Windsor Park- Oak Bay

Windsor Park Playground in Oak Bay is at the backside of the playing field next to the tennis courts and you can park on most roads around it. On it's bed of gravelly sand, it features a climbing structure with triple plastic bumpy slides, and a small selection of things to climb on and down. There are a couple of bouncy animals , two toddler swings, two big kid swings and there is a picnic area between the courts and the playground that is covered by a shelter.

There is an digger machine and a rather peculiar set of wooden beams, one I presume for somersaults and one for balancing. Although I will reinforce my theory that any playground is better than no playground, this one seems a little uninspired. However, it's in a great location, is in good shape, has lots of grass around to play on and I am sure any kids would have lots of fun on it. There were probably washrooms that you can use at the building on the playing field but I can't confirm that.

Wesley Park Playground

About two years ago I passed through a small park tucked between Bay St and Wesley Place where i was surprised to see a run-down, outdated little playground and to be honest, I've been saving it for a poor review. Imagine my surprise yesterday when I stumbled through the alley that leads from Bay St, pre-schooler in one hand, camera in the other and found this! It's new........a hidden little gem.

Wesley Park Playground is not a huge playground so there isn't a lot to say, but on the other hand, I've seen a lot smaller. On a woodchip base, this playground features two structures one big kid, one smaller kid linked by climbing apparatus. Both sides feature appropriate things to climb up and down and metal slides. There are four swings, two toddler, two big kid and benches for parents and grass for your pet goat to graze on. I have no idea why I just wrote that but I am going to leave it in because it livens up an otherwise unnecessarily dull review of a perfectly good playground. You could park on Wesley Place but there's not tons of room there and I get the feeling that this is a walking destination playground. There are no other facilities but in case you work up a healthy appetite playing, there's one of the best fish and chip shops in the city just round the corner on Haultain. This playground was a pleasant surprise and we will definitely be back again soon.

Lafayette Park Playground

The people who live around the tiny little Lafayette Park are lucky. It's a nice quiet area with well-kept houses and the sea is near. There is a country village green feeling to the park which makes me think that if you added a cricket match, cucumber sandwiches and a country pub, everything would be complete. Instead of that dream scenario, there is a sweet little playground.

On a circular bed of woodchips, this playground features one climbing structure that has an assortment of things to climb up and down. It has a fun triple bumpy plastic slide, one bouncy animal and a pudding basin. There are no swings and it's hard to rate a playground like this because it's a bonus to have the playground, which is in great shape, there at all. When rating, I try to look at overall facilities and condition and who it caters to and this little gem is really one of those that everything is right with, nothing should be any different but it just isn't going to score that highly because there's not a lot of it.

There is parking on Hampshire Road, lots of grass to play on, picnic tables and there are even nice details on the underside of the slides. For those that like a good old fashioned explore, there is a hole in the hedge that 'A' was somewhat preoccupied with.....and considering his current fear of beetles, ants, loud noises, quiet noises, tiny little gusts of wind and anything that looks like a worm, I didn't encourage him to go in there so can't comment on what's inside.

Playfair Park Playground

If you have never been to Playfair Park you should swing by (there you go dad...a pun just for you!) sometime because it's really pretty. I stumbled across this park about three years ago and although I don't go there very often it seems to pop into my mind frequently.

You can get to this small park from a number of directions but the official entrance and car park are accessible from Rock Street which runs off Quadra. It's one of the local places where they are running a Garry Oaks restoration project- if you had an older child who was into nature it could be fun to visit all of these. 'A' didn't care about the beautiful Oaks with shafts of sun seeping through onto the thousands on bluebells; oh no.....he was too busy tiptoeing through the grass on the lookout for evil beetles.

The playground is nestled into a corner where, surprisingly (small park)there is also a washroom block and a picnic table. On a bed of sand (you know how I feel about sand) the climbing structure is wooden and provides a number of ways for children to get up, and down, on one of the two plastic slides. There is a bright blue tunnel to scramble through which 'A' loved, and good old-fashioned tires to climb up, where he experienced his first accident since we started this project- a slip of the foot and he momentarily disappeared between the tires and the climbing frame. Thankfully, the SAND broke his fall (thanks sand!). Riding the bouncy deer ,which incidentally looks like it ran aground in the sand, consoled him and we quickly moved on to the swings- the usual double big kid, double toddler combination.

This is a lovely little park with a well-kept old school playground.

Beckwith Park Playground/ Frog Pond - Saanich

Funnily enough, you can find Beckwith Park Playground in Beckwith park on Beckwith Ave. This wonderful Saanich Playground was re-done recently and is hard to fault.

