Park Review- Rich Valley Complex Park, Inver Grove Heights, MN

Address- 1841 105th St. East, Inver Grove Heights, MN 55077

This park is out at the edge of the city, where you drive through the country area of Inver Grove Heights.  Many people do not know that you can be this close to downtown and have plenty of houses on 2.5-10 acre, wooded lots.  This is a big park with four nice soccer fields, 9 full size baseball fields, and the grass is so great your feet will be itching to walk barefoot in it. A bathroom facility in between the baseball fields and another bathroom facility, with picnic tables, is located by the soccer fields. There is a small pond that separates the playground area from the soccer fields.  A small basketball area at the edge of the parking lot, and a tennis court. A paved walking trail circles and winds throughout the park. At the very south edge of the park is a small, old, white building with boarded up windows, this was the first school house in Inver Grove Heights.

The playground has its own small parking lot with about 10 parking spots, if this lot is full there is ample parking in the large ballfield parking lot, on the other side of the tennis court.  There are multiple slides to explore, plenty of ways to climb up to the top of the main structure, ladders, stairs, ropes, climbing wall, and exciting ways to get down, smooth slides, firepoles, and bumpy slides.

Next to the large, main playground structure is a smaller children’s playground area with low slides, mirrors and small tunnels to climb through. There are a few ride on spring toys and a small four way teeter totter.  This park has plenty of swings,  and the most fun part of the park for kids is the tire swing!  There are is a climbing web,  and spinning monkey bars, a metal zip bar, as well climbing structures to work on arm strength.   The park has cute pods to walk on for balance, and slides of varying heights to keep even the big kids entertained.  The large park has three more fun, spinning rides.

For picnics the park has a covered shelter with 4 picnic tables, and a port a potty for emergencies, if you dont want to walk to the distance to the restrooms. This park was planned well with plenty of mature trees to keep you cool in the hot sun, and many benches for parents to sit around the edge and still see your children at all parts of the park. This is a great park, certainly worth the drive. The only thing that would make it better would be a drinking fountain or bathrooms near the playground.

The negatives- the port-a-potty instead of flush toilets,  it never fails your kids won’t want to leave and will need to use this potty (It always has been clean.)  The main play structure is not for little kids,  there is plenty of ways for your toddler to fall down 2 stories if they are not constantly supervised.  Good thing the little kid area is right next to the big kid area.

The positives- nice, well maintained, big structure with many different activities, the tire swing, and the mature trees to help shade the park.  Don’t forget to walk over by the soccer or ball fields and check out the great grass, seriously, most parks are not this well manicured.