Philippe Park

On the latest park adventure we headed to Philippe Park in Safety Harbor. When we first arrived I was admittedly underwhelmed. I thought it was going to be much like Veteran's Park in St. Pete which in my humble opinion is fine woodsy area with picnic tables but leaves a family needing more. However, Philippe was a rather great surprise. It certainly is woodsy. It has winding roads within it to provide the scenic ambiance and likely to slow down the traffic. As we were taking our initial tour we saw several spaces where the park met the shoreline of the harbor and glistened through the trees. Perhaps the residual Valentine's in the air we saw those small spots filled with couples gazing into each other's eyes.

Tucked in the woods was the coolest play area. Giving the appearance of boulders this play space had several obstacle course style elements and climbing areas. It is definitely not for young kids. Vivian got very frustrated with this area because nothing was accessible to her, and to be honest it was only accessible to Lydia because she is tall and coordinated. Otherwise, they both would have been cranky.
Philippe Park is also the home of a historic landmark site. The Tocobagan Indian Mound positioned right on the edge of Safety Harbor has a little bit of a steep incline to get to the top and two sets of stone staircases that take you to the water. We were there at sunset providing an ideal backdrop with the refreshing evening coolness. The girls loved going up and down the stairs. For those that may struggle on stairs there were several landings with benches available for rested if needed.
In addition to these fun features there was also a tradition playground area. There was both a large play area typically designated for 5-12 year old kids and a smaller one for 2-5. This space also had a couple of highlights. A couple of dinosaurs that were ride-able and a climbing thing that sort of looked like a caterpillar so we went with that. The girls could have played for a lot longer but the once the sun was gone it was our signal to head home.

This would be a great park to consider for a family picnic or party. A good friend has his company picnic here a couple years back no doubt because there is a plethora of picnic shelters of various sizes, barbecues both near some empty field spaces where we saw families kicking soccer balls around. It would be a place to scout out to pick the best fit for your party for sure.

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