Posts Tagged ‘playground’

Once your child gets to be, oh, four, or an adventurous three, she’s not going to want to go to Duboce Park anymore. But for pre-walkers or the newly mobile (and the easily panicked parents who follow them around), it’s a dream come true. Set in a sunny slice of parkland almost smack dab in the center of San Francisco, the playground is compact, cushioned, and has a play area specifically made for the toddler set. The play structure is low and completely fenced in; there are no scary open areas where your two-year-old can launch himself through and onto the ground. There are lots of cutout holes in the structure, handy for peek-a-boo, a couple of low slides, some baby swings, and, best of all, a line of plastic “mushrooms” at varying heights set sturdily into the ground that make perfect pull-up-and-hang-on spots for tentative new walkers.

There’s a tiny sand area with a concrete rim that tends to be the meet-and-greet area of the playground for parents, and a couple of nice mosaic seats that function as thrones for visiting princesses. Slightly older kids usually traipse through the little border of vegetation that surrounds the playground, pretending they’re in the jungle: beware, said jungle is the pee spot for a million small children, as the park lacks a restroom. There is a water fountain, however, and a nice cafe right across the street which has bagels and outdoor seating underneath beautiful maple trees.

On a sunny day, sitting in Duboce watching the N train go by and the dogs coming and going for bathrooming needs as your toddler toddles happily (and safely!) behind you, it feels like you might just be able to hack this parenting thing.

Duboce Park Children’s Playground is located between Scott, Waller, and Steiner streets and Duboce Avenue in San Francisco; call 415-554-9523 or visit parks.sfgov.org.

Unless you live near a lake, river, or the ocean, a playground “water feature” usually has to suffice when your kids want to splash around. And that’s all fine and well, if making cakes out of wet sand is about all they’re interested in. But if you’re looking for a real watery adventure, Berkeley’s Codornices Park has one of the best real-life water features in the Bay Area: two spacious, safe forks of the Codornices Creek.

Take off your shoes. Look for little frogs and tiny water snakes. Wade through the creek, or relax on the banks, secure that your children will not be eaten by sharks or swept out to sea by a rogue wave. When the kids get sick of the water or someone falls in (whichever comes first), there’s a giant well-equipped playground with lightning-fast concrete slides, hiking trails, a lush baseball field, and a groovy tunnel that leads you under Euclid Avenue and into the Berkeley Rose Garden.

Codornices Park is located at 1201 Euclid Avenue (at Eunice Street) in Berkeley. Call 510-981-6700 or visit ci.berkeley.ca.us.

You’ll want to wear your most fashionable duds to the Julius Kahn Playground, because if you slop in in sweats and flip-flops, you’re going to feel seriously schlumpy next to the polished Pacific Heights and Richmond district moms who crowd this park on sunny days.

Once a rather neglected sand pit, Julius Kahn underwent a 2003 renovation that birthed a sparkling, pristine play area with a rope spider web, two-kid swings, a mini climbing wall, spinning cups, and a small canal fed by a dripping spigot for sand- and water-play. The park’s surrounding Presidio landscape is also choice: eucalyptus trees, a huge green lawn on which to kick balls around, nice clean picnic tables where one can grab a snack. And to parent’s relief, plenty of places to sit and an adjacent bathroom. Oh, and free parking in a giant parking lot right across the street. Sweet!

Be sure to bring extra clothes as the canal is a pants-wetter even for the tidiest child, and that wet ride home in the fog is mighty cold. Plus, the clubhouse adjacent to the park frequently sets out paints and easels, and we all know how messy that can be.

Julius Kahn park is located on the Presidio’s southern border at 3550 West Pacific Avenue (between Arguello Street and the Presidio Gates), San Francisco. Call 415-292-2400 for more information.

It’s tiny, located in a gritty neighborhood, and offers only a few play structures and practically no shade. But the mini park at 24th Street and Bryant does have one great big fat upside: a giant mosaic statue of the Mesoamerican snake-god Quetzalcoatl with a walk-in fountain.

The park used to be a neighborhood eyesore, filled with lounging folks so scary that only the most desperate parents would enter. Thanks to a million-dollar 2006 beautification project, the 24th & York Street Mini Park was transformed into an urban oasis, and a neighborhood rallying spot for families. Kids climb merrily over the serpent to reach the buttons on the DIY fountain, which operates unpredictably: you may be standing nearby and suddenly get doused, or you can punch on the buttons for minutes on end to no avail. Nevertheless, with the hot, strong Mission sun beating down, you’ll probably welcome a little sprinkle, followed by a sit at one of the shaded tables at the back of the park, while your child runs around making friends on the bouncing motorcycles or on Quetzacoatl himself.

Bring spare clothes to change into if you plan to stay in the neighborhood for a meal; the vintage-cool St. Francis Soda Fountain across the street is a great place to get a sandwich and a $5 milkshake. Or bring a PBJ and buy a coconut popsicle from one of the strolling paleta sellers who’ll come by every 20 minutes or so on a hot day to tempt all the kids. If you get sticky from the popsicle you can wash off in the fountain and then sit on top of Quetzie’s head, thinking about all the suckers who are at work right now.