Playgrounds

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This information will be most useful to the people living in or visiting Bruce County.

This summer, not much was open. I started taking the kids on “Playground Crawls” (like a bar crawl, but with playgrounds). Basically we would pick a town, then ask the local residents where the playgrounds were. We could usually get through three or four playgrounds in a morning, then try out a local bakery for lunch. There’s usually some playground information online, but not really all in one place. So here it is!

If there are awesome playgrounds in these towns that I am missing, let me know!

If anyone else decides to do this in their local area, send me the info, and I’ll post it too!

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Kincardine

Davidson Centre Playground
601 Durham St

Big and really fun. Has big splash pad next to it. Near trails and a skate park.

Tiny Tots/MacPherson Playground
216 Lambton St

Close to the beach. Two levels. Pirate ship themed.

Rotary Park Playground
699 Huron Terrace

Beautiful sounding musical instrument playground. No matter how hard kids bang, it sounds like meditation music. Also has a small jungle gym and slide and a beautiful fountain and picnic tables.

McCullough Crescent Playground

Don’t have an exact address but you can’t miss it and it has interesting play equipment and a neat game that a computer takes you through that’s a lot like “bop it.”

Station Beach Playground

Station beach is right across the road from the musical playground at rotary park. If you drive into the parking lot and keep following the road deeper into the parking lot as far as you can go, you will reach a little playground that’s quite fun and is close to a walkway to the beach.

Helliwell Park

Off Russel Street, but you can park on Palmateer Dr. and go through a little walkway to get there. Very basic, but close to some very nice trails.

Princes Street and St. Albert St.

I was shocked to find out last week that there was one playground in Kincardine I had never been to. This playground is at the end of Princes Street if you turn onto it from St. Albert St. It is in a field close to the Baptist Church. It has a really cool ladder leading to the slide, a climbing wall, and swings. My kids also enjoyed playing in the sand.

Port Elgin

Cameron Park
649 Mill Creek Rd

Beautiful playground surrounded by trees. Many types of playground equipment. It’s hard to see when you first drive in because of the trees, but if you park by the baseball diamonds, you will see it.

Nodwell Park
788 Highland Street

Nice old-style metal playground with a little zip-line. Nice variety from some of the newer playgrounds.

North Shore Park

Basic playground but great-looking splash pad with giant flowers and cattails and leaves. Makes you feel like you are in Honey I Shrunk the Kids. And it is right by the beach.

Southampton

Jubilee Park
50 Victoria Street South.

Very interesting shape and has something for everyone. Also a splash pad. If you are looking for a little variety in playgrounds, this is the place. Big round swings, bells to ding, a rope bridge to a rope climber. And right next to the fire hall with windows to look at the old-style fire trucks.

Goderich

Victoria Park
80 Victoria St N

Right when you come into town. It has lots of playground equipment, and is very spread out over a big field. You can close some of the gates to keep toddlers from wandering away. It has a mini splash pad. Great playground to start at.

Glen Philips Memorial Playground
179 South Street

This playground has a lot of novel equipment which makes it a nice change from other playgrounds.

Hunter Costello Memorial Playground
160 Eldon St.

This is such a wonderful playground. It was donated in honour of a beautiful little boy, Hunter Costello, and it truly brings joy to any child who plays there.

Point Clark

Playground 1
At the very end of Concession 2 as it turns into Huron Road.

This playground has three slides and some really tall swings that make swinging an extra thrill. It has a nice field for tag or flying a kite and a hedge at the back of the field that has a “secret passage” behind it right by the fence.

Playground 2
Attawandaron Road and Lake Range Drive

Has a swing that lets a baby sit across from a big sibling. A pretty basic jungle gym. Pretty surroundings and a tennis court.

Playground 3
Lighthouse Park – at the end of Lighthouse Road, right by the beach and lighthouse.

Cushy feel to the ground. It has a built-in playhouse. It’s right next to the beach.

Playground 4
Community Centre Playground

Just off Lake Range Drive between Lurgan Lane and St Arnaud St. It has a little playground, baseball diamond and picnic benches. All are fun to frolic around.

Playground 5
At Alfred St and Sunrise St.

Really neat playground with riding bugs, a jungle gym/slide, bars for gymnastics.

Lucknow

Playground 1
Inglis St and Willoughby Street. Close to Nine Mile Villa.

A neat playground and a set of swings.

Playground 2
Havlock St and Hamilton St
Beside the Lucknow Presbyterian Church

The local residents of Lucknow assure me that there are only two playgrounds.

Ripley

Lewis Park
Corner of Queen St and Huron St

Has a mini splash pad and some cool playground equipment with sand-digging toys.

Ripley Memorial Park
Just off Queen Street, by the baseball diamonds.

It’s fenced in, so you don’t have to worry about little ones wandering away.

Ripley School Playground
2 Queen St.

Beautiful, big field with big trees and three different playground areas. You should only use it when school is not in, of course.

Bervie

Bervie Park
Highway 9 and Bervie Sideroad.

A nice little playground. Two slides, an accessible swing that’s actually easy to unlatch, some parts to climb on and a little rocking horse-type toy.

Tiverton

Tiverton and District Playground
Ross St.

A big playground. Great place to stop on the way to Kaiser’s Fruit Farm (if you live near me). If you take main street toward the lake, you will find two other playgrounds on the right. The bigger one is right at the end of the road, as you get to the water.

Paisley

Playground 1
By baseball diamonds. The intersection I saw said James St and Inkerman St.

This is an older playground which has nice variety and old-style teeter totters. It had a communication board poster that the kids enjoyed.

Mary Cummiungs Park/”Tot Lot Park”
429 Ross St.

You can’t see this one from the road. You have to turn into a grass driveway by a yellow brick house. I really liked this one.

Paisley Rotary Park

I was never able to find this one. The website says 293 James St, but that actually leads back to the first playground. Other sources lead to the local camp ground. There is a picture of a playground on the website, but I saw no sign of it. I bet we could ask the local residents.

Mildmay

Rotary Park
Highway 9 just before the town starts on the way from Walkerton

This is a really neat playground. It has swing rocking horses that I’ve never seen anywhere else and descending parallel poles that children can hook their arms onto and use as a slide (again I have never seen this anywhere else). Big, round swings, and a nice play structure. It is next to a little pond with a water wheel and beautiful trails.

Park 2
This is off Absalom St E behind the medical building. If you pull into that parking lot, you can see it.

Hanover

Speck Wilken Park
781 7th Avenue

It’s like four or five parks in one, all spread out over a beautiful grassy field, surrounded by trees and a river. It has the best accessible swings I’ve seen.

Kinsmen Ball Park
327 17th Ave (I looked this up after, so I can’t confirm the address)

This one has a nice, old-style playground with metal slides and a neat balance beam, plus a newer play structure. It has tall swings that let you swing farther.

Hanover Raceway Playground
This one is in the parking lot of the community centre, behind Hanover Raceway.

It says it’s for ages 5-12. My kids still enjoyed it a bit, but I think older kids are more appropriate based on the structure and the location (in the middle of a busy parking lot).

Sulfur Springs Conservation Area

I never got to try this playground, but I was told there is one there.

Brant Drive-In

I was also told there is a playground here. Still need to check it out.

Teeswater

12 Hillcrest St.

Teeswater has an incredible playground with a merry-go-round, jungle gym, swings, and little rocking horses. It also has an outdoor pool with a shallow wading pool that I’m told is really nice in the summer.

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