We recently attended a family function in the Greenview neighbourhood and, as is usually the case, I promised my kids we’d tie a park trip into our day. At the end, we said goodbye to our hosts, and drove off into an unfamiliar neighbourhood, eyes peeled for a playground. I spotted a school, and we pulled into the parking lot. My girls raced from the car, and I immediately texted my cousin, who had also been at the party, “You HAVE to come check out this park!”
She pulled up five minutes later and her kids raced to join mine on the giant rope merry-go-round. We spent the better part of the next hour chasing them around every square inch of the amazing Greenview Playground.
What makes it so amazing, you ask? (and I’m glad you did!) The truth is, it’s not one big thing that sets Greenview Playground apart – it’s lots of little things.
The main structure is huge – an interconnected maze of climbing structures, monkey bars, slides (5 of them to be exact!) and hopping stools. You could play a great game of grounders at this park.
The colourful stools are close enough together that my 3.5 year old twins could hop most of them without hitting the ground. The climbing options are endless – there are boulder walls, metal ladders, chain ladders, corkscrew climbers, twisted and bendy things, rope webs – you name it. But the very best part of the main play structure is the climbing forest.
It’s a series of poles, some that go pretty high, with plastic leaf platforms jutting out in every direction. There are yellow bars to grasp as you step from leaf to leaf. One of my daughters was absolutely captivated by it. I watched her from the ground, moving from branch to branch with careful steps. I watched her from above, holding my breath just a little as she made her calculated moves. She definitely spent the bulk of her time navigating this unique forest feature!
My other daughter was hung up (literally) on the geometric climbing dome. She can spend hours on those things – climbing, swinging, jumping. This one is a good size for the younger set – sometimes the triangles are too tall for the little ones to get beyond the base level.
The toddler park is also spacious, colourful, and full of fun options. There are more hopping stools, a log to hide in, mini slide, bouncy motorcycle, plenty of climbing pieces and a cool yellow teeter totter that one girl described as a “banana”.
Look closely for all the little extras tucked in here and there – drums, steering wheels, rotating activity panels. You can’t miss the big extras too – swings (four big kid swings plus two baby swings), spinners, a rope merry-go-round, and the big green arch thing that I’ve learned is called a Rock ‘n’ Cross.
Greenview Playground sits next to Greenview School. The base is wood chips and rubber. There are plenty of benches and picnic tables, as well as a covered picnic shelter. It’s adjacent to open field space for added running and play. There is a Green Shack on site, but no bathroom or porta potty.
Greenview Playground:
Where: 38 Avenue & approximately 60 Street NW, Edmonton