Powder Mills Park, Pittsford NY

We met friends this morning at the playground at Powder Mills Park (154 Park Road, Pittsford, NY), which we'd never been to before.

It's near Bushnell's Basin and not far from Eastview Mall, easy to get to from Rt. 490.

The Good: Beautiful surroundings. There are wooded trails, creeks with bridges and a fish hatchery that even toddlers can enjoy.

The playground, a short drive from the hatchery, has a structure for 2- to 5-year-olds and a structure for 5- to 12-year-olds, two rocking cars and swings (two rigid seat big-kid swings, one baby swing and one baby swing without a front).

The rocking cars

The little kid play structure.

The big kid play structure, with monkey bars.

The wood mulch is the freshest I've ever seen, though a few of the playground bits were broken (one wrapped in duct tape). There were a few picnic tables and benches in the shade. We laid down a picnic blanket under a shady tree. A good-sized parking lot is right nearby.

View of a bench in the shade, taken from the parking lot.

The Bad: No bathrooms. Or more accurately, plenty of bathrooms but they're locked. Unless your kid is comfortable going in the woods, you might want to make a potty stop at the fish hatchery (the only unlocked bathrooms we found) before driving to the playground.

The playground itself has very little shade.

Overall: A nice playground, though the hot sun and lack of bathroom made our first trip here short. We'll prepare better next time.