Jefferson Park
LOCATION: 9th Avenue and Malcolm Street
DRIVING DISTANCE: About 8 minutes
HIGHLIGHTS: If I had a kid, I would take them to this park in one second. To start with, the play structure here is superior to all other play structures I’ve ever experienced. In my entire life. It has two very exciting slides and one of those scoochy air-glide thingies (I don’t know what those are called, but they’re AWESOME). And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better there’s a GIANT SPIDER DOME MADE OF STURDY ROPE TO GET TANGLED IN. Past the play structure, Jefferson Park features a pond for recreational fishing in the summer (and, I like to imagine, toy boat races), a 10-and-under seasonal pool and two wildlife-friendly streams with plenty of ducks. AND it’s right next to a Rec Center for rainy day amusement.
NEEDS IMPROVEMENT: Jefferson lacks one major park essential: Trees. The wide open spaces fail to amuse for those who seek non-man-made pleasures.
OVERALL GRADE: B

Pioneer Park
LOCATION: Alder and Division Streets
DRIVING DISTANCE: About 2 minutes
HIGHLIGHTS: In my mind, Pioneer is the greatest park in the world. And before you get freaked out, I have, indeed, been to Central Park in New York. It was a little overwhelming for my taste. Walla Walla’s oldest park perfectly balances breathtaking-all-year-long sycamore trees with gorgeous lakes, sports arenas and play structures. There’s even a sledding hill (yes, that’s what that is). Did you know the gazebo in Pioneer Park was historically used for bandstands to perform? Wouldn’t that have been cool? Now it’s the best place in Walla Walla to write poetry by flashlight at 1 a.m. And to top it all off, there is an AVIARY, with some of the most exotic pheasants you’ve ever seen. I think it’s fun to look at the birds and decide which of my professors each bird most resembles, physically and in personality. Unlike Central Park, you can always find a corner of Pioneer Park to be perfectly secluded.
NEEDS IMPROVEMENT: Nothing.
OVERALL GRADE: A

Xeriscape Park
LOCATION: Where Rose Street becomes Isaacs Avenue
DRIVING DISTANCE: On campus (practically)
HIGHLIGHTS: I’ve always wondered about Xeriscape Park, haven’t you? I mean, it’s literally like 25 square feet big, right? What’s its deal? Is there more of it lurking around the Physical Plant somewhere? And what’s with that sign in front that says “Vision: Walla Walla 2020?” Well, it turns out this is less of a park and more of a “demonstration garden,” which features lots and lots of fancy plants (which are apparently not, for the most part, actually “xeriscaping” plants, meaning plants that conserve water). Although there is some drought-resistant grass and also a sculpture called “A Hole In The Earth.”
NEEDS IMPROVEMENT: Xeriscape Park should probably have a sign somewhere that better explains what its mission is. Because I had to scour the Internet to find my answers. And some people don’t have that kind of patience.
OVERALL GRADE: C-

Bennington Lake
LOCATION: 3211 Reservoir Road
DRIVING DISTANCE: About 20 minutes
HIGHLIGHTS: Owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers but open to the public, Bennington Lake is the Walla Walla area’s only public lake (Lakum Duckum apparently doesn’t quite constitute a “real” lake). When I went up most recently I saw (within a time period of, like, six minutes): three kinds of pheasant, a flock of quail, assorted falcons and small hawks, a flurry of kinglets, a killdeer, two kinds of sandpiper and my very first greater yellowlegs. You can hunt in the surrounding Mill Creek area, but that sounds dumb to me. There are also lots of deer, and at night there are owls and bullfrogs. During the day the intense quiet by the lake is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. Nice bike trails, too.
NEEDS IMPROVEMENT: Bennington Lake is less of a park and more of an experience. Take a picnic and an open mind, not an appetite for playground romps.
OVERALL GRADE: A-