Summertime is about freedom, exploring, playing and making new friends. The long days of summer should be filled with endless games of grounders, tag, water fights and laughter. Our family is always on the lookout for a park that can keep our boys busy for many hours. No sane parent wants to go through the process of packing a lunch and snacks, getting the kids out the door, loading the car up with “essentials” only to have their kid announce, after 30 minutes of playing, that they are bored and want to go home. Parents want a park experience that has lots of variety, oodles of opportunity for imaginative play, and activities that appeal to all types of kids.

Family Fun Vancouver’s Best Playground and Water Park Combos list has that kind of park! Some kids hate water – or hate getting wet – while others can’t get enough of it. Some kids overheat quickly and need the refreshing cool spray to keep them going for hours of play. No matter how you kid likes to play our top 10 playground water park combo list is guaranteed to please!

Family Fun Vancouver’s 10 Best Playground Water Park Combos:

#1 Maple Ridge Park

Best Playground Water Park Combos: Maple Ridge Park

Photo credit: CK Lee for City of Maple Ridge

Best Playground Water Park Combos: Maple Ridge Park

Photo credit: CK Lee – City of Maple Ridge

What Kids Love: Kids love everything about Maple Ridge Park! 2 water parks (one for bigger kids & one for little kids), a HUGE playground nestled in the shade of massive trees (slides, multiple and varied climbing structures, and swings), a sand pit with digging machines, and a HUGE field for running around. Parents will love the washrooms in close proximity to the play area, the numerous picnic tables and covered seating areas, the coolness of the ample shaded areas, and the many parking options.

Where Parents Can Find It: 23200 Fern Crescent, Maple Ridge

#2 Willoughby Community Park

Best Playground Water Park Combos: Willoughby Community Park Playground

Photo credit: Township of Langley

Best Playground Water Park Combos: Willoughby Community Park water park

Photo credit: Township of Langley

What Kids Love: Does it get any better than a 2-storey twisty slide? Maybe a 3-storey climbing structure? Don’t worry this park has it all! The playground has structures suited to a variety of ages and abilities. The kids love the slides, rocking toys, wiggly climbing structures, the rock wall, the bridges, and the space to run. The water park is super spacious too. There are many different water features perfect for all levels of bravery. Some kids are happy squatting over a little ground spout, others bravely stand under the water tower and run through the green frog. Parents will appreciated the super bouncy ground cover of the playground. They will also like the close proximity of the washrooms in the Willoughby Community Centre.

Where Parents Can Find It: 7700 block 202A Street, Langley

#3 Confederation Park

Best Playground Water Park Combos: Confederation Park in Burnaby

Photo credit: City of Burnaby

Best Playground Water Park Combos: Confederation Park in Burnaby

Photo credit:City of Burnaby

What Kids Love: The new and improved playground & water park at Confederation Park is fantastic! Our kids LOVE the imaginative play that is cultivated at the water park. Water trickles down ramps, encounters kid-controlled blockages, sprays out of the top of rocks, and comes out of a pump. The kids can work together to move the water, or work independently figuring out a mechanism on their own. The water park is HUGE and can accommodate a vast number of children. The biggest challenge? Keeping track of which kid is yours! The playground encircles the water park. There are a number of play structures scattered around giving ample space for kids to play. Big disc swings, slides, climbing structures, and more keep the kids busy when they are done with the water park. Parents will like the shade provided by the big trees, and the many picnic spots & tables.

Where Parents Can Find It: 250 Willingdon Avenue, Burnaby

#4 Blue Mountain Park

Best Playground Water Park Combos: Blue Mountain Park Coquitlam

Photo credit: City of Coquitlam

Best Playground Water Park Combos: Blue Mountain Park Coquitlam

Photo credit: City of Coquitlam

What Kids Love: Nestled in amongst the trees the recently updated Blue Mountain Park playground offers fun for all ages. The roller-slide is super cool, as are the whimsical creatures tucked into the play structures. The life-size horses, from the original Blue Mountain playground, are still there waiting to be climbed upon by a new generation. We love the mini bike circuit at the park. Kids can practice road-safety while far away from real traffic. There is an awesome, and huge, rope climbing portion of the playground. This section is perfect for kids aged 6+ years. The water park was re-done about 3 years ago and now offers many different types of play: sprayers, bubblers, water squirters and more. Blue Mountain Park is very large and the play zones are rather spread out. Families will definitely need to agree upon where kids can play and, with the little ones, plan on moving as a group from one play area to the next. On the plus side, the play zones being spread out enables many kids to play without everyone feeling crowded and overwhelmed.

Where Parents Can Find It: 975 King Albert Ave, Coquitlam

#5 Sapperton Park

Climbing structures at Sapperton Park Adventure Park - Lindsay Follett

Water Park at Sapperton Park - Lindsay FollettWhat Kids Love: Sapperton Park has received a complete renovation in 2017. The amazing nature, adventure play-based playground opened in late May. The sand & water park is scheduled to open at the end of June. This playground encourages hard, physical play. Kids are running everywhere, climbing, swinging, sliding themselves into a sweaty, red-cheeked, smiling state. The parents are able to relax in charming red Adirondack chairs or perch on the low cement walls. Definitely bring a change of clothes and a towel when coming to this park. The kids are going to be covered head to toe in wet sand…but they’ll be exhausted & smiling!

