KidsUp! The Next Generation of Play – NOW OPEN at Battle Point Park

A giant Ferry Boat play structure is the centerpiece as Bainbridge Island welcomes an imaginative, inclusive new playground at Battle Point Park 

It’s time to play! KidsUp! The Next Generation of Play, an imaginative, inclusive new playground built around a giant Ferry Boat play structure, is now open at Battle Point Park on Bainbridge Island.

The playground centerpiece is the “M/V KidsUp!”, a custom-built, one-of-kind play structure that evokes the Puget Sound ferry fleet. The two-level, 47-foot-long ferry was designed and fabricated by Landscape Structures, Inc., equipment supplier for the playground. 

In the vanguard of accessible playground design, KidsUp! sets an exceptional standard for inclusion and safety. Elements like the wheelchair-friendly We-Go-Round spinner offer a common play experience for all users regardless of mobility or development. All playground areas are accessible, and extensive soft surfacing minimizes impact from falls.

Honoring Northwest stories and lore, the playground features climbable Orca whales, and a Lookout Pier extending over the “Rotary Beach” sandy play area and whimsical octopus sculpture. Other highlights include a winding Trike Track through the center of the ferry, a Sound Garden of outdoor musical elements, new swings, spinners and slides, and many artworks among fragrant gardens of wildflowers and herbs.

The playground retains several features of the beloved, original KidsUp! Playground on the same site, including the signature “castle towers” and much of the Northwest-inspired artworks, newly refurbished. The towers are integrated with the playground’s new layout, connecting to the ferry boat at one end and an elevated walkway at the other to form a continuous pathway around the open, expansive play area. 

KidsUp! The Next Generation of Play was built by the Bainbridge Island Metro Park & Recreation District, with fundraising by the nonprofit Bainbridge Island Foundation and the support of many grantors, sponsors and private donors in a three-year capital campaign. 

The playground  was designed by Chris Cain of Studio Hanson Roberts, with Bainbridge Metro Parks and a KidsUp! Committee of local parents.