 | Howarth Memorial Park, Santa Rosa |
| Wine Country/Santa Rosa, CA Print Leave a comment |
Description
Howarth Memorial Park is a super fun place to be during the summer and on weekends when the carousel, petting zoo, pony rides, train rides, splash pad, and ice cream shop are in full gear. The rest of the year, your kids will enjoy the playground with the space net, a huge netted climbing structure, that they can jump and sway on. There's a wonderful new playground in pale grey, red, and blue with slides, curvy monkey bars, and little stations where kids can move beads and make designs of their own. There's pretend cows and saddles to ride, a pretend pig to give water to, teepee huts, an extensive kid-sized Old-West town complete with jail cell and sleeping guard, and there's a toddler playground. The splash pad is wild fun for kids, because it stops and starts adding an element of surprise! There's lots of beautiful trees, shade, and grass, which makes for a lovely environment. There's a pretty, deep-blue lake with ducks. A wooded trail around it is filled with happy folk walking their dogs. You can hike or bike ride on the great bike path here. Some hikes go all the way from Lake Ralphine to Spring Lake and Annadel Park. You can rent paddleboats and canoes on Lake Ralphine right here at Howarth Park on weekends and in the summer.
Just a short walk from the playground in the opposite direction of the carousel are a rock-climbing wall, swings, and two finger parks which are little towns that you can drive your miniature Hot Wheels cars or Tech Deck skate-boards over with your fingers.
My son has a blast every time we visit this playground! He rides a pony, grabs a snow cone to cool off, and then jumps to his heart's content on the space net while girls scream in fear below!
If you're hungry, grab a picnic at the good deli at Whole Foods Market at 1181 Yulupa Avenue, on the block between the main streets of Hoen and Sonoma (from the park, turn left on Summerfield, right on Sonoma, left on Yulupa).
To visit some lovely gardens, head along Sonoma Avenue from Howarth Park to Luther Burbank Gardens, which are small and easy to visit, and fun for kids. Also nearby is 4th Street and Downtown Santa Rosa, with its nice sidewalk cafes and coffee shops, and a large mall at the west end of 4th St.
Photo Gallery
Click on photo to see large versionThe splash pad in full gear on a weekend late in September! |
Fun in the splash pad! |
Mini-train rides and a carousel!!! |
The mini-train, which takes you over Howarth Lake and a 100-year-old bridge. |
Pony rides! |
The rock-climbing wall! |
The beautiful new playground structure. |
The Old West town, and cows to ride. |
Games to play quietly... |
Lake Ralphine, and ducks to feed! |
The incredibly fun space net! |
Directions
Exit Highway 101 at Hwy 12 and follow signs to Sonoma. You will come to a choice: left lanes will go to Napa, middle lane to Farmers Lane, and right lane somewhere else. Take the middle lane. You will be going along Hoen Street. Turn left on Summerfield, which is just past Yulupa Ave. Follow Summerfield past Sonoma Ave and the park will be on your right. There is plenty of parking in the parking lot or along the road. Carousel $2
Pony rides $2.50
Boat rentals $8
The petting zoo/animal barn is open in summer only.
Carousel, pony rides, and train rides are open every day from 11-5 in summer and during Spring Break, and on weekends in spring and fall.
This is an interactive map, you can zoom and move it.
Visitor Ratings
Overall Visitor Rating: 
Kam 11/26/2010 09:08 | Amazing pics!! Whole Foods is a delicious place and I adore the people who work there! | |
Kayla 07/07/2010 12:58 | My FAVORITE place! :) | |
Kristen 12/01/2009 00:29 | Howarth Park is fantastic! There is so much to do. IT would take more than a day to do everything that they offer. The park has an amusement area with a miniature train, a carousel, an animal barn where you can pet the animals and pony rides. On the other side of the park is a lake where you can rent paddleboats, canoes, sailboats, kayaks, and row boats. The lake is just the right size too. There is plenty of room for everyone. The park also has a baseball field and tennis courts. You can spend from half an hour to all day and have a blast! | |
Carolee 11/25/2009 20:51 | One of my faves to visit! | |
Janey 10/09/2009 20:19 | Gorgeous, this work is excellent! | |
ashlyn j 05/19/2008 09:14 | fun fun fun |
