Bartlett Opens First Fully Inclusive Playground at Shadowlawn Park

A Playground Designed for Every Child

Bartlett has opened its first fully inclusive playground at Shadowlawn Park, bringing new play equipment and accessibility improvements to one of the city’s longtime recreation areas.

The playground at 4734 Shadowlawn Road East, next to Bartlett Ninth Grade Academy, is designed to welcome children with a range of physical, sensory, social and cognitive needs.

“It is our first fully inclusive playground in the City of Bartlett,” said Paul Wright, Bartlett’s parks and recreation director, during the Oct. 21 ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Features include accessible play components, slide transfer platforms, sensory panels, a large pipe xylophone and a ground-level communication board for children who are nonverbal. The design aims to allow children with different abilities to use the same play space and participate together.

The playground has also qualified as a national demonstration site for inclusive play and youth physical activity.

Improvements Extend Across the Park

The playground is part of a broader renovation at the approximately 17-acre park. Work over the past year included ADA-compliant walkways, expanded parking with 50 new spaces, resurfaced pickleball courts and a new restroom and concession facility.

The six pickleball courts, which opened in 2021, had become heavily used enough to require resurfacing. Additional improvements planned for Shadowlawn include updated lighting and fencing around the ball fields and resurfacing the basketball courts.

The project took several years to bring together. In 2022, Bartlett budgeted $750,000 for walkway accessibility improvements, but construction bids came in above that amount. Developing a parks master plan helped the city qualify for additional grant funding, including support through Tennessee’s Local Parks and Recreation Fund. The project ultimately had $1.5 million available.

ViktorHall Construction handled the ADA pathway work and playground-pad preparation. EFI Global provided civil engineering, and Cunningham Recreation designed and installed the playground equipment.

Updating Bartlett’s Parks

Shadowlawn Park opened in 1965 and has long served local families and youth sports. The renovation is part of a broader effort to update Bartlett’s aging recreation facilities.

The city renovated Dixon-Brewer Park last year and recently completed improvements at Stoneridge Park, including playground replacement and repairs to erosion along the pond banks.

With the new playground and supporting facilities now open, Shadowlawn offers families an updated place to play, gather and take part in recreation.

Location: Shadowlawn Park, 4734 Shadowlawn Road East, Bartlett, Tennessee.

Photo caption: Bartlett officials celebrate the opening of the new inclusive playground at Shadowlawn Park on Oct. 21, 2026. Photo courtesy of the City of Bartlett Parks and Recreation Department.

Source: The Daily Memphian; City of Bartlett Parks and Recreation Department.

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