NorthWest Central Park PlayGround

Location: At the NorthWest corner of Central Park, just across the street from the 110th street C train subway stop; there is a gentle downward slope into the playground-area, the area is tree-covered and thus generously-shaded.

This park is very good, very fun. It receives FOUR PYRAMIDS, not our very highest rating, but certainly worth a fun visit!

Description: When you first walk in, you can choose to go to your left (mostly little-kid stuff), straight-ahead into the four-sprinkling stone-slab water area and SandBox toward the back, or veer right into the Giant Spider Web, space age Merry-go-Round, and spinning Tire Swing...

To the right:

A tiny spinning concave disk, kid-sized toddler 'climbing wall', some little-kid bucket swings highlight the array of little-kid activities... Even 8-year-olds can enjoy the climbing wall and solo spinner, as Julian is in the following pic:



There is a a lawn around the playground which served us well as a place for the boys' dog, Arthur, to frolic freely w/o scaring dog-wary children, parents. In the following pic, a boy inside the playground, who befriended Arthur, holds a ball he's about the throw over the fence for Arthur to fetch:



Straight-ahead as you enter the playground, there's a nice water-feature. Simple, it consists of four waist-high rock slabs, each spewing a fine spray of water. As this playground is well-shaded, water-features are not as centrally-important as in some other playgrounds... but that didn't stop several children from enjoying the spray!



Behind the sprinkler-area, in the center but toward the back of the park, is a sandbox, populated by highly-involved little-ones.

To the right as you enter the park-- get ready for Bigger-Kid FUN!

First, you'll run-across a space-age-looking, low-to-the-ground spinning ring. It's tilted slightly, goes round like a merry-go-round, higher and lower as you go around. Hold On!



Not far from the larger spinning-ring, there are also smaller solo-spinning disks, with curvy poles sticking upward out of them for kids to hold onto as they spin. In the following 2nd pic of the merry-go-ring, the solo-spinner is seen in the foreground:



But all of this is merely prelude to the park's Premier Feature: a pretty-large, imaginatively rich climbing rope web!



Leo has climbed to the top of the web structure in the following pic, sun streaming thru the trees behind him:



And in the following pic, the boys in close-up climbing their way up the web:



And a final, always-welcome feature finishes off this park with a final plus: a spinning tire swing is tucked into the far-right corner of the playground:



So, come enjoy NorthWest Central Park PlayGround!

We Did!!!

Hudson River Park

Location: Cross westside Hudson highway btwn. Horatio/ Jane; nearest A, C trains, 14th St., then cross through the Meatpacking District and a few blocks south.

This park is the best we've seen so far. It receives FIVE PYRAMIDS, our highest rating!

Description: When you first walk in, it looks like you're approaching a ship: arrays of flags, a ship's bow nosing right out off the pier, telescopic binoculars which can look out across the river (you can even see the Statue of Liberty!), masts, a spiralling ramp play-structure reminding us of a Chinese sailor's ship...







Then you get into the playground, and follow a shallow but extensive mini-canal, starting in a baby/ toddler water-play area, meandering through the playground, deep enough to float small toy boats in, and ending in a deeper (but only a few inches) pool area, and even a whirlpool strong enough to suck your toy boat down (but not lose the toy itself). BEWARE, TOY SAILORS!!







Aside from the spiralling structure, which culminates in a chain ladder delving into the Chinese ship's belly, there is a less overtly ship-looking play-structure which is nonetheless fun to play on: it has a long, curving strip of monkey-bars, a chain spider-web wall, a spiral slide, and a small climbing-wall-style ladder with a rope to help you climb...





There is a sandbox and some water-pouring gizmos little kids will like-- but for our age, you can take the water/ sand buckets and engage in Massive Water Warfare, as there is a giant three-pronged sprinkler and the aforementioned inches-deep pool and other wall-mounted sprinklers all around with-which to refill buckets quickly in the heat of water-battle. For maximum fun, bring an adult who's willing to play as well, and not just sit there reading and talking to other grownups. You can soak him/ her, and get soaked as well. Other kids will almost-certainly join the fun!

Be prepared to stay three hours or more, especially on a sunny summer day, as this playground promises maximum FUN!