LONG LIVE OUTDOOR PLAY
  • 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
    • Ice Cream Trail Map
  • Our Adventures
    • Activities and Bucket Lists
    • Ice Cream

Durham region
​playground reviews

Gulfstream Park

4/29/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
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

 
Picture
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

Laval Drive Park

8/21/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Area: Central Oshawa

Age Range: 18 months and up

Parking: 
Weekday: limited street parking off Laval Drive
Weekend: parking lot at College Hill public school off of Laval Street 


Ground Cover:  sand

Main Equipment:
  • 4 metal slides
  • 2 swings
  • 2 infant swings
  • 2 rock climbing walls (1 for toddlers)
  • 1 fireman pole
  • 1 set of talking tubes
  • multiple climbing apparatus

Accessibility Features: none

Facilities/Other:
  • 1 soccer pitch
  • 1 softball diamond

Surrounding Park Area: a lot of green field space surrounding the park

Seating: 1 park bench facing the playground

Shade: no shade over the playground, but plenty of shade provided by the surrounding trees


Overall assessment: From the balancing toadstools, to the monkey bars, to the multiple climbing challenges, this is another great climbing playground that would be great for a game of grounders! Bring your fireman hat as this park also has a rarely spotted firepole!
0 Comments

Lake Vista Park

5/13/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Area: South Oshawa

Age Range: 5 yrs and up

Parking:  Two parking lots located off Emerald Ave and oxford Street (bus stop on oxford W side of park)

Ground Cover: sand

Main Equipment:
  • 4 slides (2 spiral)
  • 2 swings
  • 2 infant swings
  • 1 rubber bouncer
  • 1 fireman pole
  • 1 elephant rocker
  • climbing apparatus

Accessibility Features: none

Facilities/Other:
  • Clubhouse
  • Splash Pad
  • Soccer field
  • Baseball diamond
  • Basketball net (single)

Surrounding Park Area: Lots of fields and hills around park and some trees to the east.

Seating: 5 park benches

Shade:  'Shade Shack' and some surrounding tree shade


Overall assessment: There is a lot to climb at this park for older kids. Smaller kids can access the one spiral slide on their own, but I would recommend tons of supervision for smaller kids playing in the park. There is a nice shaded area with benches for parents as well as tons of open space to have a picnic on a blanket. 

0 Comments

Rotary Park Oshawa

5/13/2016

1 Comment

 
Picture
Area: Central Oshawa

Age Range: infant to 6 yrs

Parking: lot located just off of Gibb St, East of Centre

Ground Cover: sand

Main Equipment:
  • 2 slides (1 metal)
  • 2 dinosaur climbers
  • 2 swings
  • 1 infant swing
  • 1 Apollo rope net spinner

Accessibility Features: none

Facilities/Other:
  • Splash Pad
  • Soccer field
  • Community Pool ($)

Surrounding Park Area: Tons of field area to play in as well as trees around for some shade. Oshawa Creek is a small walk just east of the park at the end of the field.

Seating: 2 park benches around Splash Pad

Shade: Some trees shade swing area during day


Overall assessment: This park is great for younger ages and has tons of fun features. There is a net spinner bigger kids can get really dizzy on. Smaller children can enjoy the slides and have tons of fun playing store or house. The dinosaurs are great for infants learning to stand or walk, as well as for small children to climb on. This park is also just a small walk across the field and over a bridge to a connecting park with more swings, a playground, trails to bike on and tons of shade when you get too hot. 

1 Comment
<<Previous

    Categories

    All
    Accessible Ramps
    Accessible Station
    Accessible Swing
    Ajax Playgrounds
    Artificial Turf Field
    Brock Township Playgrounds
    Brooklin Playground
    Clarington Playgrounds
    Dinosaur Dig
    Fireman Pole
    FIT Park
    Hanging Umbrella Spinner
    Infant Swings
    Merry Go Round
    Mulch Slide
    Music Station
    Obstacle Course
    Oshawa Playgrounds
    Pickering Playgrounds
    Racing Slides
    Road Trip Parks
    Rock Climbing Wall
    Rope Climber
    Rubber Surface
    Sandpit
    Saucer Swing
    Scoop Digger
    Scugog Township Playgrounds
    Teeter Totter
    Themed Park
    Tire Swing
    Toddler Park
    Toronto & GTA
    Track
    Trampoline
    Uxbridge Township Playgrounds
    Washrooms (seasonal)
    Whitby Playground
    Zip Line

    Archives

    July 2018
    June 2018
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

Durham Region Playground Reviews

About
​Contact
​​FAQ
© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • 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
    • Ice Cream Trail Map
  • Our Adventures
    • Activities and Bucket Lists
    • Ice Cream