Favorite Bay Area Playgrounds

I wrote about indoor play places yesterday.  I thought I'd follow up with some retrospective notes about our favorite playgrounds.  I just wrote about Berkeley Marina's Adventure Playground.  Here are some additional unusual play structures and outdoor kid zones...

 

CHILDREN'S WONDERLAND (Vallejo)

First and foremost, get thee to Children's Wonderland.  If you live in Berkeley or Oakland, it may seem like a long drive.  It's worth it.  Trust me.  And this playground is underused and under-appreciated, so it needs local support.  Click HERE to see the post about this local asset along with photos.

 

PLAYGROUND FANTASTICO (Napa)

If you're toodling around the wine country on the weekend, give the kiddies a chance to indulge their whims too.  Click HERE to see a post with photos about this spiffy playground complete with its own tiny river.

 

CORDORNICES PARK (Berkeley) 

The first time I visited this park, the cement slide literally took my breath away.  "Ohhhhh," I breathed, watching kids ride boxes along a looping track beneath a gorgeous old tree in a space terraced with stacked stone.  It looks like the superhighway of the Faerie King.

 

Okay.  I have to confess that I haven't let Eli ride down that slide yet.  I've seen bigger kids wipe out on it, so it is something that is going to have to wait a few years for one of our future visits to the Bay Area.  The park has more charm than just the slide, though.  I love how it is high above Berkeley, yet it is in a snug little valley...  

 

The swings at Cordornices are longer than average, which makes Eli giggle with glee.  There's a spiffy wooden cable car that attracts kids like a picnic draws ants...

(Thanks for the photo, Lina!)

 

As if that isn't enough, Cordornices Park is spiffy enough to have a pedestrian tunnel...

 

(Amber, I smiled when I saw your comment about Cordornices because I already had this post in the works!) 

 

BENICIA

The sleepy but charming and historic town of Benicia has two of our favorite playgrounds.  One is the sprawling wood Playground of Dreams.  It has lots of fun nooks and crannies...

 

But we also love Benica Community Park.  There is a cement slide that may lack in charm compared to Cordornices' forest fantasy, yet is wide and can be safely conquered by even a small tot.  (The angle makes it look daunting here, but actually it is fairly easy slope.  For a closer park with a wide cement slide, try Lamoine Park in Richmond, otherwise known as Morningside.)

Click HERE for a post on Benicia's parks.

I could keep going!  We love the secret shady steps and paths of Berkeley's Live Oak Park and the sandy wading creek in Oakland's Frog Park.  There's Aquatic Park near the bottom of Berkeley, a rambling play structure that is almost always cool even on a hot day.  And even if it is tiny, Railroad Park in Hercules has huge blackberry patches all around it, great views of trains, and our beloved "Stick Beach" just across the road.

Enjoy!

Comments

[Amber]

Funny! I should have known you'd have found it on your own!

[james]

thanks...

[Luken Aiello]

I haven’t been there at the playground but I think I would consider visiting the place. I would love to see my little kids wandering with this amusing playground. But one thing is for sure, I won't let them try the lengthy cement slide. I don't think it is safe.