I found out about KidsTowne Playground in Apex last year at the Kids Together playground (at what was recently renamed Marla Dorrel Park) in Cary.

I'd struck up a conversation with a dad, who was there with his daughter. He said he liked Kids Together, but loved KidsTowne even more.

I couldn't imagine a better playground than Kids Together, with its giant sand pit, great climbing structure and dragon to climb on, so I had to check it out. I went the next week. It was worth the drive from Raleigh.

KidsTowne is great (on par with Kids Together in my opinion. Both are great). The playground was built by the community in 2000 and now is hugely popular.

It's kind of like a giant castle with multilevel play areas, monkey bars, obstacles and lots of places to hide. There is a separate area for the youngest kids. And the park is completely enclosed so you don't have to worry about your kids running loose (wish all playgrounds were like that).

KidsTowne is a lot like All Children's Playground in Raleigh at Laurel Hills Park near Crabtree Valley Mall with all its towers and hiding places. That playground also was built by the community, almost 20 years ago now, and is handicapped accessible, but nearly 25 percent was lost by fire a few years ago.

So I'll give high marks to KidsTowne in this second review of playgrounds on TriangleMom2Mom. Here's the first.

As always, share your thoughts!

Every Thursday, find out new ways and places to play with your kids.

Check out our other daily themes at TriangleMom2Mom:

MONDAY: Meet!
TUESDAY: Ask!
WEDNESDAY: Eat!
THURSDAY: Play!
FRIDAY: Out!

WEEKEND: Relax!