Equipment by Play Power, Little Tikes
Surface: rubber.
When our son was enrolled in a music class up at Eglinton and Avenue Road in 2017, I barely realized that the class was right next to Eglinton Park. Construction of the Eglinton Crosstown had, at that point, masked the existence of the park to the unsuspecting passerby; we only went there because we were looking for something to do with another family after class one day, and I thought there might be a playground behind the construction hoarding.
Well, there is a playground in there. It was a fair walk through the park to get to it, and we nearly slid down the toboggan hill which was muddy with spring runoff, but we made it...and what a playground it is.
Toronto doesn’t have a whole lot of themed playgrounds, but the nature theme comes across pretty strongly with this one. Climbing structures incorporate faux wood, tree stumps, and rocky outcroppings to the point that the whole things feels like a tree house city. It was busy, even on a chilly spring day; I can only imagine what it’s like at the height of summer.
One element our son really took to was the rope bridge, which was made to look like the type of rickety structure that Indiana Jones would cross to get away from sword-wielding pursuers. He also loved the many, many slides – there’s one that gives riders the option of four different routes to the bottom.
Despite all the equipment, there’s a fair bit of open space between each of the elements, which probably helps with the summer crowds, and allows kids to run a bit on the rubbery surface. It’s a bit strange that there’s no sandbox…although I may just have missed it, considering that it would have been soaking anyway at that time of year.
I really can’t recommend this one enough- it’s got great equipment, there’s lots to do in the surrounding park and surrounding neighbourhood, and it’s easy to get to. Or at least, it will be, once construction on the Eglinton Crosstown is finished in, say, 2043 or so.