Ravine Park Playground

If you haven’t been out to Ravine Park yet, you’re sleeping on one of the better family spots in Cottage Grove. The climbing structure is split up nicely for different ages — younger kids aren’t getting bulldozed by the bigger ones, which parents around here genuinely appreciate. After the kids burn off some energy, there are grills and picnic tables ready to go, so it’s easy to make a whole afternoon of it. The trails wind through the woods and connect down near the pond, where there’s a fishing pier that the older kids especially love. Restrooms on site too, which matters more than people admit when you’re out there with a 3-year-old.