What: Eagle’s Nest Indoor Playground
Where: New Brighton Community Center, 400 – 10th St. NW, New Brighton, MN 55112.
How much: $5.50 daily admission for children ages 12 months to 12 years. $3.00 after 6:00 p.m. Monday to Friday. No charge for parents or caregivers. Youth punch pass for $55.00 includes 12 passes for the price of 10.
Extras: Birthday parties are an affordable option here with packages as low as $9.00 per child. Check out website for hours and more information.
Mom Rating: Fun place to take the kids any time of year!
If you’re looking for a great place to take your kids for a couple of hours of fun on a cold or rainy day, one great, affordable place is the Eagle’s Nest Indoor Playground in New Brighton.
It’s a playland with tunnels, slides, a ball pit & a climbing wall, all created for kids under 12 years old. There’s a special area for toddlers (under 3 years old) with plenty of smaller structures to play in, a slide, a ball pit, and a reading corner with books (though it’s hard to sit kids down in this place!).
There are tables for adults and families to sit together and have a meal (there are 3 vending machines with snacks and ice cream). In addition, there are chairs right within the play areas so parents can be right there with their kids. You’ll find plenty of open cubbies to put shoes and jackets, and there are lockers you can use (locks are available to borrow).
I took my kids there twice recently and they had a blast. My 4-year-old enjoyed going through all the tunnels and down the slides, and my 1-year-old loved the toddler area and all the balls he could play with. We spent 2 hours here our first time, and over 1 hour here our second time. They burned off a lot of hanging-out-in-the-house-too-much-in-the-winter energy and had great fun.
The only thing I don’t like is that there is no simple, open way to access the slides. I once climbed up through the tunnels with my daughter to go down one of the slides and have to say, though I’m average-sized, it was not easy! Kids have to climb in narrow spaces and through tunnels with not-the-best air circulation to access anything above, including fun lookouts (one like a plane cockpit) and the various tunnel and wavy slides. Though adults can play with their kids here, I’m guessing it’s designed this way partially so not too many adults clutter up the space! (Hey – we like to have fun, too!)
But overall, it’s a great place to take your kids – whether as a mom home during the day with restless kiddos, or as a family for a “picnic” and playday.
Oh -and on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00am to Noon your child’s admission includes playtime in the gym nearby with a bouncy house and other activities. Have fun!