Get Back to Nature at Hager Park
If you’re looking for one of the best playgrounds in West Michigan – plus hiking trails – look no further than Hager Park in Jenison.
Hager Park is THE park to visit if you live near Jenison!
With multiple playgrounds, tons of trails, pavilions and restrooms, there’s everything you need for a whole day of family fun.
Hager Park Details
8212 – 28th Ave, Jenison, MI 49428
acres of beautiful hiking trails, open fields, playgrounds
Trail Length: 0.6 mile loop
Trail Difficulty: Easy
Dogs Allowed? Yes, but they must be on a 10-foot leash.
Facilities: Enclosed bathrooms by the pavilion to the left of the Age of Discovery playground.
Stroller Friendly? No
Time of Year Accessible: Open year round: April 1 through October 15: 7 AM to 10 PM, October 16 through March 31: 7 AM to 8 PM
WEBSITE
Hager Park at a Glance
This very popular 104-acre park offers hours of play and fun for anyone who wants to be outdoors.
Kids can fly kites or walk the extensive nature trails. And there are probably enough cool, shaded picnic tables throughout the park to seat you and everyone you know!
But it’s the Age of Discovery Playground that has kids flocking to Hager Park. It’s HUGE and has endless opportunities for adventurous play.
Hager Park Trails
Dozens of trails snake through the gorgeous wooded area surrounding Hager Park.
You are sure to see a huge variety of wild flowers and wildlife throughout your hike. One of the trails has a bridge that crosses over a sandy creek.
While some of the trails are paved, most are not so they aren’t very stroller or wheelchair friendly.
Bikes are allowed on paved trails only.
Hager Park Playgrounds
The large Age of Discovery playground is a wooden structure. Kids playing here and its dozens of hiding spaces.
Due to its large size, it can be difficult for parents to see their kids. The playground surface is sand. There are a couple of accessible swings, but they are also on the sand.
This play area is in full sun with very little shade.
There is a secondary, smaller playground that is almost fully shaded. It was swings, a tall slide, merry-go-round, and teeter-totter all on grass.
There is also a zipline on this playground over grass.
Hager Park is a delight for toddlers, but could be nerve-wracking for parents and caregivers of toddlers. The wooden play structure is huge and offers almost zero line of sight, which makes it very hard to see the kids as they disappear behind a wooden wall or into a secret hiding space.
There are lots of secret hiding spaces underneath the steps and platforms of the play structure that toddlers and preschoolers LOVE.
Tips for Visiting Hager Park
- Much of the main play area is in full sun, including the shiny hot metal slides. Warn kids about the slides if you go on a sunny day.
- Put kids in shoes and socks to prevent them getting splinters from the wood chips mixed in with the sand.
- Parents love that there is a lot of space for kids to play.
- However, since it is so vast and made of wood, it’s difficult to keep track of your kids as there is no straight line of vision.
- It’s a really fun place to picnic, with loads of shaded picnic tables.
- The mature hardwood forest is said to have spectacular spring wildflowers in April and May.
- There is a second playground in the woods, if you keep driving past the main play structure and follow the road as it curves to the right. Bonus: this playground is almost completely shaded.
Map of Grand Rapids Parks and Trails
Find your next outdoor adventure near you with this map of the best hiking trails, playgrounds, and parks in West Michigan.
Another interesting feature this park has is a grass map of the United States, just north of the main play structure.
If you search for “Hagar Park map”, some photos of it will come up.
Hagar Park is my kids’ favorite park. We are lucky we live very close.