Resources & Buyers Guides

People of all ages yearn for the outdoors, due in part to the pandemic that kept everyone indoors and secluded. Craving for fresh air and open space, locales like campgrounds, parks, community centers, and other gathering places saw a huge spike in visitors during COVID.

According to the 2022 KOA North America Camping Report, campgrounds achieved record-setting occupancy during the COVID-19 outbreak, and glamping and RVs became more popular than ever. As of 2021, seven in 10 households identify themselves as at least occasional campers or glampers, which equates to almost 94 million people. Today, these trends are still continuing as even more leisure travelers opt for the outdoors. 

At home, people desire nearby recreational amenities and parks. In the 2021 National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) Engagement with Parks Report, four in five adults said they look for high-quality parks and recreation within close proximity when choosing a place to live. Why? Because parks provide a refuge for people. Nearly 50% of those surveyed visit parks to spend time with family or friends, 45% frequent them to take a break from day-to-day stress, and 43% use the outdoor space for physical activities and exercise.

It's clear that spending time outdoors is essential to Americans. As such, parks and outdoor spaces at campgrounds, RV parks, universities, and community centers can draw more visitors and repeat guests when they include a range of outside amenities. Tables, benches, and play equipment are a nice start, but if you really want to bring people together, consider offering outdoor games that provide hours of enjoyment for people of all ages.

At Park Tables, we carry a host of commercial-grade park amenity games built specifically for outdoor use. Our quality-built boards, tables, and games include both permanent and movable structures to fit your space and needs. Take a look at these timeless games that have been revamped for your outdoor venue:

Regulation-size Recreational Games

Let the competition begin! Our choice of regulation-size games are a popular draw for adults – regardless if they are recreational players or serious competitors.

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  Cornhole: Our American Cornhole Association (ACA) regulation cornhole boards are made with heavy-duty commercial concrete to withstand harsh weather conditions and rot. They are installed as permanent outdoor fixtures and require a distance of 27 feet between the front edges of the cornhole boards to maintain ACA standards. These regulation size and sloped cornhole boards are a favorite among college students and adults. and will get continual use. Proudly made in the USA, our concrete cornhole boards can also be customized with your logo. 

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  Foosball: Our concrete foosball table is built to last! The regulation-size table is reinforced with a heavy-duty, 4-inch I-beam and features a high-performance, green concrete field for extra durability and dependability. Stainless steel rods hold the red and blue players in position and easy-to-grip handles allow players to snap or flick the ball into the goal. As an added bonus, our foosball table includes a tamper-resistant assembly and anti-theft construction with a graffiti-resistant Lithochrome® finish. This concrete foosball game is made in the USA and comes with a one-year commercial warranty.

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  Ping pong: We offer two options for this classic game – choose from a weather- and corrosion-resistant steel frame with laminate top or a powder-coated metal frame with concrete top. Our steel-framed ping pong table measures 108 inches long by 60 inches wide and stands at 30 inches tall. The thick, laminate top features a matte coating that reduces sun glare and provides optimal ball bounces. The fixed steel net is sturdy and stands up to high-impact play. Underneath the table is a convenient ball dispenser and paddle storage. Available in either a blue or gray top, our steel-framed ping pong table comes with a 10-year tabletop warranty.

If you want your ping pong table to be a permanent fixture at your location, try our concrete-topped ping pong park game table. This regulation-size game table is the same size as the steel-framed table, but weighs a hefty 1,400 pounds and includes 3/8-inch threaded inserts on the feet for easy anchoring. The sealed concrete top comes in a choice of natural or stained concrete top colors and can be customized with your own logo or design. The reinforced metal frame is powder-coated and has convenient leveling feet to ensure a perfectly flat play surface. Assembly is required for this fixed ping pong table, so contact one of our staff to learn more. 

Oversized Classic Games

Everyone loves the games we all grew up with. At Park Tables, our classic games are not only fun and familiar, they are also oversized! We guarantee they’ll bring laughs and smiles. 

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  Dominoes: Bring an added level of fun to your outdoor space with this giant dominoes park game. Our unique, 28-piece dominoes set features white tiles with light blue dots, and each tile measures 5 inches wide by 11 inches long. The domino pieces are constructed of high-density polyethylene with UV inhibitors that resist mildew and fading. When people are done playing, the tiles can be stored neatly and compactly in the included storage stand with a carrying handle. Everyone – young and old – can learn and play this classic game! This must-have outdoor game comes with a two-year commercial warranty. 

