Category: Infant Swings

Sandy Hawley Park

4/29/2022

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!

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Ernie L. Stroud Park

7/22/2018

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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).

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Horne Park

7/12/2018

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Area: Northwest Ajax

Age Range: infant and up

Parking: some street parking on Horne Ave

Ground Cover: sand

Main Equipment:

5 slides (2 metal ones on the larger play structure)
4 swings
2 infant swings
2 teeter rockers (one whale, one atv)
1 climbing rope
1 rock climbing wall
1 fireman pole
1 playhouse mansion (that's two small houses put together)

Accessibility Features: talking tubes in the sand of the larger play structure area (so not very wheelchair accessible with the sand)

Facilities/Other:

Horne Park Splash Pad

Surrounding Park Area: A small green space around the playground, and a small field behind the splash pad

Seating: 1 picnic bench in the shade pavilion behind the toddler playhouses, three curved benches facing the playgrounds closest to the infant swings

Shade: none over the larger playground, some late afternoon shade over the smaller playground playhouses, and a lot of shade in the surrounding trees

Overall assessment: A great park for multiple ages. The playground mansion (because it is the largest park playhouse we have ever seen) is perfect for toddlers and younger kids. The sand in the toddler playground area is finer and has less rocks than the larger playground side (we suspect it had a fresh dump of new sand this year) and with the new splash pad right next to it, makes the perfect combination for sandcastle building when the kids are tired of sliding, swinging or climbing. It's a great local park and has amazing grassy shaded areas in the trees for picnics too! I just wish there was a seasonal washroom here when we visited....maybe next year?

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Telford Park

7/9/2018

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Area: North Ajax

Age Range: infant to about age 5

Parking: some street parking on Telford Street
weekends: Vimy Ridge public school parking lot across the street

Ground Cover: mulch

Main Equipment:

2 metal slides (1 is a wider toddler one)
2 infant swings
climbing ramp

Accessibility Features: none

Facilities/Other:

close to seasonal portable washroom at Vimy Ridge park (5min walk North)

Surrounding Park Area: A small green space around the playground

Seating: 4 park benches facing the playground

Shade: none over the playground itself, but some in the surrounding small trees

Overall assessment: A toddler friendly park with a wide toddler friendly slide is the best when teaching young kids playground safety (like sliding feet first). And we can't believe there are four park benches here, which is perfect for meeting up with other young families for park play and snacks! Our 13 month old had no problem climbing the stairs and once we taught her how to go feet first down the slide, this circuit entertained her for a good fifteen minutes (see video below, although we don't recommend siblings catching at the bottom usually). It's also a great toddler park because there is a seasonal portable washroom only a 5 minute walk North to Vimy Ridge park.

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Vimy Ridge School Park

7/9/2018

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Area: North Ajax

Age Range: infant and up

Parking: some street parking on Bellinger Drive and off of the nearby side streets
weekends: Vimy Ridge public school parking lot off of Telford Street

Ground Cover: mulch

Main Equipment:

3 metal slides
4 swings
2 infant swings
2 rock climbing walls
2 small animal rockers
1 log roller
1 circular monkey bars

Accessibility Features: none

Facilities/Other:

1 soccer pitch
seasonal portable washroom

Surrounding Park Area: A soccer field with a bit of surrounding green space and some smaller trees

Seating: 3 park benches facing each other under a shaded pavilion, 1 park bench facing the larger play structure, 1 picnic table hiding in the middle of the trees

Shade: none over the playground itself, but some under the shade pavilion, and some in the surrounding trees

Overall assessment: We like parks that have a lot of climbing apparatus and this one delivered for our kindergartner. The log roller though posed a challenge as her arms aren't quite long enough to grasp both sides, and going it solo was a bit too scary (she almost face planted). Circular monkey bars always look so fun to me, but not when I am still helping the kiddo reach them. This park also has a bike rack which is convenient for older kids using the field.