North Kipling Park

Equipment by Blue Imp.

Surface: wood chips.

Considering its proximity to a school and the Humber River trail, North Kipling Park should be much better than it is.

Unfortunately, a fence in front of the school means that North Kipling Park doesn’t feel connected to the school grounds in the way that many public playgrounds do when located next to public schools. And the entrance to the Humber valley is so inconspicuous that it would be easy to miss if you didn’t know it was there.

Despite this, North Kipling Park still manages to be a decent playground.

The equipment is new-ish, by a Canadian company called Blue Imp whose stuff we don’t see much in Toronto compared to other manufacturers – especially not multi-level towers like the one that dominates this playground. A multi-rider spinner, some monkey bars, a junior climber, and several play panels make this a decent spot for a variety of age levels. Thoughtful landscaping doesn’t appear to have been in the budget, although there is a bit of shaded seating to be had.

On our visit, several local kids were playing without any obvious adult supervision, and before I knew what was happening I had become the “can you push me on the swing” guy. Which was fun but tiring, and after a while my daughter seemed to tire of having to share me, and so we wandered down into the valley.

The Humber Valley is generally pretty fantastic. I don’t think I’ve been anywhere along it that I didn’t like. Just outside North Kipling Park, a sloping path led us down to a big steel pedestrian bridge where we enjoyed a bit of silence and the company of two ducks.

Eventually, once my daughter was satisfied that she had my undivided attention again, we went back up the path for a frozen treat from Tim Horton’s.