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  Connect 4: Feature one of America's favorite board games, Connect 4 park edition, which is nearly four times bigger than the one you have at home! Made of stainless steel and concrete, this structure weighs 350 pounds and is ready to stand and play all day in any weather. The oversized game set includes 42 total red and blue plastic discs with customizing options. Have neighbor tournaments in your HOA community or a casual game for the kids at their favorite playground. Bring your best strategies and don't forget to check diagonally! This all-American game includes a one-year commercial warranty.

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  Checkers and tic-tac-toe: For hours of fun, choose our two-sided giant game board that gives players the choice of two all-time favorite games – checkers and tic-tac-toe. The reversible game board measures a huge 43 inches by 43 inches and has two handle cutouts for easy portability. Along with the game board, you get 24 checker discs and 10 tic-tac-toe pieces. The polyethylene material stands up to all weather conditions and won’t split, rust, rot, or warp. Our two-sided game board is manufactured in the USA and includes a two-year commercial warranty. 

If you want to include built-in seating with your checkers game, try our ELITE Series checkerboard picnic tables . Perfect for parks, schools, and community centers, our game board picnic tables are made of US-sourced steel coated with polyethylene and feature 1-inch round tubing and flat steel cross braces with Xylan®-coated hardware for added durability. The tabletop has a solid, flat square center with an outdoor-grade vinyl decal checkerboard. Choose from our checkerboard table with two benches (four-person seating capacity) or checkerboard table with four benches (eight-person capacity). Both styles come in a choice of colors and either 3/4-inch expanded metal or 1/2-inch perforated metal for the top and seats. Our ELITE Series checkerboard tables offer a relaxing and comfortable option for players. These portable tables are in stock and available for Quick Ship in 1-3 business days.

Games for All Ages

Accommodate a wide range of players and skill levels with our easy-to-learn toss games. They are a wonderful way to bring family and friends together!

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  Ladder toss: Challenging for both kids and adults, our popular ladder toss park game is addictive! Available in either reinforced concrete or steel I-beam supports, this waterproof game features three powder-coated steel rungs that players try to wrap bolas around. The concrete-constructed frame is virtually maintenance-free and comes in a graphite color finish, while the steel ladder option is powder-coated with a black finish. Measuring 32 inches long, 32 inches wide, and 42 inches high, our ladder toss game doesn’t take up much room but offers lots of fun. 

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  Ring toss: Portable and versatile, our ring toss park game with docking station is more challenging than it looks. This high-density polyethylene game set includes 3 ring stands, 12 rings, and a convenient docking station for storage. The rings come in two sizes, giving players of all ages and skill levels an opportunity to compete. This game is made for any outdoor environment and won’t splinter, warp or swell. It also comes with a two-year commercial warranty. At Park Tables, we can even customize your ring toss game with your own accent colors and personalized engravings. Call our office for more information and a quote. 

Make your outdoor space a favorite hangout with a variety of games that encourage people of all ages to join in in the fun. Speak to a Park Tables expert at 1-866-330-2388 to help build your outdoor entertainment oasis.

Thank you Eagle Scout Jason Osborne II, for allowing us at Park Tables the opportunity to assist in the realization of your Eagle Scout Project. Not only did you fulfill your promise of two ADA picnic tables for the Welin Community Center, but you also went above and beyond to install recycling bins to protect the local wildlife. It has been an absolute pleasure working with you and we wish you all the best in your upcoming endeavors as a future leader in our great country. Job well done!

Every dog has its day. And with more owners taking their beloved canine companion to their local dog park, that day can be once a week or more! Dog Park has been growing in popularity since 2011 with over a 30% increase within the US. This rise has intrigued many communities in possibly starting up one of these pet-friendly amenities for their residential pet parents to enjoy. 

Dog parks are a great way to improve pet health and temperament by letting them run freely, play with other dogs, and just have the opportunity to be themselves. Dogs are highly social and active animals. Negative behaviors can develop within a pooch whether it be stress from loneliness, depression, or boredom when they are confined. Behaviors can include excessive barking, biting, scratching, accidents, or chewing up pretty much anything. For this reason, dogs require routine exercise and opportunities to play. Many dogs need more room to run than what their homes have to offer and would benefit greatly from a visit to the local dog park.

Dog Park can also benefit inner-species bonding. It’s a great place for animals and animal lovers to interact within their own social groups. As dogs play a game of chase within their off-leash pack, their humans can break the ice by starting conversations with their common canine interests and develop friendships of their very own.

When you're in charge of deciding which kind of commercial trash can lid is best for your business location, you're likely keeping in mind aesthetic features such as size, color, the overall shape and how well the receptacle will blend into its environment. These are important things to think about, but it's also critical to ensure that the industrial garbage can lid you're selecting can hold up to the rigorous demands of daily use.

