Preston's HOPE: A Handicap-Accessible Playground in Beachwood, Ohio

Preston's HOPE is billed as the first fully accessible playground in northeast Ohio. Even if you don't need the accessibility, you should make the effort to visit Preston's HOPE, since it is simply a great park. HOPE stands for Helping Others Play and Enjoy, and you can tell the designers wanted to make the park fun for kids of all abilities. Located in Beachwood, Ohio, off the Chagrin Blvd exit of Interstate 271, Preston's HOPE is a sprawling, multi-level playground with plenty of room for wheelchairs and strollers. When we visited there last summer, our daughter loved the large sand area. It has fountains that allow the kids to make mud pies. Oh yeah, bring a change of clothes!

The entrance area features a pavilion with picnic and checkerboard tables that accommodate wheelchairs. Kids can also explore a huge train called Arnie's Engine. Several metal sculptures, including a tree, depict kids of different physical abilities playing together.

Another main section of Preston's HOPE is the set of multi-level play houses called Imagination Village . Kids can play in a schoolhouse, a bank, a fire station and a construction company. Each house has a top and bottom level that is accessible by ramps.

Other parks have those spots where kids can sit and pretend they are driving a car or bouncing on a dinosaur and children who use wheelchairs are left out. Not at Preston's Hope! There are structures built so kids can pretend they are driving a train or fire engine.

It's not apparent that its specifically designed for children who need wheelchairs or walkers, because any child can just walk right up to it and start playing. However, those who have children with these needs will be touched that their child can now pretend he's the driver and not the spectator.

Playgrounds are not much fun for those with visual impairments. Those with sight impairments won't want to leave Preston's HOPE! The park is wired with sounds (train whistle, flowing water, etc) that can help your child with a vision disability to navigate. When you enter a building replica, they have their unique sound effects like school bells, fire alarms and clinking coins that can just be heard within that structure.

Do you have child who is deaf? Find it difficult to communicate with them when they are up high because the structures won't allow you to SEE their communication? You won't have that issue at Preston's HOPE! The play houses have big clear windows that you can "sign" to them and they to you without visibility issues.

One thing you notice about Preston's HOPE is that it is very spacious. The playground equipment is not crammed together, so there is plenty of room for kids to get around on foot or in wheelchairs and walkers.

In addition to Imagination Village, Preston's HOPE has separate sections for Pre-School and School Age children.

One nice touch is the series of "Learning Braille" boards, which emphasizes common ground between disabled and non-disabled children.

Kids can also put on their own plays and variety show at the Play Theater, which has a castle backdrop.

Preston's HOPE is located at 26001 South Woodland Road in Beachwood, Ohio, on the grounds of the Mandel Jewish Community Center.