There’s a lot to enjoy around Renfrew Community Centre, such as the aquatic centre, library, dog park and wooded ravine. Our focus for this post is the playground on the north side of the community centre in Renfrew Community Park.

The playground is divided into four distinct sections – the main play structure, the toddler structure, the swing sets and wading pool. As always, it is great that the swings are off to the side so that kids are not accidentally smoked in the head by a soaring child. 

This playground is actually located at the top of the slope and across the street from Falaise Park, making it slightly confusing if one were to make a playdate without knowing this tidbit. Otherwise, this colourful playground is divided into two play areas with plenty to do for different ages.

A fun feature at Falaise Park is the wooden truck with a large roof and four steering wheels. In the same area is a bubbly plastic play structure with arched rooftops, multiple slides, windows and a broken gear panel. In the same area is a freestanding monkey bar component and an additional wall of three yellow, window play panels. 

The second area features a larger structure with things like ziptracks, monkey bars, sliding poles, a climbing wall and a wooden bridge. There’s also a twirly slide and other types of climbers. Off to the side is a swing set.

This second structure feels less sturdy with old wooden floor panels, compared to the other one that has platforms made from solid metal. This area uses pea gravel for the ground while the area with the toddler structure uses gravely sand.

Like most playgrounds, there are shady trees near the perimeter but both playgrounds here are in full sun, making some slides and elements hot to the touch. During the summertime the wading pool can provide relief from the heat.

Lastly, the fieldhouse has been upgraded to be universally accessible and includes a “wave to open” sensor for opening the door. This automation, although providing accessibility, can also be a curse for those with kids that like to play with technology. A simple wave of the hand enables them to easily unlock and auto-open the door during one’s mid-pee. 

I saw this happen elsewhere to someone, so I made sure not to go when my kids were with me. But with that said, it easily could have been me if I didn’t know! We should probably request these things have a child-lock so parents don’t have to deal with such unfortunate circumstances. Redesign please!

Beaconsfield Park is one of three new playgrounds that have reopened to the public in July 2021. The main feature here is the climbing rope dome that we’ve seen a handful of times at playgrounds such as Trout Lake and Nobel Park. Inside this web of ropes is a vinyl mat and plastic seat, a rope ladder, sliding pole and plastic plank.

The most unique feature here is the overheard spinner that has a spherical cage in the middle, which invites different ways for kids to hang or sit while spinning like a maniac.

Because these two play components are catered for older kids, the younger children tend to gravitate towards the other side of the playground which has a sand area, pergola-like play hut and embankment slide. 

Interestingly, the fine sand here is evenly mixed with jagged rocks, which I found to be strange. I am not sure if this is a new type of ground cover, but it did make for imaginative treasure hunting type play. Another thing to note is that the fine sand makes the rubber embankment hill quite slippery for some kids. There is also a dust factor with the sand being so fine, because it’s been a very dry summer. My childhood tells me there should be damp sand underneath the top layer of dry sand but no matter how deep we dug, the sand remained dry. Which was also strange. 

Although some parts of the playground are surface accessible, there is very little here that make it inclusive. I point this out because it’s a new playground and it should be something to expect. It just felt like something was missing in this space that would make it feel special. 

On the other hand, there is a wonderful community garden behind the playground that’s worth exploring. There are beds lush with growth as well as cute fruit trees. A grand willow tree sways in the breeze and there’s also a bunch of logs from the remains of a tree that was cut down. There’s also the Italian Cultural Centre’s Il Forno Community Oven on the other side of the park for all your impromptu pizza making needs.