The Playground is in a couple of parts. There is a big kid structure that is joined to a smaller kids structure and a separate activity area with lots of things to climb or run through, twist, push, shout into etc. In this separate activity area, there is also a mock ships bow which seems popular with the little kids and 'A' got right on the seat there and started barking out orders to the crew.

The whole playground is brand-spanking new and the main structures feature a ton of climbing options, a double high metal slide on the big kid side, a double lower metal slide on the smaller kid side and lots of activity features scattered throughout. There is also a wavy slide thing, which I am still not sure is for going up or down on. 'A' went up it, but I saw someone come down and it looked painful to me but the child didn't seem to mind. There are lots of other 'things' for which I have no names, for climbing and playing on- far too many to photograph.

There are four swings: two big kid, one toddler and one therapeutic. If I was going to pick faults I would say that for how popular this playground is, there could be more swings. The whole playground rests on a bed of woodchips and there is a lot of grass in the park itself to run around on. If you add in the Frog Pond water park, which is buddied up next to the playground, then this park is hard to beat. There are picnic tables, benches, parking, a washroom block and the whole place has been landscaped nicely.



Frog Pond hours below- click to enlarge the picture.

Rotary Park Playground

Rotary Park is more commonly called the Dinosaur park and you can find it behind the Juan de Fuca Rec Centre on the Westshore. I had received lots of requests to put up some playgrounds that were further afield than Victoria City and so when a friend suggested we go to her favourite playground I leaped at the chance.

I originally gave this playground a 9.5/10 but have decided to change it to 10/10. I don't really see how they could obviously improve it. For a start, there is parking and a multitude of great facilities, including washrooms at the rec centre. Secondly, there is a great grassy area right next to the playground which our children rolled the entire way down and so I got some exercise piggybacking 'A' back up the hill- otherwise I would just have stood gossiping to my friend!

Thirdly, the playground itself is so well thought-out that whoever designed it deserves a pat on the back. It's pretty new but it isn't just flashy. It seems to combine new, good quality features with good old favourites, such as the two-lane track that circles the playground, old school metal digger-machines, and a magnificent tunnel. There are two parts to the playground, smaller and bigger but both halves could suit all ages as we saw in action. All of this is on a bed of good old woodchips.

In all there are eight swings. Five big kid, two toddler and one therapeutic swing. There are four slides on the smaller kid structure, one of which is a double and there are two slides on the bigger structure, one of which also is a double so all in all that makes eight slides! For the picky out there, I think that is three metal and the rest plastic. There is a plastic 'mountain' style climbing wall, a free standing actual climbing wall a bouncy dinosaur and (nice touch here) even a dinosaur fossil underneath the mountain wall. The tunnel is what kids want- long and fat and 'A' giggled his way through it. There are loads of things to climb up, to hang off and oh my, there is even a mini sliding rail though parents beware- I think I need to see my chiropractor after trying that out. What? I know, I know...I am over 12 years old......but if I am doing a review, surely you want me to test the equipment-right?

As a parent I am always trying to carefully balance the need to protect my kids with the need for them to learn for themselves, and this blog really isn't the place to debate how far parents need to supervise their children etc. Rotary Park Playground is surrounded by bushes some of which have pretty steep trails down from. If you had a child that was inclined to run headfirst into things, you might find yourself having to be extra vigilant around some of those bush paths- which may or may not add to your enjoyment of this fabulous playground.

Montreal Street & Niagara Street Playground

Someone gave us a top tip about a playground that was great for smaller kids yesterday and we rushed straight over. I feel like we should have a flashing beacon on the top of our car - the 'Must Play Emergency Vehicle' or something. Anyway, if there is an award for Most Adorable Playground, this would be a contender.

Situated at the backside of MacDonald Park, between Simcoe and Niagara, you can enter this enclosed playground from either Montreal St or the alley that runs parallel.

It's a small, sweet park that is obviously well loved because there are lots of toys there, practically still warm from being played with, scattered around. There is actually a sand pit- I haven't seen a sand pit for years and apparently they change the sand frequently enough for it not to be disgusting.

When we visited it was completely empty- happy 'A'- and he got to climb all over everything before demanding that I push him in one of the toddler swings until my arms almost fell off. I had to recover by having a swing in one of the 2 big kid swings which was surprisingly high- my feet didn't touch the ground- which for the record is a woodchip base.

The main structure is fabulous for kids 'A's age. It is the only climbing frame that I have seen where he can use all the features, but that they are still big enough to be a challenge. He was so happy that he could climb up one of the interesting takes on a ladder that he stood at the top clapping and shouting "I did it, I did it!" There are two metal slides of appropriate height, one single and two doubles.

