Riverfront Park debuts brand-new playground to excited crowds of kids

The swings are back. After being closed since April for a full rebuild — 28 years after it was first built — the playground at Riverfront Park in Salem, Oregon opened its gates on Oct. 9, a no-school day for local students. Kids flooded straight in. The nature-themed playground has a beaver-dam climbing structure, a rock scramble, a tower with a rock wall, slides, climbing ropes, an accessible merry-go-round, and a music station. The $2.5 million rebuild is one piece of a $300 million bond voters passed in 2022 to upgrade 24 city parks. A grand opening celebration is planned later this fall once the last equipment arrives.