RiverPlay was recently featured in an article in Newsweek

Click the link to the left to read more.

RiverPlay Discovery Village Playground is open for fun!

This one-of-a-kind playground was designed by the Eugene community to bring children in touch with Eugene ’s unique history and culture through creative play.  Discovery Village is part of an overall vision called RiverPlay, aimed at creating two regional play areas near the waterfront, linked by the River Bank Trail.  This playground was made possible by the enormous support, cooperation, and generosity of the entire community.

The vision for RiverPlay and the Discovery Village grew out of a series of public workshops that gathered ideas, perspectives, and expertise from all walks of the community.  Without the limitation of a budget, the entire project, as envisioned, was transformed into design drawings and presented back to the community.

The Eugene Rotary Club spearheaded the community effort as part of the Rotary Centennial Project, celebrating 100 years of Rotary clubs in America.  The club’s leadership and membership have worked together with the City of Eugene Parks & Open Space Division since 2003 to realize the project.

Discovery Village was designed to capture the character of our local region.  Each play element relates to something special about Eugene’s places and people.  Head to Skinner Butte Park and check out Eugene’s newest award-winning playground for yourself.

Take a Ferry Ride!  Children can pretend to be settlers as they shuttle people and cargo across the playground’s “Willamette River” on a play replica of the ferry that Eugene Skinner operated near the present-day Ferry Street Bridge shortly after settling in the area.

Play in the rain!  Help create the headwaters of the “Willamette River” at the Rain Circle, a water play element located in Kalapuya Village.  Children control the rain with a push of a button.

Discover a Kalapuya Summer Dwelling!  Kids can play on, under, and around this climbing structure, modeled after a Kalapuya summer dwelling.

Do some climbing!  On a play replica of Eugene’s unique basalt climbing columns at Skinner Butte, children can safely experience the thrill, challenge, and camaraderie of rock climbing, as well as the view from the top!

Pretend you’re a pioneer!  Creative play is fostered in Pioneer Village, where children can make-believe they’re blacksmiths, school teachers, hotel patrons, and the town mayor.  The possibilities are endless in this historical replica of Eugene, circa 1865.

Dig for fossils!  What better way to learn about the history of the area than to discover it yourself?  Dig and uncover “artifacts” that reveal physical evidence of Eugene’s history, from dinosaurs to pioneer settlements!

Ride in a stagecoach!  Head out West in a play replica of a stagecoach modeled after the ones that parked out in front of the St. Charles Hotel in Eugene.

Directions to Discovery Village :

The playground is located across the street from
210 Cheshire Avenue
Eugene, OR 97402

View map and driving directions.

Entering on the South side of the park: take High Street north; this turns into Cheshire Ave. and winds through the park.  Follow Cheshire to the NW end of the park.  Playground and parking lot will be on the right.  Entering from the North side of the park: take Lincoln, Lawrence, or Washington Street until they end at Cheshire Ave. and turn right into the park.  The playground will be a short distance down on the left of Cheshire Ave.