Our Wild Easter & Sweet Return to Friendship Fountain’s New Playground
So... we decided to check out the grand opening of the new playground at Friendship Fountain on Easter weekend — and wow, it was nothing like what we expected.
Only about 100 people had RSVP’d on Facebook, so we figured it’d be a small, relaxed event. Nope. Turns out, at least 1,000 people had the same idea we did. The entire area was packed. At one point, we lost my grandmother in the crowd (don't worry, we found her!), and then the horn blew for the big Easter egg hunt. That’s when all chaos broke loose.
What we thought would be a sweet little egg hunt turned into an all-out stampede. Our toddler stood frozen in horror as kids and adults raced for the eggs like it was the Olympics. We grabbed a whopping two eggs and quickly made our escape. Needless to say, it wasn’t quite the Easter memory we had in mind.
But don't worry — we made up for it!
Later that day, we hosted our own Easter egg hunt in the peaceful safety of our apartment. We filled the eggs with Cheerios and other toddler-approved (and low-sugar!) goodies, and it turned out to be just what we needed. No crowds, no chaos — just sweet, simple fun.
Still, we couldn’t stop thinking about the new playground — because even in the madness, it looked pretty awesome. So we came back on a much quieter day recently, and honestly? It was totally worth it.
The new playground at Friendship Fountain Park, located along the Southbank Riverwalk in downtown Jacksonville, is super impressive. The space has been totally transformed into a colorful, kid-friendly oasis with climbing structures, musical play elements, and lots of places for parents to sit and relax in the shade. It’s designed with all ages and abilities in mind, so everyone can join in the fun.
The star of the show? The pirate ship playground.
This thing is amazing. It's a huge wooden ship structure with multiple levels to climb, explore, and imagine all sorts of sea adventures. There's a steering wheel at the helm, climbing nets, a slide coming off the side, and even lookout spots up top where kids can play captain or scout for treasure. Our little one was obsessed — and honestly, we kinda wanted to climb on it too (no shame).
All in all, the new playground totally lives up to the hype. If you’re looking for a fun, free place to take the kids that’s downtown and super scenic (right by the river and the iconic Friendship Fountain), definitely put this one on your list.
Just maybe skip the holiday egg hunts unless you’ve got a game plan and a pair of running shoes.