Miracle Park: Rock Hill opens new, inclusive playground for all children
A 14-year-old boy sat in a swing designed for disabled children at Miracle Park in Rock Hill, a wide grin appeared on his face.
“He’s my little baby,” Dawn Alley said about her son, Angel, who was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and has had a couple of strokes, rendering him unable to walk or talk. “But God’s brought him through.”
At first, Angel didn’t want to leave the swings, but got exited when his mother took him to a four-person spinning ride.
“We’ve just been excited for months,” Alley said. “We knew it was something he could benefit from.”
Rock Hill’s newest park, which has drawn numerous visits from South Carolina lawmakers and significant donations from the Carolina Panthers, opened to the public on Saturday.
Dozens of excited children of all abilities twirled around in spinning chairs, climbed a monkey gym and flew across a zip line, that was fitted with a chair for disabled children.
York County residents and visitors can experience the park’s inclusive playground, sensory wall and the Miracle Field. The park is designed for people of all physical and mental ability levels.
The land for the park, which spans 15 acres, is leased from the City of Rock Hill and Winthrop University. Future phases of the park will include another “miracle” field, multi-purpose fields, golf area, fishing pond, retail space, such as a coffee shop that will employ people with all abilities.
“It’s been a wonderful, uplifting day and I think today has been, what we all will agree, a miracle,” Rock Hill Mayor John Gettys said.
Herald staff photographer Tracy Kimball covered the opening event and captured a visual report of what’s available at the park and its impact. You can see her video and photos from the event online at www.heraldonline.com.
This story was originally published September 20, 2021 at 4:42 PM.
