Tarrytown Park, located in a quiet neighborhood just west of Mopac and south of Westover Rd, is small but cool. It has a ball field, two playscapes, and a babbling brook, as well as shady areas for relaxing.
There are both shady and sunny areas throughout the park. The playscape and swings for younger children are mostly shaded, and they are located near two shaded picnic tables. There are numerous pockets of large, leafy trees to hide from the sun, some of which have benches.
Our family outing this past week took us to dine on W. 6th St so we looked for a park within a few miles to burn off some of that “kid energy” beforehand to keep the kids from bouncing off the walls. We chose Tarrytown Park, a city “neighborhood” park between Westover and Windsor, close to Mopac. The park is similar in feel to Shipe Park, but this one felt like it was better kept and has fewer amenities.
We arrived at the park around 10 am, and there were several families with young children at play. The park is wedged where three residential streets intersect, forming a triangular piece of land. There is a small wooden bridge that separates two playgrounds. This park is definitely designed for small kids, perfect for us. The two playscapes are lower, mostly enclosed, and best of all the newer of the two was fully shaded. The newer playground has the recycled mulch chips that our daughter called “red dirt,” and we are always happy to see this kind of “mulching” as it cushions falls better than pea gravel or hardwood mulch. The older playscape has pea gravel.
This park has two sets of swings (with two swings each). One set is for older children. The other one has a baby swing and a large seat swing for those with disabilities. Our kids though fought over who got to sit in the chair swing.
There is also a small multipurpose field where families were playing fetch with their dogs. We saw as many dogs as we did children. This is definitely a dog friendly park.
Tarrytown Park is a short drive to Windsor and Mopac, which puts you steps away from the University of Texas, downtown, South 1st, and SoCo. These areas have some of the most unique offerings for families in the Austin area, especially in dining and shopping choices.
Tarrytown Park
2106 Trower Dr.
Austin, TX 78703