Category: Music Station

Lakeside Neighborhood Park

7/19/2018

Area: Southeast Ajax

Age Range: 5yrs and up (it's a bit more intermediate)

Parking: some street parking on Audley Rd S / Hoile Drive (they merge around the curve right in front of this park)

Ground Cover: mulch

Main Equipment:

1 slide
3 swings (1 bucket style, 1 saucer style)
2 hammocks
1 climbing rope structure
2 blue rock climbing walls
2 standing spinners
music station

Accessibility Features: music station, hammocks, bucket and saucer swings

Facilities/Other:

close to Carruthers Marsh Splash Pad and Ashbury Park (5-8min walk away)
also almost beside the Waterfront Trail Parkette swings

Surrounding Park Area: A small green space around the playground, right on the Ajax Waterfront Trail

Seating: 2 benches right beside the park, large rock retaining wall structure around the playground, and several benches in the area along the Ajax Waterfront Trail

Shade: none over the playground, some shade in the surrounding trees along the waterfront

Overall assessment: This park was built for obstacle course racing! It has two standing spinners that act as great starting points for a team race through the playground. The saucer swing is amazing as it has a beautiful view of the lake off in the distance to the West. Maybe you can catch a sunset here? The best part is that there are more swings across the field behind the park at the Waterfront Trail Parkette, and it's just a few minutes walk away from Ashbury Park and the Carruthers Marsh Splash Pad!

2 Comments

Elmer Lick Park

8/25/2017

0 Comments

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

1 Comment

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!

1 Comment

Shadybrook Park

8/15/2017

0 Comments

Area: West Pickering

Age Range: 18 months and up

Parking: limited street parking off Shadybrook Drive, lots of parking at Crawford Adventist Academy (off of Meadowview Ave)

Ground Cover: mulch

Main Equipment:

4 slides
2 swings
2 infant swings
1 spinning pole
1 rock climbing wall
1 drum music station
multiple climbing apparatus

Accessibility Features: 2 activity centres (storefront and musical drums)

Facilities/Other:

multiple outdoor tennis courts
1 mini soccer pitch
seasonal washrooms (portable potty)

Surrounding Park Area: small green space

Seating: 2 park bench structures beside the park (one truck by the swings, and long train beside park), 1 picnic table behind the tennis courts (closer to the seasonal washroom)

Shade: no shade over the playground itself, some shade provided in the trees beside the playground

Overall assessment: A newer playground in Pickering with a lot of climbing apparatus for older kids!The park benches are fun concrete sculptures of a truck and a train that the younger kids will also enjoy climbing on and 'driving'. It is great to see another playground with a seasonal washroom to make play time last longer! Bring a picnic lunch and play some outdoor games in the green space next to the park!

0 Comments

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!