The Whole World is Our Playground: Chestnut Hills Park

We drive past this playground every time we visit my parents.  In the colder months the minions began to ask about it and we promised them we'd take them when it was nicer outside.  

My park review disclaimer: If you don't live in the area I hope you enjoy the pics and can use some of the ideas to inspire and explore in your own city. If you have any recommendations for great playgrounds (or new criteria I haven't thought of) please post a comment on this post or email me.

Park Name:

Chestnut Hills Park -  Islington Avenue and Dundas Street West

Parking:

There is street parking nearby available on Chestnut Hills Parkway (which runs parallel to Islington avenue).  This Park is a 20 minute walk from Islington Subway station, or you can take the Islington bus to the corner of Islington and Dundas Street and walk from there.

The Climbers at Chestnut Hills Park

Theme of Park:

Traditional suburban playground.

Ground Coverage:

Wood Chips surrounded by grassy areas.

Variety of Equipment for different ages:

There is some great equipment for older kids here with limited stuff for very young toddlers.  This small park is situated, without fences, very close to a major roadway so you'd particularly have to watch little ones who tend to wander.

Best Parts of the Park:

Molly really liked the "castle" with the bridge play structure, where Jack was drawn to the giant mouthed cat for hiding and playing.  

The "castle" bridge

Downfalls:

This park is only convenient to us because of it's proximity to my parents house and has very limited shaded areas on the physical playground - bring sunscreen.  As we were leaving my parents house to head to the park my mom mentioned that she had visited a few years back with my niece and my brother.  She said that the park was fun, but they ended up in a battle of wills over hand holding on their way to the playground, as it's near a very busy road, and that it was twenty minutes on site before my niece would hold hands and was allowed to go to the park to play. On our way to the park Jack ran towards a car while we were walking over and spent the majority of the time we were visiting in time-out, watching Molly play from the sidelines.  Apparently bad behaviour at this park is somewhat of a family tradition.  The wood chipped areas means that it isn't a very accessible playground, there is a drinking fountain but no splash pad.

Jackie's favourite part of the playground.

Overall Rating:

This park is a nice treat to anyone who it's convenient to get to, however I'd never go out of my way to travel here.  I'd rate it 3.0/5.0, but if it were around the corner, we'd probably picnic and play here very frequently during the warm weather.

To read a review of a west end Toronto playground with a splash pad click here.

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