33654 De Portola Rd, Temecula, CA 92592
Hours: Monday-Sunday (7 AM-8 PM)
Restrooms? No
Playground Surface: Rubber and mulch
Parking Lot? Yes: Dedicated parking lot in front of playground but only about 10 parking spaces
Gated/Fenced? No
Overview
Located in the city of Temecula, Butterfield Stage Park was reopened with a new “nature’s tree house” theme on November 1, 2017. The park seems to be less crowded than others in the area, perhaps in part from being that it is at the end of a gravel road that dead ends and feels rather secluded. The park is very small but does have a generous amount of lawn area. The tree house themed playground has a clubhouse that the kids can reach by climbing up and through the tree. Animals such as bears, squirrels, owls and raccoons are carved into the structures of the playground. Despite being a smaller park, kids will have a great time here.
Features
Treehouse themed playground with clubhouse
- Animals like bears, squirrels and racoons carved into the equipment
- 3 slides including a tunnel slide and a race slide
- Mushroom stools to sit on and cool butterfly structure
- Butterfly ladder that leads to play structure and vertical ladder climber
Other Amenities
- Half basketball court
- Picnic table and barbecues
Drawbacks
- No swings
- No restrooms
Scout’s Story
During a weekend outing to Borrego Springs, my wife and I found a few parks as we passed through Temecula that we wanted to check out on the drive back home. My wife was able to text her aunt and uncle and set up a time to meet at Butterfield Stage Park. They had never met our daughter, Scout, who was now 14 months old. This would be a perfect chance for us to see them and for them to meet Scout. They lived near Temecula and their schedule was free the following day. We arrived at Butterfield Stage Park and let Scout run around for a bit and helped her navigate the stairs and slides, which she was still becoming comfortable playing on. My wifes aunt and uncle arrived and we put out some blankets on the lawn and began to catch up.
They finally got to meet Scout and we went back and fourth from the playground to where everyone was sitting. My daughter seemed a little unlike herself and ended up becoming cranky and falling asleep. Normal stuff for a 14 month old, however, something seemed off about Scout’s demeanor. She was still the same happy kid, with the same huge smile but she seemed to be a little different than usual. Scout would play and would be having a blast and then suddenly change expressions and lay down and be zapped of all energy. Not what we were at all used to with her. We had a great visit with our family but less than three weeks later we would find out what all these symptoms we had been observing actually were. We would be shocked and heartbroken as Scout would be diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.
Looking back at these pictures, knowing what we know now, it is particularly hard to put all of this into words. I chalked up Scout’s mood changes to her becoming a toddler. I could have never imagined what she was actually dealing with and feeling on the inside. It hurts me looking back on it, knowing that I had no idea that she was severely sick, but also knowing that I should have known something more was going on than a normal illness or her “acting” like a toddler. Scout’s battle is continuing and to most people she looks like a normal kid (despite having no hair) with a surprising amount of energy. These stories will always be so important for me to look back on and share as Scout continues to battle and we pray for the day that we can hear the word remission.
July 24, 2022
