Cranbrook Park

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This profile of Ann Arbor’s Cranbrook Park Playground is part of our Playground Profiles Series. Are you interested in sponsoring the series? Contact us for details.

Each week Ann Arbor with Kids is profiling a different playground in the Ann Arbor area including Ann Arbor, Saline, Ypsilanti, Dexter, etc. Today we are profiling Cranbrook Park part of the Ann Arbor system.

Ann Arbor’s Cranbrook Park

With no readily available parking, Cranbrook Park is primarily a neighborhood park for multiple apartment and home subdivisions in the area behind the Cranbrook Village Shopping Center.

Cranbrook Park – Playground Features

Playground Profile Last Updated: September 10, 2017

Playground Best for: Kids Under 5, Kids 5-8
Structures: 2
Accessible Structure: No
Slides: 2, Straight Slide, Curved Slide
Monkey Bars: No
Zip Line: No
Climbing Apparatus: No
Merry Go Round: No
Bouncers: No
See Saw: No
Sandbox: No
Natural Play: No
Swings: 2 traditional swings, 2 baby swings, 0 parent/baby swings, 0 adaptive swings, 0 tire swings
Ground Activities: No
Surface: Wooden Mulch
Shade: Partial Shade – Half of the playground is shaded all day long (the smaller structure) as is the tennis court. The rest is full-sun.
Seating: Yes, Benches

Cranbrook Park – Park Details

Park Owner: Ann Arbor
Location: Cranbrook Park, 2700 South Main Street, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Parking: No Parking – No lot or street parking. Lots are reserved for apartment residents. You can park in the side lot at Whole Foods.
Bathrooms: No
Walking Trails: Paved – A long paved trail winds through the park. It You can make a loop by using the sidewalk along Oakbrook Drive.
Water Play: None
Picnic Benches: Yes, Nearby, Shady
Pavilion: No
Sports Fields: Basketball, Tennis, Open Fields

Cranbrook Park Description

I really liked Cranbrook Park even though my first impression was negative. I wanted to go on an adventure and discover a new park that I knew nothing about to review. I found the green area on Google maps, verified it had a playground, packed up the kids in the car, and ventured out. The park is strategically located so that people in at least SIX different apartment or housing subdivisions can get there by basically walking out their back doors. What this means for other people (like me) is that all the parking surrounding the park is private. I suppose I should have looked closer at the map. I ended up parking in the side lot at the Whole Foods in Cranbrook Village Shopping Center and walking over.

From the Whole Foods lot, we could see the playground so it is a pleasant walk. Being away from a street made the park feel very private, cozy, and quiet. An occasional person walking a dog, an elderly couple taking a walk…made it feel even more so. It was also so so so nice to not worry about streets, or cars, or bikes but just relax. The playground is set off the main path at a comfortable distance. It backs up into high brush and wildlife with grassy fields all around. My kids could run and run. I felt like they would run out of energy before the field ran out of distance. A great feeling of security.

Cranbrook park has two structures. One is geared towards tots and preschoolers. The baby bucket swings are nearby.

Cranbrook Playground - Structure & Swings

The second structure is geared towards slightly older kids. This structure features a twisty slide and a bumpy straight slide. The traditional sling swings are in this area. Depending on the age of your kids having the baby and tradtional swings on opposite sides of the path can be an issue.

Beyond the structures, Cranbrook Park has a nice tree for climbing. The tree provides a nice challenge for older siblings who are a bit big for the playground.

I could also see myself coming back with a friend and walking our babies in strollers while letting older siblings run and roll in the fields (again, they can run within eyesight of the path but won’t get nowhere) or ride scooters or bikes along the path.

Overall, even though there is no parking I would still recommend it.

Beyond Cranbrook Park

Cranbrook Park is located behind Cranbrook Village Shopping Center. It is a great place to picnic with food bought at Cranbrook Village. Options include Whole Foods, Blaze Pizza, and DiBella’s Subs. You could also walk south from the Busch’s shopping center at Main and Ann Arbor Saline Rd. This shopping center offers No Thai, Qdoba, and more.