NJ Mommy Blog

Morgan Pellowski Playground in Colonial Park   156 Mettlers Road Somerset, NJ 08873

In March, G turned three, and since then, she has been channeling Spiderman and climbing on everything! Two weeks ago, I rescued her from the top of her toddler bed headboard. Last week, I found her on top of the kitchen table dangling from an open cabinet. This week, she was using the couch arm as a balance beam. Seriously, I thought that stuff ended at age 2?!

When I read NJ Family’s May Playground Spotlight about the extensive climbing structures at the newly renovated Morgan Pellowski Playground in Colonial Park, I quickly planned a visit. If G was going to climb anyway, at least she can do it at the park without risk of destroying the few pieces of my house that are still intact.

Directions and Playground Parking:

Using the GPS address of 156 Mettlers Road Somerset brought us to the expansive 685 acre Colonial Park. The playground parking lot is just off the main park drive next to the playground. I had no trouble parking, however, I visited on a weekday morning.

Morgan Pellowski Playground:

The playground has two main areas: the toddler/preschool section recommended for kids ages 2-5 and the big kid section recommended for the 5-12 year old age group.

Both playground areas are on a soft, cushiony rubber inlay safety surface material.

Both playground sections have park benches surrounding the play areas.

There is a small shaded pavilion adjacent to the big kid section with park benches along the perimeter.

Although there are many shady areas on the perimeter of the playgrounds, one drawback is that the playground areas themselves have little to no shade.

Playground Equipment:

Photo Credit: http://www.somersetcountyparks.org/parksfacilities/colonial/CP_Playground.html

Preschool Section:

The preschool section was created just right for the littles.  It has a jungle gym and slide, cozy dome, sensory wall, and roller table. We spent a little bit of time here, but G was eager to head up to the Big Kid area for climbing.

Big Kid Section:

The Big Kid section was “so cool” with lots of climbing involved. It was really unique with lots of interconnecting rope structures and sets of monkey bars. You won’t find slides or a typical jungle gym here. There were many play structures that I certainly had never seen before. The Sway Fun See Saw was a hit; it looked like two couches with a table in the middle that kids could sit on and rock back and forth. There was a standing see saw balance, spring platform, and moving discs with ropes to climb across. It’s definitely an area that will excite the kids and tire them out too.

Restrooms:

Restrooms are located adjacent to the parking lot and the preschool age playground. They were relatively clean. The women’s bathroom had a baby changing table.

Food/Picnicking:

The playground surroundings have ample open space and scattered trees shading areas of grass on both sides. There are many spots for picnicking on the grass under shady trees. We enjoyed a picnic lunch just outside of the big kid area.

If you’re not wild about eating on the grass, there are plenty of park benches. There’s a shaded center pavilion near the big kid area with benches surrounding it, or you could walk down to the large shaded Knob Hill pavilion off of the parking lot.

Forgot to pack lunch? Elizabeth Avenue, adjacent to the park, has a Subway, Panera, bagel shop, and pizzeria for a quick lunch pick up.

Colonial Park:

Colonial Park is huge, set on 685 acres and has lots to do other than the playground. There is a 1.4 mile paved fitness course, 18 hole putting green, mini golf, paddle boat rentals, dog park, arboretum, and sports fields. We only planned for a picnic and playground time, but you can definitely spend the whole day here. We did have time to walk down to the the water and enjoy the picturesque scenery. We even bumped into some deer strolling along the road on our way out of the park.

 Overall:

We spent a beautiful spring day at this park and playground and loved it. The playground equipment is really unique and definitely warrants a visit. The park surroundings are very picturesque, clean, and peaceful. There is plenty to do if you’re looking to plan a whole day visit. We would love to visit again.