An Enchanted Fairy Trail (with Trolls!)

Oh, the magical feeling of observing young kids explore their imaginations! Sometimes this happens in the course of a typical day: day care drop off, grocery shopping, cleaning, or making dinner. Other days you take your kids to a place full of adventure, creativity, and surprise.

Recently, my family visited the Friendswood Fairy Trail (in Friendswood, TX) and had a splendid outing chasing fairies, trolls, and critters throughout Stevenson Park. Adventure on the trail aside, this park is glorious - lots of green space for picnics, throwing a ball around, resting in the shade, playing on the playground, enjoying the splashpad, and so much more.

Our adventure began by entering the fairy trail through a child size wooden door (with a smaller door - bottom left - for the fairies, trolls, and nature critters).

Before grabbing a paper map to track our progress (the teacher in me just yelled “MAP SKILLS!”), we literally stopped to smell the flowers and listen to the gurgling fountain. The day was just warm enough for a couple of monarch butterflies to flutter past.

My 5 year old could not wait to get his hands on a map. He used the map to scout out the area, plan our route (you can’t get lost!), and then took off to find the first “friend” at Star #1. Some friends were more cleverly placed than others, making the search perfect for both of my kids.

The back of the paper map illustrates each tiny friend and describes what they do to protect and enhance nature and our environment. These residents are also described on the website.

Finding the tiny friends was so much fun for everyone: mom, dad, 3 year old, and 5 year old. The images are colorful and fantastical, and safely placed by arborists into the trees. Learning this led to a conversation with my rascals about tree health and protection.

The Friendswood Fairy Trail is a wonderful outdoor learning adventure. We read the map, learned about the native trees and plants, and observed wildlife scurry around. We developed a greater appreciation for nature and animals; we talked about respecting Mother Earth and taking care of Her. At the end of the day, we had pure fun.

Written by Brandi Stanton, mother to two rascals ages 3 and 5.