Community: Highland Park – 42 Ave & 1a St NW
Parking: Free street parking

Age Range: 0 – 8
Ground cover: Pea gravel
Shade: Decent shade in the nearby park area, but not too much in the park itself. There’s a little bit of shade created by the playground equipment.
Surrounding park area: Small park area with some green space for running around.
Seating: Accessibility: No wheelchair access. There is a bouncer, and three kinds of swings for kids who benefit from vestibular stimulation. Features:  Large climber with slides, 4-seater motorcycle bouncer, 3 swings (1 baby, 1 saucer), 1 firetruck climber

Have you been to this playground? What did you think?

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Community: Elboya – 46 Ave & 4a St. SW
Parking: Free street parking

Gordie’s Review (4 years old): ”What was the best part?” “Everything!”
Nicky’s Review (14 months): She liked to easy it was to walk on the smooth flooring

Age Range: 0 – 12
Ground cover: pour in place recycled tires
Shade: Pretty good in the park overall, but most of the trees right next to the playground are still young. The playground itself provides some descent shade and there is a covered picnic area.
Surrounding park area: There is a nice large grassy area and a baseball diamond on the far side of the park.
Seating: There are a couple of benches, two sets of Adirondack chairs and two picnic tables.
Accessibility: The flooring under all but the swings are accessible. The firetruck on the preschool climber is accessible from ground level.
Features: Large web climber; Large school-aged climber with slides and catwalk; preschool climber with side and firetruck panel; dragon fly 2-seater bouncer; balance beam; parallel bars; 4 swings (2 baby).

Have you been to this playground? What did you think?

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We have been to all the official spray parks and wading pools in Calgary (as well as Sikome Lake) in the last couple of years. They were all fun in their own way and are all a little different. I have listed them all below along with a short description – click on the title to see the full review.
Water play areas in Calgary are typically open in mid-June and close September 1. This can vary depending on the weather and the specific location.

Spray Parks

Canmore Park

Location: Triwood – 19 St. & Chicoutimi Dr. N.W.
Canmore Park’s Butterfly Spray Park opened in 2011. It has multiple different spray features, some big and some little that will appeal to children of all ages. There’s no playground nearby but there is a large park area with lots of room to run around.

Rotary Park

Location: Crescent Heights – 617 1 St. NE.
Rotary Park’s Fish Spray Park also opened in 2011. There are big and little spray features and will appeal to children of all ages. There is also an excellent playground located right nearby.

Somerset Park

Location: Somerset- 999 Somerset Dr. S.W.
This spray park has a number of different spray features but it may be a little intimidating for younger children. There are some small sprays but they are located towards the centre of the spray park. There are three small playgrounds just around the corner.

Valleyview Park

Location: Dover- 28 St and 30 Ave SE
The spray park at Valleyview will definitely be a hit with younger kids. There are lots of small spray to play with at the edges of the spray park. The spray park and preschool playground are both inside a fenced area. This spray park might not hold the attention of older children, but luckily just up the hill is an excellent school-aged playground.

Variety Children’s Park – South Glenmore

Location: 90 Ave. & 24 St. S.W.
The South Glenmore spray park is located in the centre the Variety Children’s Park. The entire play area is designed to be accessible to all children. In addition to the spray park there is a preschool playground and a school-aged playground with ramps.

Wading Pools

Eau Claire

Location: 3 St. & Riverfront Ave. S.W.
Eau Claire has 2 wading pools side by side. One of the wading pools has a few sprayers that they kids can spin around. There is also a toddler playground right beside it. It is only a short walk away from Prince’s Island Park which has a excellent playground for kids of all ages.

Prairie Winds Park

Location: Westwinds/Castleridge – 233 Castleridge Blvd. NE.
Prairie Winds park has a large wading pool as well as a smaller shallow wading area with spray features. Right outside the fence there is a playground for kids 5-12. There is a concession set up on busy days.

Riley Park

Location: Hillhurst – 800 12 St. N.W
Riley Park has a large wading pool which varies in depth from a couple of feet to ankle deep. It has a very pretty setting with large mature trees and an island in the centre. On busy days there is also a concession. Riley Park also has a playground for kids of all ages which is a short walk across the park.

