Category: Accessible Station

Elmer Lick Park

8/25/2017

Area: East Whitby

Age Range: infant and up

Parking: street parking on Janedale Crescent or Vanessa Place

Ground Cover: mulch

Main Equipment:

3 slides (2 toddler slides)
2 infant swings
1 music station (drums)
1 hand crank station
1 rock climbing wall
1 spinner
1 classic rocking horse
1 sandpit
multiple climbing apparatus

Accessibility Features: music drum station, hand crank station

Facilities/Other:

none

Surrounding Park Area: a small green space behind the playground

Seating: 2 park benches facing the playground, plus concrete wall with built in seating facing the playground and surrounding the sandpit

Shade: no shade over the playground, some shade in the surrounding trees

Overall assessment: The hidden sandpit looks like it would be fun (if only we had our playground kit with sand buckets and shovels with us)! We love that the vintage rocking horse was saved and re-installed at this playground amidst the newer equipment and play structures. The infant swings here are the tamest we have seen to date as they don't swing nearly as high as the other infant/toddler swings we normally see at parks. This could be great for first time swingers, not so great for preschoolers who keep asking 'why can't you make it go higher?' We greatly appreciated the fact that you can easily walk to this park from the Whitby Passport office (in case someone has to go there and there is a looooong boring wait for the kids).

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Kirby Park

8/24/2017

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Area: East Whitby

Age Range: infant and up

Parking: street parking on Kirby Crescent

Ground Cover: mulch

Main Equipment:

4 slides (1 is a toddler slide)
2 swings
1 infant swing
1 bucket swing
1 saucer swing
fireman pole
1 music station (see video below!)
1 mulch 'kitchen' station (must see the video below!)
1 car track (built into the toddler play structure)
multiple climbing apparatus

Accessibility Features: bucket swing, saucer swing, toddler music station, toddler mulch station

Facilities/Other:

1 softball diamond
seasonal washroom (a portable beside the softball diamond about a 2-5 minute walk away from the playground)

Surrounding Park Area: a small green space behind the playground with a trail leading to the softball diamond and seasonal portable washroom

Seating: 3 park benches facing the playground (NOT there when we visited August 2017, but the foundations for them have been poured), plus concrete wall with built in seating facing the larger play structure

Shade: no shade over the playground, plenty of shade in the surrounding trees

Overall assessment: The toddler structure here is AMAZING! There are so many hidden features that we loved taking our time to explore them all. Bring your car or ball to this park as there is a hidden track around the top of the toddler structure that you can drive or roll things along! We have included two videos below, but the rest of the features of this small play structure you will have to explore on your own. The bigger play structure is great for climbing, hanging and balancing. The tall slide with bumps was a huge hit for our preschooler (although a little tough to get to as there is only one ladder type climber and some toddlers will find it difficult). With a seasonal washroom just a short walk away, this is a good park to spend a couple of hours exploring and we will definitely be back to show off the toddler structure to our friends!

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Country Lane Park

7/9/2017

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Area: Northwest Whitby

Age Range: infant and up

Parking:
Weekdays: some street parking off of Randolph Ave just across from the playground
Weekends: large parking lot at Captain Michael Vandenbos Public School on Country Lane beside park

Installed: 2019 *UPDATED Review*

Ground Cover: mulch

Main Equipment:

4 swings
2 infant swings
1 bucket swing
5 slides
1 merry go round
1 music station
2 sand pit diggers
multiple rock walls and climbing apparatus

Accessibility Features: bucket swing in the smaller play structure area, music station, lemonade stand, sand scoop station, seats on merry go round

Facilities/Other:

see Country Lane Park Splash Pad post
2 Baseball Diamonds
seasonal washroom (portable potty) by far ball diamond field
1 Soccer Pitch
1 Basketball court

Surrounding Park Area: green spaces, fields, and large shady trees

Seating: three park benches facing the toddler playground, one facing the sand pit with an entire curved rock wall for additional seating, and two facing the splash pad

Shade: shade in morning over part of the toddler structure, surrounding trees offer plenty of shade, and after we visited they were scheduled to install a sun shade over the sand pit (see the tall posts in my pictures)

Overall assessment: With a lot of trees, paths, and open field space, it is easy to make this playground and adjacent splash pad a picnic spot for a day trip! 2019 UPDATE: a lot of new climbing features and accessible features have been added to this newly renovated playground and it is being used a lot my by the younger kids in the community now (so I am told). They also have put in a few Biba Playground App features which include relay races, scavenger hunts, and some augmented reality games so that the kids will WANT to come back to explore this park some more this summer!

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Exeter Park

6/16/2017

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Area: South Ajax

Age Range: infant and up

Parking: no parking off of King street (fire-hydrant zone) parking is around the West side of Exeter Rd. (which is an unpaved walk across the grassy field to get to the playground)

Ground Cover: wood chips

Main Equipment:

2 swings
1 infant swing
1 accessible bucket swing
5 metal slides
1 car station

Accessibility Features: wheelchair accessible car station, accessible bucket swing

Facilities/Other:

see Exeter Park wading pool post
1 softball diamond

Surrounding Park Area: open green space and some surrounding trees

Seating: two benches facing the playground, two benches facing the wading pool

Shade: none over the playground itself, one tree beside the park and park benches, surrounding trees providing some shade

Overall assessment: A great park for a day trip because there is the wading pool right next to it! One large tree provides a great shady spot beside the playground for a picnic or a break for snacks. If you will be parking off of the West Exeter Rd. street side, it is quite a walk to get to the playground across the grassy field (especially if you're toting a day trip worth of bags!).

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Beverley Morgan Park

6/25/2016

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Area: East Pickering

Age Range: 2 to 8 years

Parking: large parking lot off of Liverpool Rd (turn into the Pine Ridge High School parking on Hasley Lane and on the right there is a laneway to the parking lot off of the Park field), very little street parking right beside the playground on Bridle Path Circle

Ground Cover: mulch

Main Equipment:

2 slides
1 climbing 'slide'
1 swing
1 infant swing
1 car teeter rocker
rock climbing wall
climbing apparatus
activity station

Accessibility Features: lower curb to the mulch, activity station, car teeter rocker

Facilities/Other:

1 softball field
1 track and football field with artifical turf (which can be accessed through the locked gate by calling the city in advance)
1 ball hockey rink/basket ball court (right beside the enclosed track)
1 mini soccer pitch
2 soccer pitches/ football field posts
1 larger soccer pitch/ football field (at the bottom of the hill behind the enclosed track)
seasonal washrooms (portable potty)

Surrounding Park Area: a great paved path through the park that connects to River Trail off of Valley Farm Rd, a lot of green space, and many sports fields

Seating: 2 park benches at the playground, multi-tiered spectator bleachers at the softball field and the enclosed track/football field

Shade: some shade around the playground from the surrounding trees, no shade over the fields in the park, but the trees along the edges of the park and down further along River Trail offer some nice shady spots

Overall assessment: A great large park to explore and run around with a smaller climbing playground at the south corner. Definitely NOT a park to fly kites in though (safety first since this park is located directly under the power line belt). The paved trail offers a great place to learn to ride bikes down and up hills!