Equipment by GameTime.
Surface: wood chips.
We discovered this one almost by accident when we showed up a bit too early for the public pool at Ledbury Park.
Which – I should say right off the top – is a really nice little pool. It is definitely little, and there’s no slide, but it feels very private and relaxed compared to the madness of most other Toronto public pools during peak summer.
The pool’s unique feature is the small splash pad that sits directly next to it, shaded by small trees and surfaced with rubber. It might be one of the best splash pads for toddlers in the whole city; it's laid out as a little river, with the water starting at one end and making its way through tunnels and obstacles to a tiny wading area. It's hard to find photos of this lovely little splash pad online, and of course public pools prohibit photography, but trust me: it's great for tiny kiddos.
In winter, the park also has an interesting skating rink; long and narrow, passing underneath a pedestrian bridge. I can’t think of another rink in Toronto that allows you to skate under a bridge.
But anyway, let’s get to the school’s playground.
It features GameTime’s “Xscape” line, which not only sounds like the name of a mid-2000s reality show, but also provides a good amount of climbing options. It’s in pretty good shape, considering that it isn’t exactly new, and given the heavy use sustained by school play equipment.
The focus is on balance and strength, and the whole structure is laid out in a way that suggests a continuous path or obstacle course from the monkey bars to the spinners. There’s also a stand-alone slide that is impressively tall, and a “Tilted Sky Runner” – an element that I featured recently in an Instagram post.
We didn’t play for too long here, partly because the pool opened, and partly because there is zero shade to be had.
So while I wouldn’t say this is a destination playground, it’s a good appetizer for a cool-off in the pool.