Playground at Houston Children's Zoo

Okay, okay, I know this is not our usual weekly park review. Instead of a public park, this week the review of the playground at the Houston Zoo Children's Zoo.

The thing is, I used to do all I could to avoid this place. When the zoo is busy, the Children's Zoo is insanely busy. I may have told my kids it was being remodeled for the last few years.

BUT... I recently discovered on a weekday afternoon when the zoo is not very crowded, the Children's Zoo is really quite enjoyable.

Now, if you don't have a Zoo Membership, I'd probably opt for another Houston park. If you do have a membership, you can drop in and out of the zoo any time, making this a great hour long adventure.

Children's Zoo Playgrounds:

In the Children's Zoo, there is a playground, a rope climbing area, and a super secret rope climbing area.

The traditional play structure is next to the petting zoo. It has some cool features, including a bridge, curving rockwall, fireman pole and lots of tubes.

Behind it is also a little hippo to climb through and on. This area does not look to have an age limit and my 3, 5 and 7 year old all like it.

Music at Houston Zoo Playground Children's Zoo

Across the way is the otter slide and climbing ropes. For these, the sign says you need you need to be 48 inches tall to climb.

That said, my 3 year old James can't read and couldn't hear me when I told him "no". (Odd that he can't hear when he doesn't like what I say.) I didn't try too hard to stop him and did pretty well swinging like a monkey.

This spot is neat because the otters are next door and can slide down their own slide, right next to the kids.

The only tricky thing is that at the top of the rope ladder is the exhibit area, so kids can climb up and run off if you are not careful.

The next area is right around the corner from the otter ropes. It's not actually a secret... but we visited the zoo about 5 million times before we found it.

It's tucked between the otters and the pelicans... and unless you sneak around the back way, you may not see it.

This is an even taller rope climbing area with a big tube slide. It's usually less crowded and our favorite spot to hang out.

All the play areas are shaded and there are benches for the parents (except for the secret rope area).

As if this wasn't enough, the kids can also play make-believe on the boat and climb through the mongoose tunnels... plus their is a whole zoo to explore as well!