Bicentennial Park

This profile of Ann Arbor’s Bicentennial 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 Bicentennial Park part of the Ann Arbor system.

Ann Arbor’s Bicentennial Park

Southeast Area Park has two structures, several baseball fields under the lights, and a basketball field. The smaller structure is great for young kids.

Bicentennial Park – Playground Features

Playground Profile Last Updated: August 9, 2016

This playground profile was collected prior to our new format which did not gather all of this data. We have included our best guess in the conversion and will add them to our list to be updated. Information most likely to be incorrect is number of slides and structures

Playground Best for: Kids Under 5, Kids 5-8
Structures: 2
Accessible Structure: No
Slides: 3, Straight Slide, Curved Slide, Racer Slide
Monkey Bars: No
Zip Line: No
Climbing Apparatus: No
Merry Go Round: No
Bouncers: No
See Saw: No
Sandbox: Yes
Natural Play: No
Swings: 6 traditional swings, 2 baby swings, 0 parent/baby swings, 0 adaptive swings, 0 tire swings
Ground Activities: No
Surface: Wooden Mulch
Shade: No –
Seating: Yes, Benches

Events from our Sponsors

Kindergarten Open House and Playtime

Sunday, November 16

Hillside Christmas Tree Farm

Weekends November 22-December 21

Breakfast with Santa

Sundays, November 30-December 14

Bicentennial Park – Park Details

Park Owner: Ann Arbor
Location: Bicentennial Park Ann Arbor
Parking: Parking Lot –
Bathrooms: No
Walking Trails: Paved – Paved trail through the park connects to sidewalk on Ellsworth Rd
Water Play: None
Picnic Benches: Yes, At Playground, Nearby
Pavilion: No
Sports Fields: Basketball, Baseball/Softball, Open Fields

Bicentennial Park Description

Bicentennial Park was formerly known as Southeast Area Park. It was renamed in 2024 in honor of Ann Arbor’s Bicentennial. The park is receiving upgrades as part of the Bicentennial Celebration including a splash pad and replacing one of the two playground areas. The city announced the start of construction on July 24 including closure of the playground to be replaced.

Bicentennial Park is the first playground that I began taking my daughter to when she was a toddler focusing on the play area closer to Ellsworth Rd. This play area will remain open during construction. It was a good starting structure for her (although Lillie Park is in the same area and has a smaller structure for little ones). However, Bicentennial Park holds an advantage through since they have swings. This structure offers short side-by-side slides. My daughter loved playing with the spinners on the structure. With steps instead of a ladder and a stable bridge, it is easy for toddlers to reach the entire structure.

The larger structure at Bicentennial Park is being replaced with a new play area and splash pad. Read more about the construction

Ann Arbor’s First Splash Pad Now Under Construction!

For years I’ve wondered why there is no splash pad in Ann Arbor. The good news is that’s about to change! Ann Arbor Parks is adding a universal splash pad to Bicentennial Park. They announced the start of construction on July 24. Park construction is scheduled to last through December. Hopefully the splash pad will […]

Bicentennial Park was largely created with recycled materials:

Recycled plastics on both play structures and picnic benches
Old Athletic Shoes form the surface of the basketball court
Recycled Aluminum for the bleachers at the softball diamond

Beyond Bicentennial Park

Bicentennial Park is connected to Ellsworth Rd via sidewalks. Take a break from the playground and walk to the strip mall at Platt & Ellsworth for Biggby Coffee or La Pina Loca for fresh treats. Bicentennial Park is a good playground to stop at if you are headed to the Recycle Ann Arbor Drop Off Station or Swift Run Dog Park.