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Durham region
​playground reviews

Jeffery Park

7/15/2023

1 Comment

 
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Area: Central Whitby

Age Range: 18months+

Parking:  large parking lot off of Jeffery Street

Ground Cover: mulch

Main Equipment:
  • 4 infant swings
  • 2 accessible bucket swings
  • 2 swings
  • 3 slides
  • 2 climbers
  • 2 sand diggers
  • ship with navigational tools

Accessibility Features: 2 bucket swings, musical instrument stations, play ship with navigational tools, sand digger

Facilities/Other:
  • Jeffery Park Splash Pad
  • seasonal portable washroom 
  • basketball court
  • soccer pitch
  • field

Surrounding Park Area: Surrounded by large fields and connected to walking paths this is another great park to keep you entertained all day

Seating: 4 benches around the playground, very long concrete bench surrounding one corner of the playground space by the accessible swings, 3 two person picnic tables under the shade sail by the splash pad

Shade: shade sail over the splash pad picnic tables, there could be a shade sail over the sandpit (the posts were there when we visited, but the sail was missing)

Overall assessment: A new favourite themed park for us because of the amount of creative ship play! The number of navigational features and unique creative play elements incorporated to make this ship part of the entire structure allows more than one or two kids to interactive with this creative play theme! Add to this the awesome splash pad, splash pad run off creek, and surrounding fields and you've got yourself an entire day outing in one place! The portable washroom is a bit hard to see (as it is on the other side of the parking lot from the splash pad and playground) but it is a big bonus to have parks with washrooms in our minds.
1 Comment

Garnet B. Rickard Rec Complex Park

5/13/2022

0 Comments

 
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Area: Bowmanville (2440 Highway 2, Bowmanville, ON)

Age Range: recommended ages 5 and up

Parking:  large parking lot at the recreation complex

Ground Cover: mulch

Main Equipment:
  • 4 slides
  • 1 spinner
  • 1 rock and rope climbing wall

Accessibility Features: none

Facilities/Other:
  • 2 fully lit baseball diamonds 
  • Carson Elliott Skatepark behind one of the ball diamonds

Surrounding Park Area: A large green space between the two ball diamonds

Seating: none at the playground, some picnic tables in the trees beside the park

Shade: none over the playground

Overall assessment: A park that is great to play tag at because there is enough space to run and enough things to climb on. Perfect to burn off energy while waiting for siblings or parents playing at the local ball diamond. 
0 Comments

Gulfstream Park

4/29/2022

0 Comments

 
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Area: North Oshawa (2471 Bridle Road)

Age Range: toddler and up

Parking:  large parking lot with 22 stalls plus 2 accessible stalls

Ground Cover: mulch

Main Equipment:
  • 3 slides
  • 2 toddler slides
  • 2 swings
  • 1 bucket swing
  • 1 infant swing
  • 1 play hammock
  • multiple climbing apparatus

Accessibility Features: bucket swing

Facilities/Other:
  • soccer pitch 

Surrounding Park Area: A small green space in front of the park, and a bike lock station

Seating: 2 picnic tables in a large picnic shelter, 1 park bench 

Shade: none over the playground, large shade pavilion over 2 picnic tables

Overall assessment: If your kids role play the kids TV show Bluey ever, then this is a playground that should definitely be on your list! There is a small play hammock for you to reenact the Bluey episode 'Pirates'. The kids loved the two 'really steep' racing slides and the amount of different climbing apparatus. 
0 Comments

Sandy Hawley Park

4/29/2022

0 Comments

 
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Area: North Oshawa (2500 Kentucky Derby Way, Oshawa, ON)

Age Range: toddler and up

Parking:  small parking lot with 5 stalls plus 2 accessible stalls

Ground Cover: mulch

Main Equipment:
  • 3 slides
  • 1 swing
  • 1 bucket swing
  • 1 infant swing
  • 3 spinners
  • 1 teeter rocker
  • 1 giant climbing boulder
  • 1 musical station
  • 1 farm gate sales stand (ok we made that up, but it is a great pretend play barn!)

Accessibility Features: music station, bucket swing

Facilities/Other:
  • Sandy Hawley splash pad
  • half basketball court
  • soccer pitch with 2 long team benches

Surrounding Park Area: A small green space in front of the park, and a bike lock station

Seating: 3 covered picnic tables between the playground and splash pad, 2 park benches by the half basketball court, and two long metal team benches behind the playground in the soccer pitch

Shade: none over the playground

Overall assessment: A cool new themed park based on the old Windfield Farm site (neat fact; the climbing boulder was original to the old Windfield Farm and was incorporated into this playground design). The kids loved the barn 'loft' and the really steep racing slides. They look steep but don't go quite as fast as you'd expect. One of the neat features we haven't seen very often anymore is a climbing ramp with rope to pull yourself up. It uses all kinds of coordination and muscles! They've already asked to go back to the 'farm playground' so I guess the theme was a hit!
0 Comments

Ernie L. Stroud Park

7/22/2018

0 Comments

 
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Area: Southwest Pickering

Age Range: toddler and up

Parking:  some street parking on Steeple Hill 

Ground Cover: mulch

Main Equipment:
  • 5 slides
  • 1 swing
  • 1 infant swing
  • 2 vehicle stations
  • 1 bus stop play area (under the toddler play structure)

Accessibility Features: vehicle stations, talking tubes

Facilities/Other:
  • water efficient native perennial garden (with sign)
  • carved ash bench installation

Surrounding Park Area: A small green space behind the playground, a small water efficient native perennial garden in front of the playground and a walking trail

Seating: 2 benches right beside the small play structure, large carved ash tree bench behind the big playground structure, and a few park benches throughout the rest of the park around the walking trail

Shade: none over the playground, lots of shade in the surrounding trees throughout the park

Overall assessment: A great park for toddlers and older siblings as there is enough to do for everyone. With the walking trail behind the park, it can make for quite an outing if you are looking for more to explore. The carved ash tree bench was almost more popular for my two little ones than the playground was itself, so make sure to take a moment to climb over there too! If you are looking for an example of native perennial plants, there is a perfect water efficient example here with an informative sign (I will be sure to make note of changes I can make to my own garden during these hot summers in the future). 
0 Comments
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Durham Region Playground Reviews

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  • Long Live Outdoor Play
    • FAQ
    • Favourite Links
    • About Me, Jennifer
    • About Valerie
  • Our Reviews
    • Playground Reviews >
      • Top 10 Infant & Toddler Friendly Playgrounds
      • Top 10 Accessible Playgrounds
      • Top 10 Parks with Shade
      • Canada's 150 coolest playgrounds
    • Splash Pad Reviews >
      • Top 10 Splash Pads
    • Skateparks
    • Indoor Play Reviews
    • Ontario Ice Cream Shops
  • Maps
    • Splash Pad Map
    • Desktop Playground Map
    • Indoor Playground Map
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  • Our Adventures
    • Activities and Bucket Lists
    • Ice Cream