Waveland Park
Waveland Park in Lexington is one of my favorite parks to take my little man. For one, it is pretty close to my house, which makes it a good stop whenever we don't know what to do. To get there, you go south on Nicholasville Road towards Brannon Crossing. It will be on your right before you get to Brannon Crossing. I also love it because there is so much to do there. For whatever reason, my little guy has been over playground parks lately. He gets there, climbs on some stuff, stands at the top and points to kids to tell them to go down the slide, and is about ready to head home. Because of this, Waveland is perfect for us. It does have a small playground area with two slides, swings, and baby swings. Also appreciated is that this playground area is in the shade (other than the swings). There are also a ton of picnic tables that are in the shade here.
And, if your kiddo then decides that they are so over playing on the playground, there is also a super cool house for them to play in. It has a door that closes (my kiddos favorite part) and a bench for them to sit on while in there.
And, when they are over playing there, Waveland has a ton of open grass to run in. They can run for days. Depending on when you go, you can also see the trains roll by through the trees (especially fun in the spring and fall when the leaves are thinner). We found around 11am to be a good time for trains. And, when they tire of that, you can head over the trail that runs through the trees at the bottom of the hill. It is really beautiful back there and a great place to let your kiddos lead the hike. There is a large pond (with a muskrat) back there that my son always likes to throw rocks or twigs into. There are also some bridges that are always fun to go over. And, again, plenty of grass to run in and sticks to play with.
The trail loops around closer to the train tracks and also heads over to another field that is great for picnics or just running and playing. They do have a beautiful house that you can tour for a fee. It is far too fragile for us, but the information is here. There is also ample parking and restrooms (but forgot to check for changing tables). The last thing that I really love about this park is that it is always pretty empty. We are usually alone there or there are a few other people taking pictures or walking around.
TIP: Since this a state park, you cannot harm any of the vegetation that grows there. Due to this, they do have some poison ivy growing on site. Most of it is well-marked with signs, but something to keep in mind when doing the trail part.
