with the restrooms.

PARKING

There was plenty of parking outside of the playground.

PARK FEATURES

Tennis courts, basketball goals, and a baseball diamond

PARK WEBSITE

http://santaclaraca.gov/park_recreation/pr_carmichael.html