Bowness Park -Bowness Spray park is closed as part of Bowness Park’s renovations

Other Options

Sikome Lake (Sikome Aquatic Facility) – Fish Creek Park

Location: Fish Creek Provincial Park – Bow Bottom Trail S.E.
Sikome Lake isn’t really a lake at all – it’s more of a giant artificial swimming pool with a sand bottom and sand shoreline. This is the closest you can get to a beach in Calgary. There are three playgrounds at Sikome Lake, a toddler playground, a school-aged playground as well as a small playground on the South side. On busy days there is also a concession.

Olympic Plaza

Location: Not considered by the City of Calgary to be one of their official wading pools but you can wade in the water. There is a year round washroom on site.

Central Memorial Park 

Location: Downtown (beltline) – 1221 2 St. S.W.
Not an official spray park, but the water sprays along the path are treated so it’s safe for the kids to play in them. There is a washroom at the park as well.
What is your favorite place in Calgary for outdoor water play?

Follow us to get more ideas for great places to play in Calgary:

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The post Calgary’s Spray Parks and Wading Pools – 2013 appeared first on calgaryplaygroundreview.com.

Community: Inglewood - 4500 14A St. S.W.

Gordie’s Review: “I liked the playground!”

Nicky’s Review: “Quack!” (she liked the ducks)

Parking: free parking lot. 
Park Features: reconstructed wetland with interpretive signs, ponds and stream, playground picnic sites, washroom (seasonal) cross-country skiing, pathways and trails, Sam Livingston Fish Hatchery and Bow Habitat Station.

Overall: Pearce Estate Park is not a huge park, but it has a lot to offer. It boasts, mature trees, a picnic area, playground and interpretive wetland pathway system in addition to being right next to the Bow Habitat Station and Fish Hatchery.

The recreation area of the park is right across the street from the parking lot to the East. They have a nice little playground which has a nice variety of equipment and big trees for plenty of shade.

There are a number of picnic areas close by the playground.

There is also a picnic site that is bookable through the city of Calgary website.

The washrooms are only a short walk away on the North end of the recreation area.

We ended up going through the park a little bit backwards. There’s a map on the North side close to the Bow Habitat Station that gives you an idea of some of the Park highlights and where the pathways are. I highly recommend giving that a look before you head out. Gordie was dying go play at the playground and so we headed around in that direction without looking at the map. (I have no idea why we didn’t go to the map after the playground, it’s really not that far away). Although, there is nothing inherently wrong with following in our footsteps, I found the pathways a little confusing without having a bit of a mental map ahead of time, and we ended up missing the Weir lookout point.

We started our walk along the Ducks Unlimited Canadian Marsh pond area.

At these ponds, they have a few little boardwalks set up so you can take a peek at the pond life. We found some water bugs and minnows in this spot.

We spotted a couple of very calm ducks at the next one. Gordie didn’t notice them at first.

We saw some Canadian Geese there. The backwater pond is fed by a couple of streams that run through the middle of the park.

There is a cute little waterfall by this bridge that crosses the stream. The cold water stream (the more winding stream that runs to the East of the hatchery stream) wasn’t running while we were there. I’m not sure why. If you are by and see it running, please let me know.

This is the hatchery channel, we saw a little robin in the middle of the bush.

We walked right by the weir lookout and ended up at the North ponds. This one is pretty cool. The stuff on the right of the photograph looks solid, but is actually not. There is subsurface flow and the stuff on top is floating.

The view of the recreation area from the hill on the North side.

The sandstone pool.

The Bow Habitat Station and Fish Hatchery are also worth a visit. In addition to the interpretive centre, there is a concession that is open seasonally as well as a gift shop.

Between the Bow Habitat Station and the parking lot, is a piece of park area that has been recently converted into a catch and release fish pond. Fishing poles can be rented inside the Bow Habitat Station for $5. There is a ban on all bait and Barbless hooks are required. Gordie is beyond excited to try this out.

There wasn’t any fish in the pond yet when we were there. The fishing pond is open May 15 to October 31.

This park is also a great spot to take your bikes. The parking lot is a ‘park and bike lot’ and you can ride your bikes along bike paths inside the park and if you are looking for a longer ride, they also connect to the wider pathway system. There is a ton to see an explore at this park. I highly recommend putting it on your places to visit this summer. You can play, eat, explore and learn all in a beautiful park setting.