Where Parents Can Find It: 351 E Columbia Street, New Westminster

#6 Rocky Point Park

Best Playground Water Park Combos: Rocky Point Park

Photo credit: City of Port Moody

What Kids Love: Rocky Point Park is frequently voted a top playground in Metro Vancouver. Aside from the stunning geographic location (right along Burrard Inlet), the playground and water park have lots to offer kids. The water park is train-themed. There are painted train tracks, a train crossing sign, “tunnels” to chug through, and is backed by a train-station looking building (that’s where you can find the oh-so-important washrooms). Right beside the beloved water park is a boat-themed playground. The massive boat structure invites kids to get creative in how they play. Friendships and alliances are formed surprisingly quickly during endless games of “pirate”. Parents will enjoy the picnic tables with a view of the water, the side-by-side layout of the playground and water park, and the beautiful walks throughout Rocky Point Park. And don’t forget there are some tasty restaurants in the park: Rocky Point Ice Cream, The Boathouse, and Pajo’s Fish & Chips.

Where Parents Can Find It: 2800 Block Murray Street, Port Moody

#7 Lions Park

What Kids Love: A few years ago Lions Park got a $1 million renovation and the results are fantastic! The playground has many zones for playing: making music, spinning, ziplining, tire-climbing, and a pretty fantastic playground with slides & climbing options. The water park is located right beside the playground and has many in-ground features making it less scary for the little kids. This water park is good for kids who don’t like water pouring down from above. There is also a spectacular sand-digging zone. A water chute runs through the middle of the sand zone and kids have a blast making all sorts of sandy mess. Be sure to bring your own digging tools (and a towel to clean those kids off afterwards). Adjacent to the park is the fanciest park-bathroom I’ve ever encountered. When we visited the facilities were spotless. Lions Park also has many spots for picnics including a covered picnic area. There are lots of big trees around providing ample shade for parents and kids needing to cool down.

Where Parents Can Find It: 2300 Lions Way, Port Coquitlam

#8 Bear Creek Park

Best Playground Water Park Combos: Bear Creek Park spray park

Photo credit: City of Surrey

Best Playground Water Park Combos: Bear Creek Park

Photo credit: City of Surrey

What Kids Love: The play area at Bear Creek Park is massive! There is a little kid playground (good for kids aged 6 years & under), a big kid playground, an outdoor workout set up, and a positively huge water spray park. While there aren’t a ton of seats immediately around the playground, there are picnic tables across the pathway, and there is lots of grass to spread your picnic blanket upon. You can truly enjoy a full day at Bear Creek Park because in addition to the playgrounds & water park, families can: play a round of mini-golf, take a ride on the miniature train, wander the beautiful gardens, and go for a swim in the outdoor pool. There is very little reason to plan anything else when you decide to spend the day at Bear Creek Park.

Where Parents Can Find It: 13820 88 Ave, Surrey

#9 Steveston Community Park

Best Playground Water Park Combos: Steveston Community Park

Photo credit: City of Richmond

Best Playground Water Park Combos: Steveston Community Park, Richmond

Photo credit: City of Richmond

What Kids Love: There is so much to do at the 30 acre Steveston Community Park. The water park features numerous spray guns, bubblers, rain towers, and spray/misting structures. The playground has been extensively re-designed and is wheelchair accessible. There are ramps and elevated platforms, a huge climbing structure and a big slide.

Where Parents Can Find It: 4011 Moncton St, Richmond

#10 Stanley Park

Best Playground Water Park Combos: Variety Kids Spray Park in Stanley Park

Photo credit: Vancouver Park Board

What Kids Love: If you’ve been to Stanley Park you know that there are many play spaces scattered throughout the park. The train-themed playground behind the Miniature Train Station, Variety Kids Water Park at the ocean’s edge, the Rose Garden playground (on the Rose Garden side of Stanley Park pavilion), the playground at Second Beach (right beside the Second Beach swimming pool), and Ceperley playground (next to the Ceperley Picnic Shelter and across the field from the Second Beach playground). Yes, we know these playgrounds & water park aren’t all right on top of one another, but with so many play options we couldn’t leave Stanley Park off our list! Add in the fact that the Vancouver Aquarium is there, the stunning Seawall, and Malkin Bowl (with the Theatre Under the Stars productions), and you can’t go wrong packing a picnic, bringing the kids, and relaxing in the largest urban park in Canada. Did you know that Stanley Park was voted the best park IN THE WORLD in 2014? The best in the world…and it’s in our back yard. Definitely need to spend more time in Stanley Park this summer!

Where Parents Can Find It: Located next to the seawall at Lumbermen’s Arch, Stanley Park, Vancouver