Paradise Park Playground- Esquimalt, Victoria

Paradise Park playground is tucked into a small fanced park on Paradise Street between Lyall and Head. AND, it's really a toddler playground. It's older and a little worn and not very glamourous but our 1.5 year old LOVES it.

There is one main oversized plastic climbing structure with three slides. There are tiny little swings that look like they've been leftover from the 70's- one toddler and one big kid and then there are a selection of bouncy things, an old fashioned digger machine and a tunnel. I forgot to check if the calling tubes work, but there's a set of them too.

On a sandy base, this playground is safe, small and has benches for resting parents to relax on. There are no facilities or shade and the parking is street parking. There is come grass to play on too. If you want to go somewhere low-risk where your little ones can have fun, this is a great playground and it's popular for an out-of-the-way spot too- I had to return twice before I could get a photo without kids everywhere. If you want to make a day of it, the end of Paradise Street hits Head right where the West Bay Waterway path runs and so you can walk or bike along that for scenic views and sightings of birds, boat planes and if you're lucky, maybe a ship or two!

Barnard Park Playground- Esquimalt

We've been past the end of Barnard Ave about 10,000 times and never thought to go down there until recently, when caught in a traffic line-up I glimpsed a piece of playground equipment glistening in the sun. The next afternoon we made out way down the shirt, dead-end road and lo-and-behold, there's a lovely sea-front park with a sweet little playground. I'd barely been able to un-clip 'A's seat belt before he ran over the grass and was up on top of the slide, almost like I never take him out to playgrounds.

The playground is set in a grassy and shady park. The only facilities are the playground itself, tennis courts and a lonely picnic table. The park however is lovely- paths leading down to the seawall that winds off around the cove. There was an enormous cruise ship docked opposite and between that and the sea-planes that landed and took-off in front of us 'A' had a ball. This is on a woodchip base. This is what I would call a pit-stop playground. You aren't going to find anything amazing there, you won't spend hours there but if you're driving by you can park right there on the road, get a good play in, take a stroll by the water, have another quick play and then be back on your way. It's a case of quality not quantity. Great little climbing feature/slide, nice solid swings and a lovely setting.


Back to the playground. It's a tiny little thing with double toddler, double big-kid swings, and a climbing turret with steps, a climbing wall and a nice straight slide.

Ecole Victor-Brodeur Playground- Esquimalt

Ecole Victor-Brodeur's playground at the corner of Old Esquimalt Road and Head St has tempted us many times but it's always been inside school hours so we haven't been able to sample it. So it was with great joy that we passed this morning, remembered that school was out and screeched to a halt. From the road this playground is a mass of bright colours and close up, it's a pretty big, but then again, it's a pretty big school.

There are two main climbing structures and if I was going to present an award to this playground it would be for most slides. Between both climbing frames, there are six plastic slides: one curly, one bumpy, one wavy, one straight and one straight double.


The climbing structures offer a multitude of climbing options and there are also a lot of nice little features such as activity walls, a house facade and piano chimes. There is a running roller, a plastic climbing mountain wall and a separate climbing wall.

Set back from the rest there is a row of eight swings, two therapeutic and the rest big kid. There is a smaller playground for smaller kids at the front of the school but it's all penned in just for school use- so toddlers or less adventurous kids might want to skip this one, though I am sure there is something for everyone here.

There is a bouncy bench, but not really any other facilities as it is with school playgrounds....except for parking of course...there's lots of parking.

Banfield Park Playground- Vic West, Esquimalt

Banfield Park is tucked behind the Vic West Y on Craigflower Road. Right on the edge of the Gorge, it's the second of the Gorge playgrounds that we are going to review and it's a blinder. I've been meaning to go there for ages and now that we have been we will definitely go again because it's one of the best play structures that we have come across, even though it might not strike you as that on first glimpse.



We parked a couple of streets over and took one of the trails that runs through Banfield Park, arriving at the playground from below. Split into the usual big kid/small kid mix, the playground, which is on woodchips, is well-kept and well thought out. The small kid side roughly resembles a ship and has really cool low wiggly steps for the little ones to climb aboard. 'A' loved these steps and it's always nice to see new things, although you can now guarantee that they will be at every playground we visit for the next week now that I have said that. There are a bunch of good climbing options on this frame, two tunnels and a short wobbly plastic slide.

The big kid side features high wiggly steps, a whole big bunch of things to climb up, down, hand off and climb across, as well as a higher wobbly plastic slide and a plastic curly slide. It is really this structure that I am raving about- it doesn't look all that flashy...well, okay, it looks kind of flashy, but I am convinced that it's what kids want. 'A' is only 2.5ish and he can't use this structure to it's full extent, but there were things he could do and things to strive towards and he was very excited.



There is the usual double big kid, double toddler swing combo and there is one picnic table next to the playground though I am sure there must be more around in this pretty park. I didn't see washrooms but assume that the Y has some. There are lots of trees to find shade under and lovely rolling grassy areas that would be perfect for those not afraid of renegade beetles to roll down.

Kinsman Gorge Park Playground- Esquimalt

Those lucky enough to live around Vic West's Gorge not only have lovely views and great walking trails, but they also have 4 playgrounds scattered along the water's edge. We've been meaning to visit them for a while and managed to grab two this morning in a double play.

You can reach Kinsman Gorge Park Playground by turning into the park from Tillicum Road and taking the path west. The park itself is lovely- well-kept with grassy areas, picnic tables, lots of trees and gardens and of course nice water views.

The playground is slightly worn but it's got decent features and 'A' liked the fact that it was completely deserted- probably because it was lunch time. Split into two parts, the small kid side features a climbing structure with a tower, a ramp, several climbing options and a double plastic slide.



The big kid side has a whole bunch more climbing options, a wider, higher tower with a tunnel and a curly plastic slide and a straight plastic slide. There are things to hang from and even an old wooden balance beam along with a digger machine and several bouncy things. This whole large play area is on gravelly-sand and across the path towards the water there are 6 swings on small pebbles; 4 big kid and 2 toddler. It's worth noting for those that like to swing high that the big kid swings have very long chains- so the potential to go pretty high.