Have you been to this park? What did you think?

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 Gordie’s review (4 years old): “What was the best part?” “Playing!”
Nicky’s review (13 months old): Oof! Oof (Woof! Woof! – what she calls most animals)

Day Pass Cost: Able to walk – 17 years - $10.99+gst, Adults $13.99+gst
Annual Pass Break Even point: Adult – 3rd visit, Child – 2nd visit. Guest and Nanny passes are available. 
Parking: free parking lot
Food Services: concession open daily in July and August and weekends other months.
Age Range: All ages.
Stay Length: 2-4 hours. 

Overall: Butterfield Acres had been on my list of places to go since Gordie was small, but for one reason or another we had never made it. We ended up meeting up with a friend of mine and her son this year on a perfect day. It was warm, but not too hot and not the least bit muddy.

There is a lot to see at Butterfield Acres, we spent a little over two hours there and there was quite a bit we didn’t get to before we had to go. The tractor rides are free, and pony rides only a $1. I think Gordie would have loved these, but we didn’t get to either. If you are interested in taking in either of these features or the milking lessons, pay attention to the scheduled times so you can plan your trip around it.

The main attraction is of course the petting zoo. You can get right inside the pens and pet animals like pigs, rabbits and goats. Nicky loved this. Gordie thought it was pretty neat but was done after seeing a few different animals.

Luckily, even if your kid doesn’t have a major interest in animals, there is a still a lot for them to do. There is a lot of space to run around and a number of picnic areas where you can eat a packed lunch.

They have a couple of real tractors that you can climb on.

And a number of different play areas.

This one was pretty simple, but Gordie loved it. He did not want to leave.

Another play area has a large sandbox with lots of toy construction vehicles and ‘gopher hole’ tunnels. 

If your kids loves animals, they will love going to Butterfield Acres. You can even buy some food to feed the animals. But even if they are less enthusiastic, they will still have a great time playing outdoors at the farm.

Have you been to Butterfield Acres? What did you think?

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Gordie’s review (4 years old): “What was the best part?” “Seeing the fish!”
Nicky’s review (13 months old): ish! ish! (Fish)

Day Pass Cost:  Discover Centre – $10 adults, $6 ages 5-17, free for ages 4 and under. Fish Hatchery Tour is $5 for adults and $3 for kids, free for ages 4 and under. Save $1 if you purchase admission to both the Discovery Centre and the Fish Hatchery Tour. Additional rates are available.
Annual Pass Break Even point: Adults and Youth – 3rd or 4th visit depending on whether you tour the Fish Hatchery.
Parking: free parking lot
Food Services: There is a small cafe inside the Bow Habitat Station that may be open seasonally.
Age Range: All ages.
Stay Length: 1 – 2 hours

Overall: This was our first visit to the Bow Habitat Station. The main floor has a seasonal cafe, gift shop and access to the fish hatchery tour. The 30 minute tours of the fish hatchery run twice a day at noon and 2pm (Tuesday-Saturday). We had to take Nicky back home for her afternoon nap so we skipped the tour this trip.

To enter the interpretive centre itself, you either have to go up a floor or down. Downstairs there is an aquarium area and upstairs are other kinds of exhibits.

We started downstairs to Nicky’s delight.

The aquariums feature fish that live in the various habitats in Alberta.

When you push the buttons the corresponding part of anatomy on the fish model lights up.

Nicky loved seeing the fish swim around.  It’s not a huge space, just a large room but the kids both really enjoyed it.

The tanks are set up to represent different fish habitats and the fish that live in them. I thought the layout of that was really interesting.

The interpretive centre is on the upper floor.

I’m not sure what I expected to see, but I was really surprised at how pretty the displays were.

There is lots of opportunities to read and learn, as well as a ton of interactive features too.

There is also an overlook where you can see into the fish hatchery.

They have some cute photo ops too. Gordie was a little short for this one.

Gordie thought the canoe that you could sit on was pretty cool and loved the activity with the blocks too.

Most of the different sections had one of these – you turn the blocks to make the correct animals. Gordie did every single one. He thought it was really funny to make them intentionally wrong too.

