Wegmans Playground

Onondaga County Parks worked with the nationally acclaimed, non-profit Boundless Playground organization to create a magical place where all our children and adults- the fully able and those who have physical, sensory and developmental disabilities-can play and grow together.

The Wegmans Playground, opened in September 2003, is a prime attraction at the southern entrance to our community’s most popular park. As a major component of Onondaga County’s "Parks for Tomorrow" initiative to assure stewardship of treasured places, the Onondaga Lake project also featured the region’s first concrete skate park; a Visitor Center; recreational play fields; areas for bocce, shuffleboard, and volleyball; and extended tram and Loop the Lake trails. This is indeed a special place for family adventure, a place where history is honored and memories created, a place where everyone can feel like a kid again.

Wegmans Playground Facts

• The Playground is open daily during regular Onondaga Lake Park hours, dawn to dusk
• Wegmans Playground is located at the southern end, Wegmans Landing section of Onondaga Lake Park in Liverpool, New York.
• Wegmans Playground is approximately 40,000 sq. ft. including entry, walkways and grounds.
• The original cost to build the playground, in 2003, was $350,000 for playground equipment, plus amenities.
• Wegmans Playground is a boundless playground, meaning that all children regardless of their abilities will be able to play together. One child in ten (five million children) in the USA has disabilities. For them, a playground can be a very challenging experience. This playground is 70 percent wheelchair accessible, compared to the average of 20 percent.
  
  The idea for the boundless playground originated from the Marlene and Melvin O'Donnell family who came across a boundless playground while on vacation in New England. The O'Donnells, whose son Jimmy had cerebral palsy, approached Linda Karmen of Special Children's Services, Onondaga County Health Department, who came to Parks and suggested the new playground being planned at Onondaga Lake Park be a boundless playground. Unfortunately Jimmy passed away in 2002 before the playground was completed but his legacy lives in the children who play together at the playground every day.

Major elements of the Wegmans Playground include:

• Three large sections of the playground: Playhouse (2-12 yrs), Pre-School Age (2-5 yrs.) and School Age (5-12 yrs.)
• Global Motion - spinning play piece
• Friendship Swing
• Sway Fun, a teeter-totter structure able to accommodate wheelchairs.
• Direct ramp access to the largest area, the School Age section
• Sensory-rich play stations
• 8 ft. arched bridge
• Imagination & Activity Panels such as a sight 'n sound panel, magic ball popper panel, vision adventure panel, park ranger panel, race car panel and more.
• Chameleon & Flippopotamus Slide systems
• Orbit, Horseshoe, Cargo, Spiral and Hump Bridge Loop Climbers
• Spider, Look Out and Horizontal Ladder
• Unitary Surfacing: SurfacePlay durable carpet system and bonded engineered wood fiber will make the playground easier to navigate for children and adults in wheelchairs.
• Shade, thanks to the mature trees in the park and from roof coverings throughout the playground.

Major Donors:

• Wegmans
• WTVH, LLC
• JP Morgan Chase & Co.
• Lights on the Lake
• Coca Cola

Donations are still being accepted.

Contributions:

At the opening of the Wegmans Playground in 2003, Brownie Troop 779 from East Syracuse presented a "check" to then County Executive Nick Pirro in the amount of $300. The Brownies donated part of the cookie sales money and their parents also contributed so the girls could have a place where they could all easily play together.

Contributions for the Wegmans Playground are accepted on an ongoing basis to assure meeting the stewardship expectations of our community, with the permanent entry crediting signage updated on a timely basis. Contribution levels are as follows:

$5,000 & above "Boundless Angel"
$1,000 - $2,499 "Adventure Club"
$500 - $999 "Memory Makers"
$300 - $499 "Playhouse Gang"
$100 - $299 "Swings and Things"
up to $99 "Little Helpers"

Donations of any amount are always accepted. Download an informational brochure »
For more information, contact Onondaga Lake Park at (315) 453-6712 or olp@ongov.net.

 

During your visit to Onondaga County Parks, you may be photographed, videotaped, or filmed by Onondaga County Parks or authorized parties. Your attendance/admission serves as permission for use of these images by Onondaga County Parks. Commercial photography or filming is prohibited without permission of Onondaga County Parks.