Equipment by BigToys.
Surfaces: sand, rubber.
The Toronto Islands are among the best things Toronto has going for it, and it's easy to forget that almost the whole thing is a city park. Provided you go early in the day, before the ferry terminal becomes a cramped, heaving reproduction of 19th-Century Ellis Island, it’s maybe the best spot in the city for a young family to go in the summer.
With that in mind, it’s a shame that this playground is as underwhelming as it is.
The climber is okay, and the splash pad is great on those blazing Centre Island summer days, but let’s face it: this playground’s over-80 rating is mostly thanks to its location. It’s like the playground equivalent of that person at work whose personality is super bland, but everyone likes them anyway because they’re so good-looking.
Maybe the city will get around to re-building it soon (there’s another playground on another part of the island that’s much newer and has a pirate theme, but I haven’t made it over there yet) but until then it’s a bit disappointing that the island, such a beautiful place to spend a day with a family, doesn’t have a really stand-out playground.
But if you need a place to sit down between visits to the maze and Centreville, or somewhere to rest after that family quadricycle ride in which at least two family members did absolutely no pedalling, this is your spot.