UPDATED MARCH 2021. Old review here.
Equipment by Landscape Structures.
Surfaces: Woodchips, rubber, sand.
When I was 12 the Toronto Maple Leafs were, and had been for as long as I had been aware of sports, terrible.
In December of 1991 I went to a game that might have been the low point: not only did they lose 3-1 to the Winnipeg Jets, a team so bad they were about to be banished to Phoenix, but one of Toronto’s players, Mike Foligno, broke his leg. I can remember him rolling across the ice and thinking, “will anything good ever happen to this team?”
And then, two weeks later, something good happened.
The Maple Leafs pulled off a huge trade that brought Doug Gilmour to Toronto, and instantly made the team better. It was such a coup for the Leafs that fans of the other team, the Calgary Flames, still regret it.
I mention this not only for the sake of nostalgia, but also because it’s the best analogy I could think of to describe the Moorevale Park playground. Once the saddest playground in the Leaside-Moore Park area, this is now probably the neighbourhood’s best. Here’s a rundown of the highlights:
Three-level rope climbing structure like the one at Tiverton.
Cave-themed climbers filled with carved-in creepy crawlies, like the playground at Morse Street.
New splash pad (should be open by mid-May)
Toddler section with one of those awesome toy car tracks built in, like the one at Langford.
Big saucer swing
Carousel, aka wheel of death, like the one at St. James Park.
As you can see, Moorevale is now kind of a Greatest Hits compilation of many of the east-end parks we’ve visited in recent years. In 2019, I called Moorevale missable; this summer it will probably be one of our favourites.
Side note: The toddler section isn’t, as of this writing, officially open yet. It’s fenced off until they can install the rubberized flooring. But if you’re the kind of parent who disregards city signage and makes me feel like a mean parent, there’s a small opening in the fence that you and your rule-flouting children can slip through to get a sneak peek. But if your kid breaks his leg while you’re in there, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Maybe Mike Foligno will have pity on you.