Sara Rall
Loop Playground, Mountainside
Address Tracy Dr and New Providence Rd., Mountainside, NJ Map, Website
This is a huge wooden playground with tall slides for big kids and a great section connected by tubes for younger ones with swings as well, set in a bit of woods by a huge field surrounded by picnic tables with grills. All this is in the Watchung Reservation with wonderful walking trails to a lake, an old graveyard, and abandoned (but safe) village, an old copper mine (an 8-foot cliff daring older kids can easily climb) and a wonderful nature museum (Trailside Nature and Science Center). You could easily spend all day here (note that the museum is only open after noon).