There are grassy areas to plan on, a picnic table and benches. As I said the whole playground is fenced in, so little ones can't escape. We loved this park and will definitely be back. You may ask why it didn't score higher, but in trying to be fair with my nonsensical scoring system, I have to admit that as much as we loved it,. it wouldn't challenge the bigger kids as much as some of the playgrounds around Victoria, plus to use any facilities you'd have a bit of a walk.

MacDonald Park Playground - 9/10

Yesterday we had our first visit to MacDonald Park which is officially on Ladysmith Street but for the sake of ease I'll say it's at Simcoe and Oswego in James Bay. It definitely helped that it was sunny and after the long winter people were taking full advantage of the chance to get outdoors, but this park scores on the feel of it's location. As soon as we arrived there was the feeling of community - people were happy, smiling and there was a faint buzz of summer in the air.

As I have mentioned before, A loves ramps. MacDonald Park Playground has this incredibly long wooden climbing structure which is low- probably aimed at the smaller children- and has ramps and a funky wavy ramp. A was all a-twitter with excitement and ran up and down for some time before we could even get him to consider the`rest of the playground. When he did, we found balancing beams that connected the two parts of the wooden structure, the second half of which has steps up to two slides- one metal, one plastic curly, which do not patronize their small users as many small kid slides do.

Between the wooden structure and the colourful metal climbing area for the big kids, there are a row of six big kid swings. The big kid area features a ton of climbing options, a tube thing that can be climbed up or slid down and a high metal slide. There is a climbing wall and the whole thing is on woodchips! There are fences to protect kids from the road.

MacDonald Park is well-kept and has a snack bar on the opposite side to the playground and presumably washrooms too, though I didn't see them. So to sum up, nice location, great climbing structures, swings and slides and lots of grass to run around on. You might ask where it loses the point (9/10)....well, if I am being picky- which is what this blog is about, then it lacks any imaginative features- it's good old climbing frames, swings and slides at their best.

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.

Willows Beach Park - Oak Bay- Victoria

Willows Beach Park is a strange mix of the fabulous and the outdated. You don't get much better as far as views go. Check out the sea view from the swing! There are good facilities too- washrooms and picnic tables and a snack bar that was probably serving the same snacks to Victoria residents back in the 80's. There is a water fountain by the washrooms but it wasn't working when we went there.

There are three structures here and also the usual double double swing set- two for big kids and two for toddlers. The toddler climbing structure is wooden and set away from the rest of the playground. It has things to climb on, ply with and a wooden swing bridge that freaked A out a little- it's really not scary but then again A is 2.5 so who am I to say what's scary? There are twin plastic slides.

The big kid structures have lots to do. One is new and has the things for which I have no name- check them out in the glossary. It seemed pretty popular while I was there. The older structure needs updating- it's metal with a curly slide, lots to climb on but it's rusty and peeling and loses points to the playground overall- though the children playing on it really didn't seem to notice. The playground has a pebble base which I quite like.

There is a lovely grassy area behind the playground and you could throw a stone to the beach/sea, which is what we did on the way back to the car. Speaking of which, there is parking all along Willows Beach on Esplanade Street and more parking on the other side of the beach in the carpark but on nice days you might want to walk or ride a bike because it gets very busy.

Despite needing a bit of work, this is a good place to come with kids- Victoria at it's best.

Central Park Playground

Central park is located on Vancouver Street tucked behind the Crystal Pool. We are lucky enough to have this playground really near to our house and so we know it well.

With a woodchip base, there are two sides to cater to the little and big kids. Speaking of big, I think that this playground might get the prize for the highest metal slide in the city. A four year old friend that recently visited the park for the first time with us almost swooned when he saw how high it was. It usually takes kids a while to work out which way they will get up to the high slide as there are not steps up but a choice of climbing wall, a sort of curved ladder or parallel bars.

On the little kids side there are fun steps, lots of things to climb on including a climbing rope wall and a toddler version of the climbing wall. There are three little kid plastic slides, one with a curve and two small straight ones next to each other. There are two baby/toddler swings and two big kid swings.

There are also a few extra 'things'- no idea what they are called, such as the circle shown in the photo. It spins around like a roundabout but I have never really seen anyone figure out how to really enjoy it because frankly, it's not easy to use. I know that the one time I really got it going I ended up covered in woodchips on the ground. Good job I like woodchips.

Central Park is pretty well kept and there is always a lot going on there between the sports field and courts. There are a few of the extra rides that have disappeared recently- not sure where or why. The playground loses points because there are no public washrooms nearby and the Crystal Pool people don't like you to use theirs.