What’s Missing From This Wappingers Park?

Bare with me for a minute, I feel like a piece of my childhood just died.

I grew up in Poughkeepsie in the 90s, so every field trip or weekend playdate was usually in and around the Dutchess County area. One of the top destinations for me and my friends growing up was Bowdoin Park in Wappingers.

Every fall we would go to the Wappingers Park for a field trip where we would learn about the history of New York's Native Americans while hiking the trails and learning all about nature. Afterward, the teachers would let us loose on the big wooden playground.

It was a staple of our childhood, so much so that my friends and I still talk about those trips to this day.

Color me shocked to find out, the wooden playground is no longer there!

Where did the Bowdoin Park playground go!? Why?! Is it being replaced with something new and shiny?

Don't get me wrong, that wooden playground was a battlefield. From splinters to blisters from hanging and swinging on the metal bars too long. But they just don't make the playgrounds like they used to.

How long has the wooden park been gone? Are they putting anything in its place? Maybe they're expanding the new plastic playground?

We've reached out to Dutchess Parks to get to the bottom of this. Do you have any insider info? We'd love to hear about it. Text us through the station's mobile app or message us on Facebook.

While we're on the topic, are there any wooden playgrounds left in the Hudson Valley?