This was another one of the cute photo ops. You can flip the pages of the giant ‘book’ to provide different back drops.

Although probably best suited to kids in elementary school my family had a great time. The displays offer engaging experiences for kids of a wide variety of ages and even small babies will enjoy watching the fish swim in the downstairs aquariums. The Bow Habitat Station also runs Wonderful Wednesdays a preschool program for kids 2-5.

Just outside, you can also try out fishing in the kids can fish trout pond - fishing pole rentals are available for $5 (adults helping kids require a fishing license) and check out the interpretive wetlands at Pearce Estate Park.

Have you been to the Bow Habitat Station? What did you think?

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1. Visit the Air and Space Museum

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum is hands down my pick for the best museum in Washington for young kids. It is fill of displays that I found mind-blowing even without having a major interest in airplanes, like the original Wright Flyer.

One of the great things about the museum is it is full of real airplanes which even Nicky (11 months), was able to appreciate. There are also lots of interactive displays and opportunities to go inside some of the planes (Gordie’s favorite part). I can’t even count how many times since we’ve been that Gordie has said, ‘we saw that at the Air and Space Museum’. Oh, and you can touch a piece of the moon – the moon!

If you are a big aviation fan, you are also going to want to check out the newer Udvar-Hazy facility which is 45 minutes outside Washington. It has some amazing pieces like the SR-71 Blackbird and the Space Shuttle Discovery but is less kid friendly.

(Check out my full review of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center).

2. Take in Some Art

Taking preschoolers and toddlers to art museums can be a bit daunting. The National Mall features two outdoor sculpture gardens perfect for an introduction to art. They are not huge an are close to many places to warm up again indoors so you should easily be able to take a walk through even if it’s a bit chilly. Although the kids still can’t climb on the art, there is no problem with them being loud or running around.

The National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden is centered around a fountain that doubles as a skating rink the the Winter. Across the mall you’ll also find the Hirshorn Sculpture Garden. If you are feeling a little more confident, the Hirshorn Museum features contemporary art exhibits – the art displayed may not always be beautiful but will rarely be boring making it a great starter museum for kids.

(Check out my review of the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden and the Hirshorn Museum).

3. Learn about History

As the capital of the United States and seat of the US government, Washington, DC is a natural place to learn about US History. The American History Museum is a great place to learn more about American History and many of the exhibits such as ‘America on the Move’ will be of interest even to young visitors in a way that say, a tour of the White House may not.

The best history museum for young kids in Washington, DC, however, is the Museum of Natural History. With exhibits featuring insects, dinosaurs, giant squid and butterflies you are sure to find something to please the toddlers and preschoolers in your family. Gordie was thrilled to see the dinosaurs and Nicky was enthralled with the butterflies.

(Check out my reviews of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian National American History Museum).

4. Walk the National Mall

Okay, this isn’t exactly a great thing to do if the weather is chilly, but it is something you don’t want to miss. The number of highly recognizable landmarks, buildings and memorials along the National Mall is astonishing and includes the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and the Vietnam War memorial and the Capitol Building to the East and the White House a bit to the North as well.

If it is a bit cool bundle up and stop by the Botanic Gardens on the East side to warm up, and the Ranger Station to the South West of the Washington Monument (Where you can also get your National Park Passport Cancelation Stamps). If you find it even too cold for that take a driving tour. You can’t go home without being able to tell your kids “We saw that! We were there!” when the Washington Monument or the Capitol Building are on TV. This is one area where I really wish we were able to spend more time but it was just so cold!

(Read more: Our tour of the National Mall and check out my review of the US Botanic Gardens)

5. Go for a Day Trip

There is plenty of beautiful park space for kids to run around in but places for kids to burn off some energy can be a little harder to come by on a cold day. There are no Children’s Museums inside DC, but there are two close by.

The closest, the National Children’s Museum is 20 minutes away in National Harbor and is aimed at kids under 8. It features a section for kids 3 and under, two sections for older kids, Our Town – which has centres with familiar city themes, and Our World – which has centres that help kids think about how people around the world, live, eat, travel and dress.

