Stacey Park - The Crown Jewel Of Olivette Parks

Stacey Park Experience Summary

Stacy Park is my home field advantage park because it's a five minute walk from my house and a major reason we will where we live.

Stacy Park is the crown jewel of the Olivette park system as it's the biggest park in Olivette along with the host to most major town events.

Part of the larger set of Olivette park renovations, Stacey was renovated during and after the pandemic from 2021 to 2022. The result if the renovations is a brand new pavilion, new parking lot, a re-oreiented running trail and walking path, and a brand new "hike" through the wooded area in the southwest corner of the park.

While the playgrounds were not updated during the renovation, they're the reason you come to the park on a random weekday. While not as fancy as Deer Creek's Rocket Ship or as activity filled asTilles Park, it's what I'm going to coin as "Playground Complete". It meets all the requirements for an above average playground:

• Mutliple slides

• Atleast ten ways to get on

• Separate little kids area

• Swings

• Enough things to keep kids busy for an hour

The pavillion is big enough to hold major elementary school events and comes with charcoal grills. We had my son's fifth birthday here when it was a much smaller pavillion before the renovations, but it's great for that kind of thing.

Other random ameniteis include a small pond, picnic tables, and a large field surrounded by the running path.

The bathrooms are average here. They are clean, but I'd prefer not to poop in them. There's only one stall and one urinal in the men's room.

Parking is easy with a giant lot that barely gets full during major events it seems.

All in all, it's a great park. While you really wouldn't have reason to visit unless coming for sports, an event, or because you live here, it's one of the better community parks in the area.

Stacey Park Playground Breakdown

Stacey Park Main Playground

The main playground is made for let's say 5 to 10 year olds, but my three and a half year old stil gets value from 80% of it. It's got five slides, a ton of random climbing entrances, and a bridge. There are a couple of tricky stair cases and fire poles

It's like the quitentestial American neighborhood playground making it "Playground Complete".

The highlight of the playground for my three-year-old is the twisty slide.

Other Apparati

The one unique apparatus in the playground area is a four sided rock climbing wall that leads up to a crow's nest. Then there are two fire man poles to get down. My seven-year-old says it's the best apparatus at the park.

There is another smaller rock climbing apparatus and a spinny wheel. It's had to explain exactly what it is, but I would put a hard minimum age at seven to using it.

There is also a playground for younger kids, let's say 5 and under playground. The playground is much smaller, but it has a seesaw, some teeter-tooter ride on animals, and a couple of swings. It's totally accessible for my younger guy and my older guy manages to climb on things that probably were meant to be climbed on.

Park Amenities And Miscellaneous

The biggest draw of Stacey is the sheer variety of above average amenities it has. Here are the top five amenities

1. Walking / Running Path

The smenity most used by people in the neighborhood outside of the playground is the walking path. The path has a .6 mile standard loop that you could stretch to .8 miles if you're willing to walk along the parking lot. The path has people walking on it from sun up til sun down and it's where I'm walking as I'm dictating the outline to this review.

You'll find some old workout pull up bars and such, as wel as a half dozen benches, as you make your way along the path.

2. Top Notch Pavillion

The rennovated pavilion is home to a dozen picnic tables, two charcoal grills, and a social area big enough for thirty people. There's no lighting, but fans help to keep it cool during the summer.

The pavilion is where school events are held like field daym the annual meet the teacher day, and PTO events with snacks and food on the grill.

3. Secret "Hiking" Path

There's a hiking path trail that goes parallel to part of the main walking circle on the south west side of the park. While it is only five to ten minutes long and very clearly in the park, it somehow transports you into what feels likea hike. You kind of feel like you're in the middle of the woods, even though the walking path is to one side and there's a neighborhood street on the other.

The hike itself does a good job of going up and down and being twisty-turny. It's very clearly demarcated the whole way and it's not in anyway scary.

But for a five minute, random hike on the side of the park, it's incredibly well done.

4. Sports Fields

The path encompasses a large field made up of two little league baseball fields and enough open space for all the intramural soccer teams. While there's no true regulation soccer field, the twon splits it up into a dozen soccer fields for various sizes for intramural soccer every year. While there are two little league baseball fields with infields, they'll carve out part of the field for T-Ball fields during the spring.

There is also a small basketball court that's good for one on one. There's only one hoop and the court is maybe 20 feet by 20 fee with a free throw line.

5. Secret Pond

You only really know about this pond if you live here or have gone extensively searching for pokemon, or both in my case. Branching off from the main walking path, down a hill, past an overgrown meadow, takes you to the back entrance/exit of the park. To the right, before you exit, is a well hidden pond. It's not big, but it has a smalls tream running into it and beautiful flowers. It's worth walking over there if you come here for a walk with friends.

Other Amenities

They have bathrooms next to the pavilion. They are clean, but not great.

Parking At Stacey Park

The parking situation at Stacey Park is fine. Even on super busy intramural sports days, it's easy to find a parking spot. Even though I live a five minute walk away, I have to drive there several times a season because we're running late and there's always parking.

Stacey Park Receipt