At ages 7 and 10, our visits to playgrounds has come to almost a complete halt. I remember the days where very weekend and every vacation was hopping from playground to playground. Having outgrown most of them, there is one playground that truly has it all…and still resonates with the older kids. Relatively new over the last few years, it was built at the County Administration Building, of all places. It’s a great location, right across from the San Diego Maritime Museum, and the Embarcadero area which continues to be built up to a true destination.
What to wear: The usual playground stuff, and consider the amazing fountains they have that the kids run and play in. On a warm summer day, bathing suits are in order! Although nothing beats getting soaked in your clothing, now does it?
What you should know: Parking in this area is tricky. During the weekdays the parking garage underneath is for County Administration Building business only. This leaves you with street or metered parking, or very expensive parking at neighborhood hotels. In the evenings and on weekends you can park in the underground garage, which they’ll charge you about $10 for, but in all honesty it’s probably just worth it for the convenience.
Another advantage of parking in the underground lot is this hidden urban art that will greet you on the way up to the park! If you don’t park there, be sure to find the stairwell to the garage to check it out.
There is so much to do at this park – very creative and different equipment to play on, even a ‘mock’ surfboard. The slides are plentiful and are SUPER fast…our kids flew down them. Awesome swings, see saws, etc. There’s also some lunch places across the street, or bring a picnic and lunch and enjoy it on the beautiful grassy areas near the fountains.
The highlight of the park for us in the fountains. It was a cool day so the kids didn’t want to get soaked, but they had some fun running under the fountains to try to avoid getting too wet. During the summer they are all about jumping right in.
And true to Grant’s 7 year old boy nature, I asked him to pose and this is what he chose to do…. [smh! That kid!]
