Penny Playground in Recreation Park

We are thrilled to announce the successful completion of the Penny Playground Renovation Project in Chehalis, WA!

This transformation from an outdated playground to a modern, inclusive, and accessible play area for children of all abilities would not have been possible without the incredible support and generosity of our community.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the Chehalis community for their generous donations and unwavering support. Your contributions have made this project a reality and have created a welcoming space for families and children of all backgrounds and abilities.

Key Features:

  • Inclusive Design: The playground now includes wheelchair-accessible toys, ramps, and swings with molded bucket seats, ensuring that children of all abilities can enjoy the space.
  • All-Weather Surface: The old pea gravel has been replaced with an all-weather play surface, preventing water accumulation and enhancing safety.
  • Enhanced Safety: New perimeter fencing and improved visibility with an elevated hillside and LED lighting have been added to ensure a secure environment for children.
  • Community-Focused Amenities: The playground boasts tall towers, climbing elements, ziplines, slides, and shaded areas, providing a variety of activities for children to enjoy.

Read What Playground Supporters Are Saying

Meri Hamre

Title Guaranty of Lewis County
Vice President, Office Manager

“Title Guaranty Company of Lewis County is proud to be a partner on the Penny Playground project. For 25 years, Penny Playground has been an amazing gathering place for families in or community – for everything from play, celebrations, and sporting events. We, the employees of Title Guaranty, look forward to the opportunity for all of us to join together in creating a new park to be enjoyed by many generations to come.

Walt and Mary Fechtner

We have spent most of our entire lives in Chehalis. While growing up, we took advantage of whatever the community had to offer, such as the public library, the Recreation Park ball fields, and the local swimming hole at Alexander Park.  As parents, we made sure that our three children took part in many of the same activities, including the original outdoor pool at Recreation Park.

We feel it is important to make sure that families of future Chehalis generations have the opportunity to experience all these same activities with updated buildings and equipment.  That is why we have been supporters of Chehalis projects such as the Vernetta Smith Library, the Shaw Aquatic Center, and the current renovation of Penny Playground and Recreation Park.

There are many families like ours in our community.  That’s what makes Chehalis a great place to live.

The Shaw Family

Our father, Gail Shaw, led an effort to perform a community needs assessment for Chehalis in the 1950s.  For the next 50 years, he took great pride in working on the issues identified in that document, all designed to make Chehalis a better place to live.  One of the original needs identified was to build an outdoor community pool and improve the facilities at Recreation Park.  By supporting the project to renovate Recreation Park, we are pleased to be furthering his dream of providing the families of Chehalis with a first-class recreational area.  We hope future generations will enjoy this beautiful facility as much as we did while growing up here.

Don Jester

When I was asked by the Chehalis Foundation to get involved by supporting the new Penny Playground, I thought to myself “…but of course!” We are all kids at heart and I love the idea of supporting fun for all. There is really no better place than right here in Penny Playground to be the home of the most fun and accessible playground in the entire region!

Dr. Jessica Homyack & Dr. Tom Gorman

Campaign Committee Co-Chairs

The Penny Playground revitalization has provided us an opportunity to give back to our community and show our children what can happen when people get involved and work together towards building an inclusive world!

Mike and Sue Austin

Inclusion is very important to us. We want to see more equipment for children with disabilities. Providing a larger footprint for the playground and fewer obstacles will allow parents to more easily watch their children. Having the goal of providing a free and safe place for children has led us to join in the new Penny Playground Project.

Phil Small

Project Ambassador

Connie was so instrumental in fundraising for the current Penny Playground. We are so proud of Penny Playground and how it has served our community for the past 25 years. Raising the money and building it with the collaboration of the entire community, school district, children and service clubs was a highlight of our life. I am happy to be a part of the effort to rebuild it and create a future destination for children to play for the next 25 years. I know Connie would have been thrilled to participate, so please join me and my family in supporting this important project.Connie was so instrumental in fundraising for the current Penny Playground. We are so proud of Penny Playground and how it has served our community for the past 25 years. Raising the money and building it with the collaboration of the entire community, school district, children and service clubs was a highlight of our life. I am happy to be a part of the effort to rebuild it and create a future destination for children to play for the next 25 years. I know Connie would have been thrilled to participate, so please join me and my family in supporting this important project.