Community Park Water Playground- Parksville

Community Park Water Playground in Parksville is right next to the playground in the large, pretty park in the middle of the city's waterfront. Just as eclectic as the playground, the water park has a weird combination of features, though not as diverse as the at the playground.
There are two ways in, past the huge lion drinking fountain, or at the far end, where you can enter normally, or through a tunnel.

There is not a lot to say about this water playground other than it looked a lot of fun and was mobbed by happy children. Mine didn't have their swim stuff with them but were so distracted by the playground that they didn't seem to mind. If you want to know more about the park or facilities check out the review for the sand-based playground next door but in brief, the whole place is pretty well catered for with washrooms, parking, a concession stand and a great view.

Inside the railed off water site there are a collection of older water features, things that spray, squirt and bubble away while you run around screaming. The most popular feature seemed to be a long low water slide, but if you're a thrill seeker you might find it a bit of a let-down. Let's face it, it's for kids!

You could easily spend a day down at Parksville Community Park and between the beach, the water park and the playground there's a lot to offer.

Community Park Playground- Parksville

We've never been to Parksville before but this weekend we managed to sneak away from Victoria and finally got a chance to check out some of the things that Parksville has to offer. I'm not going to wax lyrical about the beaches and fantastic family friendly places to stay or visit, instead I'm going to do what this blog is all about and talk playgrounds. Well, one in particular- the Parksville Community Park Playground, located right on the water in the centre of town.

This park offers an almost bewildering array of playground equipment and without spending an hour documenting everything with a clipboard and pen I can't possibly list it all. I will, however, give a good overview. If you're thinking of going here and wonder if there is something for your child, I'm pretty sure that there is, although because the playground is more old than new and on a sand base, it's not very accessible and would probably not be ideal for kids in wheelchairs. There are facilities such as washrooms, drinking fountain and a food concession, which I expect are seasonal.

Located in the community park, there are large grassy areas, picnic tables, shady places to sit and the whole park goes right out to the beach and the sea. We have reviewed a few parks with glorious views and this is one of them, although because the playground is set back somewhat it doesn't reap the full benefit of the location so take a few minutes to walk out to the water and take it all in.

The playground equipment is a combination of old and new and looks like they have added to it over the years. Alternatively, they might have gone to a used-playground-convention...if there is such a thing...and bought a surprise bag and then planted it all down in the one park. There are literally restored vintage pieces here. There are a bunch of old metal bouncy things with restoration plaques on them, there are old fashioned diggers, a funky old fashioned merry-go-round and an array of old school metal climbing frames. There are some really interesting pieces here but they almost get lost in the sheer numbers. Mind you, with the number of kids around, it's probably a good thing. Our kids favourite climbing frames were the helicopter and the airplane.



There are some small scale climbing structures for the toddlers, and then there are several bigger ones that would suit all ages, but especially big kids. There is a multi plastic tubed slide feature that seemed to be the most popular and there is also a huge long continuous play style structure on the far side away form the parking behind the zip slide. Because, of course, there's a zip slide there too. Oh, and did I mention the water park? This large long climbing frame is a really good one for kids who like to climb because it offers a number of different climbing options to get from one end to the other, starting with low ramps and ending with a weird sort of climbing web hanging basket that I saw a few kids attempt but everyone gave up, not quite sure how to approach it.

There is too much to review the water playground in here so follow the links for more about that. In fact, there's so much here that I will leave the photos to speak for themselves. This playground is not the most glamorous around but it's got a lot to offer, especially when you figure in all the facilities around.

Cordova Bay Road Playground- Saanich

I have no idea if this playground actually has a proper name, so I'm calling it Cordova Bay Road Playground. It'll come as a surprise then, that it's a tiny little playground perched on the edge of Cordova Bay Road between the road and the beach. We have driven past this little park many times but have never managed to stop and so it was exciting to finally visit it. Good things come in small packages!

There is roadside parking and a wall which protects playground users from harm and the playground itself is surrounded by trees which provide some shade. If you peek through the trees you can see down to the sandy beach or out across the sea in one of BC's stunning scenic drive views.

On a base of gravelly sand, the playground has a small climbing structure, a climbing frame car and a swing set with a toddler swing and a big kid swing. The climbing structure is a sweet thing with steps, a short metal slide, an alphabet climbing wall feature and underneath it has an ice-cream style serving hatch. I took a photo through it but the light was too bright to capture the amazing sea view. They should trim the trees in line with the hatch so that anyone bored of pretending to serve ice-cream can sit back and admire the view.

There is a picnic table and bench here, some grass, some shade and of course, if this place isn't the challenge that your kids need, there is a path down to the beach. This playground is an adorable little pit-stop!

Cadboro-Gyro Park

Cadboro-Gyro Park at Cadboro Bay is hard to rate. I want to give it 10/10 for imagination and 1/10 for functionality. Every time we go there A is so excited but when he actually gets up to the playground, he is always disappointed. Let's start a new category for weird parks and it wins the award hands-down!

The playground is on sand (and you know how I feel about sand in play parks-ugg) and features incredibly exciting looking sea creatures. The octopus alone sends A into swoons on sight. However, when you get up close it is actually made of concrete and you can't slide down the arms as it promises from a distance. There is a pretty cool ship built there for kids to run all over but it gets really crowded and attracts dogs, which A isn't always keen on so if your kid isn't a dog lover you might want to watch out for puppy love rushing over for a quick face-lick.

The park also has the usual swings and a pretty cool metal slide. While it gains points for originality, the real attraction of this playground isn't actually the playground, it's the location- beautiful sea views, a great beach and lots of grass to run around on. There is a block of washrooms and picnic tables too, and parking which fills up fast on nice days.