Port Discovery, located an hour away in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, is one of the highest ranked Children’s Museums in the US. It aimed at kids 10 and under and is huge – we only managed to go to about half the exhibits. Gordie loved the large wooden train the best. I was really impressed with the toddler/baby area and thought the giant climber in the centre of the museum was pretty cool too. The Inner Harbor is also home to the Baltimore Aquarium and the Maryland Science Centre.

(Check out my review of the National Children’s Museum, Port Discovery and the Baltimore Aquarium)

Those are my picks but we definitely haven’t seen all that Washington, DC has to offer.

What would you recommend for families with young kids?

The post 5 Great Things to do With Young Kids in Washington, DC (even if it’s cold) appeared first on calgaryplaygroundreview.com.

Community: Brentwood – Chapel Road just North of Capri Ave Parking: Free street parking

Age Range: 0 – 8
Ground cover: Pea gravel
Shade: Great shade from mature trees
Surrounding park area: Nice green space to the North of the playground and to the South there is a small hill – at the bottom there is a community rink in the winter and a field area in the summer.
Seating: 2 benches and 2 picnic tables – there are a couple more benches nearby.
Accessibility: No wheelchair accessibility. There are two bouncers and two swings for kids to benefit from vestibular stimulation.
Features: Play structure with two slides, turtle climber, motorcycle bouncer, horse bouncer, dinosaur climber, 2 swings (1 baby).

The kids really enjoyed running around the park area too. They had a great time running up and down the hill and playing freeze tag.

Gordie loved hosting a party at the park. Bringing the Peelin Pops made it extra special. Even though we go to tons of playgrounds each year, this is going to be a time he’ll definitely remember. Now I’ll just have to convince him we don’t need to bring them every time we go to the playground!

Have you seen any playgrounds that use small things to make the playground special?

This post was generously sponsored by Nestle, but the opinions and images are my own. For more information, visit www.nestle.ca [http://www.nestle.ca/]

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Rental Cost

When You Can Book?

Booking Hours

Bowness Park
Monday – Friday 8:45 am – 2:45 pm, 3:15 pm – 9:15 pm
Saturday/Sunday 8:45 am – 2:45pm only

Prairie Winds Park
Monday – Sunday 8:45 am – 2:45 pm, 3:15 pm – 9:15 pm

All other parks
Monday – Sunday 9 am – 3 pm, 3 pm – 9 pm
Should your picnic overlap the 6 hour blocks, you are able to book and pay for both six hour blocks, and reserve the site all day.

1. Bowness Park

Bowness Park has the largest bookable picnic spots in the city. There are 7 sites available to be booked ranging in size from ones that will accomodate up to 25 people to ones that will accomodate up to 263 people. The park is currently undergoing re-development so take a look at the city of Calgary website to check which picnic areas or other amenities might be closed when you are planning to visit.

3. Edworthy Park

Edworthy Park has 9 bookable picnic sites. Most of the sites will accomodate up to 100 people. There are plenty of trees so most of the sites feel surprisingly secluded. Firewood can be requested free of charge.

4. North Glenmore Park

North Glenmore Park has 14 bookable picnic sites – many accommodate up to 25 people but others accommodate up to 100.

5. Pearce Estates  Park

Pearce Estates Park has one bookable picnic site near the playground that can accomodate up to 100 people. 

6. Prairie Winds Park

Prairie Winds Park has one bookable picnic site that can accommodate up to 50 people.

7. Sandy Beach Park

Sandy Beach has 6 bookable picnic sites most accommodate up to 50 people but two can accommodate up to 100.

8. Shouldice Park

Shouldice Park has two bookable picnic sites along the river and near the playground that can accommodate up to 100 people.

9. South Glenmore Park

South Glenmore Park has one bookable picnic site. It is outside of the Children’s Variety Park playground area closer to the Reservoir. It can accomodate up to 25 people.

10. Stanley Park

Stanley Park has two bookable picnic sites along the river that can accommodate up to 50 people. They are near a playground and the outdoor pool.

Other: Carburn Park

You used to be able to book picnic sites at Carburn Park too, but that is no longer available. They still have great picnic sites, but they are first come first serve. The one draw back is that the only bathroom is at the park entrance. (There used to be one near the picnic areas but it’s been removed).

What is your family’s favorite place to have a picnic?

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Location     map

Community: Prestwick – Prestwick Drive & Prestwick Circle

Have you been to this playground? What did you think?

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