WVMC Guide to: Tier 2 Playgrounds
Minimal Supervision Edition!
It’s been a cold summer in West Vancouver — no major heatwaves, no smoke, no A/C required. I write this wearing jeans and a little sweater. My son took a jacket to camp.
Still, I’m not complaining, because 17 degrees is perfect playground weather. Previously, I gave you my run-down on the North Shore’s Tier 1 playgrounds — John Lawson, Ambleside, the most excellent Moodyville — and obviously they still reign supreme.
The problem there, though, is the other people (isn’t it always?). In the summer, top-tier parks get crowded. Very crowded. Like 50+ kids crowded. With two children, it’s nearly impossible to keep a proper eye out, and if you have three? Forget it. Even you just have one, you might as well leave your phone at home. There’ll be no lazy scrolling or little dopamine hits for you. So here I’ve compiled a second list of favourite local haunts, this time featuring parks that allow for a more — shall we say — hands-off style of supervision.
N.B.: Now OBVIOUSLY I am not suggesting you ignore your kids at a public playground. Kids are insane. My oldest insists on lugging a homemade harness with ropes and carabiners to the park, and my second basically has pica. It’s more a matter of recognizing that there are places where you can keep watch with one eye, and places where you need two eyes, two hands, and all your wits. The parks below fall into the first category, and for that, we thank them.
Vibe: The ultimate cOmMuNItY pLaYgRoUnD, located in beautiful Eagle Harbour. House prices tend to be a little lower this far west (or at least they used to be), so you’ll find more young families here than Boomers. People know their neighbours, kids ride their bikes along the street, women tend to flower gardens with their own two hands. All this to say, Parc Verdun gets used, and you can feel it — in a good way.
Pros:
· Just the right amount of busy — there’s always other kids around, but never enough to feel chaotic.
· Full marks for equipment — a very tall jungle gym for the big kids, a sandpit for little ones, swings, a sports court for tennis and hockey and scooters. There’s a forest at the edge of the playground with a small creek and a bridge. You can stand here and throw rocks and hear them plop. Always a winner.
· Local kids leave toys scattered around for everyone to enjoy, so there are always new trucks on-hand.
Cons:
· It’s such a community playground that sometimes I feel like I’m trespassing.
· Limited options for biking, unless your kids are satisfied within the confines of the sports court (mine, alas, are not).
· Not enclosed, so you’ll need to be aware of animals (there are occasionally bears in the area) and, obviously, cars as well.
Supervision Requirements: Reasonably low. There’s ample seating, in both shade and sun, where a mom can supervise the whole playground at a glance. I’ve never seen the park so busy I can’t leaf through a book while the kids play.
Vibe: This is weird one. It’s really kind of a nothing park, with a stupid roller slide and a perfunctory jungle gym, but my kids don’t seem to mind. The location is lovely, right in the middle of Altamont, a neighbourhood near Dundarave known for large lots and estate-style builds, but with a more traditional vibe. Lots of hydrangeas. Mature trees. Less aggressively modern than what you’d find in the BPs or down by the water.
Like many little neighbourhood parks, the playground was built by local residents. I’m obsessed with this historical account of the park’s founding, which is accessible through the West Vancouver Collections and includes the quote “Isaac, you know you’ve got a horse, we’ve got a horse, we’ve got lots of land but there are no public parks within a mile and a half of this place and some day these kids will be out on the street playing, because there is no playgrounds.”
Well, now there is a playgrounds, with tennis courts, a climbing web, and the aforementioned stupid roller slide — cute, compact, rarely busy but easy to access. Many thanks to Isaac and his horse.
Pros:
· You’ll almost never see other kids — maybe the occasional toddler with a nanny in tow. This place isn’t exactly a hot spot, but the trade-off is some serenity.
· The park gets good sunlight, so is pleasant even on a cooler day.
· All day long here you see women in Lulus or their housekeepers walking the most beautiful dogs. Golden Retrievers, Bernese Mountain Dogs, every variety of doodle. Even better, many of them are amenable to a friendly pat, if your child so desires.
· Ample parking, good visibility.
Cons:
· Only that the playground itself isn’t particularly…fun.
Supervision Score: Truly minimal. The playground area is very small and fenced in, so — as long as your kids are able to navigate the jungle gym safely — you can basically kick back and scroll.
The Vibe: Sleepy little playground just down the road from Caulfield Village, outfitted with swings (including an old fashioned tire swing!), a reasonably nice jungle gym, and a sandpit for the little ones.
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More interestingly, Plateau Park also has a mysterious concrete circle poured off to one side, hidden in the shrubs, that would be *perfect* for pagen rituals. The kids don’t like it back here (do they know something I don’t?), but every time we visit, I pop back for a quick look, half expecting to see a spray-painted pentagram or the sign of the horned god. Obviously, I never do, but still — I gotta look.
This is technically neither a pro nor a con, so I’ll just include this information here, for completeness.
Pros:
· Tons of open grass for unstructured play or to do some heteronormative sportsy-type activity (I guess baseball? soccer?).
· Usually there’ll be one or two other kids running around, which makes the park feel a little more alive.
· Cute location for a picnic snack or lunch.
Cons:
· No fence.
· Even though the park is five minutes from Caulfeild Village, I somehow feel sure that there are bears skulking around.
Supervision Requirements: Moderate. The park is a little less compact than other entries on our list, and borders a forest and a road, so in that sense you need to keep an eye out. Luckily, at Plateau, that’s very easy to do from a comfortable bench.
Our favourite park for very little children, although of limited interest to kids 4+. Most of the local parks embrace simpler themes (usually just “playground”), but Dudley offers something a little more sophisticated: a mini house, grocery store and fire department — complete with doghouse and fire truck — connected with a series of child-sized metal tubes. It’s certainly more high-concept than other local playgrounds (lol), and feels quite safe and low-to-the-ground. You know we love to see it.
Pros:
· Pleasant poured-rubber surface, perfect for new or unsteady walkers
· The only playground on this list within walking distance of treats — Bjorn Bar is a cool four blocks off. Take my advice, though, and bring your stroller. Walking four blocks with a toddler would take literally all day.
· Equipment is cute, sturdy and well-planned, with lots of the little nooks and crannies toddlers love.
Cons:
· Shady. Most summers this would be a pro, but it’s now 16 degrees and raining so today it’s a CON.
· Busier than other parks, since Edgemont is another family hub — and multiple toddlers is a recipe for screaming, sulking, slapping and stealing toys.
· The park basically consists of one big bulky structure, so it can be hard to see what’s going down on the other side.
Supervision Requirements: Technically quite low, but since Dudley is really only suitable for kids 3 and under, you still need to stay on your toes.
Vibe: Viewlynn is truly the most perfect little neighbourhood playground; we found it by chance and go whenever we can. The equipment roster is off the charts — swings, a splash pad, ample flat pavement for little bikers. There’s a forest with weird little paths, and a baseball diamond with dugouts and honestly, my kids just always seem so happy here.
Pros
· All the finest playground accoutrements in a park that feels compact and manageable.
· Lynn Valley can get hot, so it’s a particularly nice spot for a splash pad.
· Great for little bikers. My older son does countless loops around the park while the little one plays in the splashpad. For one perfect hour, its heaven on earth.
· Really good, friendly energy — the kids, the parents, somehow even the park itself.
Cons
· Regrettably, Viewlynn is located in the depths of Lynn Valley. It’s a long drive, we often hit traffic, but still — it’s always worth the trouble.
Supervision Requirements: Moderate. It gets busy, especially on the weekend, and there are sections that can be hard to see. From the main benches, though, you can view the playground and the splash pad, which usually does the job.
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