All commercial trash receptacles ostensibly serve the same function: To collect garbage. However, different patterns of the foot and vehicle traffic should be considered when choosing a lid.

If the garbage can is for outdoor use, its lid must be able to withstand extreme weather conditions such as gusty winds, snow, and ice or constant, penetrating sunlight. Lids that are too complicated to use or that look dirty are unappealing and discourage individuals from using them at all, which can increase littering habits. That's why it's so important to select the right type of lid to guide the public into using the trash receptacle the way you want them to use it.

Buddy benches are a great way to foster more positive interactions at schools. And with research indicating a growing issue of loneliness and isolation in children, these benches do more than look cute on playgrounds. They're a simple, practical tool in the fight against issues as big as child loneliness, social anxieties, or environmental changes like school transfers.

At Park Tables, our Commercial Grade Park BBQ Grills are made to last! Most of our grills will rarely need replacing and will serve thousands of families and friends over its long life. An important first step to ensure this longevity is to prepare the park grill in a process often called “curing”.  Before taking out the hot dogs and hamburgers, the grill needs to go through this curing process to prevent any manufactured materials from contaminating your food. By following these simple steps, you will successfully break-in your new grill for many safe and tasty future barbecues!

If you’re designing a public outdoor space or recreational area, this means you should be aware of the specific requirements for ADA compliance as it pertains to your park and picnic space. Many tables can be sold as “wheelchair accessible,” but this doesn’t necessarily mean they are also ADA compliant. In case of an audit, there are a few important distinctions to be aware of when choosing your outdoor picnic tables.

Park Tables is celebrating the 100-year birthday of the National Park Service this August 25th! We are a proud member of the NRPA and have served many national, city, and state parks across the country. As a leading supplier of outdoor furniture to the parks and recreation industry, our mission is to provide excellent service to our local, state, and national parks. We have supplied outdoor site amenities such as picnic tables, benches, grills, and trash cans for parks of all sizes. We are proud to supply our parks with the best outdoor furnishings the industry has to offer.

In celebration of the upcoming NPS Centennial, the National Park Foundation and the National Park Service announced the Find Your Park movement to help people connect with their local parks. You can get involved with your local park at FindYourPark.com. The celebration of the National Parks Centennial is not to just celebrate the last 100 years, but to inspire new generations to be active in their local parks for the next 100 years. 

In 2015, more than 75 million people visited the national parks across the country. The five most visited parks in ascending order are Yellowstone, Yosemite, Rocky Mountains, Grand Canyon, and Great Smoky Mountains. Here at Park Tables we have a personal history of enjoyment in our local and national parks just as many of our customers. The founder of Park Tables, John Gravlee, has visited many national parks across the country. Through his travels he has seen some of the most beautiful sights America has to offer, including Old Faithful in Yellow Stone Park, the North Window in Utah, as well as the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Our National Parks shelter the natural beauty and resources from industry encroachment. Americans can camp, hike, whitewater raft on the wild untamed rivers with minimal modern intrusions of buildings, roads, power lines, dams and asphalt. There is nothing like gathering family and friends around a campfire on a crisp evening with marsh mellows and ghost stories. The great variety and number of parks also provides every type of outdoor scenery from giant sequoias in California to sea oats by the ocean. You might find your fire in a Park Tables fire ring and enjoy your meal on one of our picnic tables! Be sure to leave the Park clean by disposing your trash in our tough commercial trash cans. 

About the National Park Service

The story begins with the first National Park, Yellowstone. The land that is now Yellowstone became the unincorporated community of Gardiner, Montana. In 1903 Theodore Roosevelt visited Gardiner to dedicate the Roosevelt Arch, to cast the vision of the National Park Service into stone: "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People." On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the act creating the National Park Service, a new federal bureau responsible for protecting national parks and monuments. Today it manages hundreds of parks as well as national monuments, preservations, and other protected sites. A hundred years ago, the Park Service was created with the mission of protecting and preserving some of the most wonderful sites in our country. The NPS now covers more than 84 million acres in 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and the Virgin Islands. By the protection of the NPS, the rich history and culture of our country has been protected so every generation has the opportunity to experience the natural wonders of our country. Please take a moment to browse the NPS official site and view the rich history it has to offer.

Thermoplastic and plastisol are two types of plastic coated steel outdoor furniture that creates the standard for commercial quality. Thermoplastic and plastisol site amenities include picnic tables, benches, and trash cans. Thermoplastic site amenities are popular as they are commercial quality built to last.

Park Tables has many site amenities that are essential to opening a park. If you are in charge of ordering furniture for a park, you probably have guidelines on what you can order for the project. We have some suggestions for creating a park that will be successful and enjoyable for visitors.