Watch for New Climbing Forest in Western Urbandale Park

Bit by bit, the  Walnut Creek Regional Park is being developed into a 225-acre, family-focused recreational area for western Urbandale.

The newest project will be a "Climbing Forest" play pocket along the new park trail from 156th Street to Prairie Avenue. The play pocket would be east of the Horizon's Ridge playground on the trail.

Urbandale Parks Director Jan Herke said the concept is to increase the use of the trails by families with children. In general, trails are most used by mature couples, joggers or health-conscious adults, less so by families, she said. 

"Children become bored without playful opportunities and parents find that public pathways don't offer a way to engage the family as a unit," she wrote in a memo to the Urbandale City Council.

The climbing forest would be another stop on the trail, which links three separate housing areas, that would allow families to stop and let children play. The climbing trees provide a way for children to engage their imaginations and their muscles in moving from "tree" to "tree."

The city will purchase the play structure from the company Game Time, using a $5,000 grant from the Dallas County Foundation and $12,251 in revenue the city receives from the owners of cell phone towers on city property. 

Other Game Time play pocket structures also incorporate nature themes such as leaves, flowers, dragonflies, frogs, turtles, spiders, bees and ants, said Herke.