Playground Profile: Jewett Park Deerfield

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Nestled in downtown Deerfield, just next to the train station and the quaint downtown shopping district, is a gem of a playground, Jewett Park. A large variety of diverse playground equipment spread out within the 13-acre park, making it a perfect destination just for the park or as a stopping point during a shopping day in Deerfield. The nearby train station makes Jewett Park and the shopping district ideal for a train field trip with your little ones. Hop on a train at any station along the Milwaukee District North Metra, ride a few stops, hop off at the Deerfield Station, and you can walk right over to this large playground. Even if a train ride isn’t in the works, just the fact that you can see trains stopping while playing at the park was a big draw for my preschool-aged boys.

Jewett Park, Deerfield

On my first visit to Jewett Park, we parked in a lot near the Jewett Park Community Center. There is street parking surrounding the park, as well as some lots, including the community center. Be sure to check signage as some of the lots have day/time parking restrictions. Right next to the community center is a large shady play area with multiple play structures under beautiful, huge old trees.

The upper play area is a tot area, which includes a sandy play area, along with a train play structure, lots of small climbers and tot size vehicles, and interesting play spots. They also have large disc swings in this area that were lots of fun. But the highlight of the tot area for me had to be the fact that it’s fenced in with gates that those little hands cannot open. This part of the play area is not far from the streets, so the fence is a great added layer of protection for parents watching multiple kids. (Editor’s Note: During the summer, the tot area may be closed for use by summer day camp programs from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., call (847) 945-0650 to verify)

Outside the fenced tot area, there is a large play structure designed for older kids also next to the Jewett Community Center. It’s full of bridges, climbing spots, and larger drop-offs. It’s slightly different from most parks I have seen in the area, and my boys really enjoyed it. This structure is almost entirely shaded, and there are park benches and picnic tables in the shade nearby.

While playing at these fun playgrounds, our eyes were drawn about 200 feet away to a HUGE play structure across the baseball fields.

After about 45 minutes in the play areas near the Jewett Community Center, we walked along the path, past the baseball fields, to the other side of the park. Here, there is a beautiful new playground, with a three-story slide structure, a tot play area, a climbing structure, and a spinning climber. My three-year-olds could handle the three-story slides, but they did end up coming out upside-down crazy sometimes. It is a great play area, with clean bathrooms and really interesting play equipment. There is a miniature play structure that mirrors the large one, designed for 2-5-year-olds, but of course, my 3-year-old boys wanted to head right up into the big one.

It’s a little more work when you are with preschool kids to keep track of them and where they are, but they loved climbing and exploring on this large structure.

Overall, Jewett Park is a great destination park for a family with children of all ages. It is easy to spend hours exploring, climbing, and playing at all the fun areas within Jewett Park. You can pack a picnic, and just stay in the park. The added perk to a trip to Jewett Park is you are so close to great shopping (including Whole Foods, which is just across the street), allowing you to get some errands or fun shopping done and have downtime with the kids at the park, all in one outing. Jewett Park is a large, clean, well-shaded park that kids of all ages will go wild for.