CAMDEN Playground was built in 1993, a community build effort, with 2,700-3,000 people involved.  At the time it was built, it was the most accessible playground (others prior were, at the most, 40% accessible, CAMDEN is 80-100%) in the world , and the largest accessible playground (nearly the size of a football field).  It was completed in May, 1993 and is now 21 years old.  Because they were so rare, I wrote a booklet to help others build similar playgrounds and currently have around 200 accessible playgrounds modeled after CAMDEN Playground all around the world, including Holland, Germany, India, several in Canada, and of course, all across the USA, just to name a few countries.

The playground has won awards at Local, State, and National levels, and is the most popular one in the area with a castle, dragon, moat, lifesized sea turtle and Alligator.

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The playground area, opened in 2019, was made possible with donations from the Evjue Foundation and the Steve Stricker American Family Insurance Foundation features a poured-in-place rubber surfacing, partial fence enclosure, surrounding concrete path, retaining wall and four benches. Unique features of the nautically themed playground include a drawbridge-like entryway from the parking lot, a ribbon of blue flowing through the surfacing with alligator steppers swimming inside and an inclusive rocking ship with porthole openings for climbing in and out or keeping watch. Highlighting the City’s commitment to promoting equality for all, the new playground demonstrates the importance of inclusion for Madison’s youth.