Yes, there’s a playground at St. James Park in downtown Toronto. This park was never really a destination for kids. Sure you could see the birds, splash your hands in the small fountain, or listen to some live music in the summer months, but there was never a playground for kids. This all changed in the spring of 2019 when the City of Toronto opened up a brand new playground. Not just any playground — it’s really quite a great playground.
St. James Park is fairly large, so where in the park is the playground? You’ll find the playground at the corner of Jarvis and Adelaide (i.e. the north-east corner of the park). Now for the specifics.
Being two blocks from St. Lawrence Market, this playground is appropriately food-themed. Food crates make up the larger structures, kids can jump from scoop to scoop of spilled ice cream, and balancing acts are done on carrots.
Most of the ground surface of the playground is that spongy-rubbery surface (the rest is a mix of wood chips). A nice change from the old-school playground where parents (cough, myself included) downtown may scan the sand with careful eye for ‘things’ that could harm their kids. One note on the ‘rubber’ surface: Winter may bring slippery conditions. During a December visit (w/o snow) both little-one and Daddy wiped out. So, a little extra caution, possibly, at certain times of the year.
The main attraction of this playground is the long slide that shoots kids out at a fairly decent speed. Kids need to do some work to partake in the slide, however. Getting to one floor below the slide is done by either climbing a rope ladder or somewhat of a climbing wall. Alternatively, the less-climbing option is via a rope bridge. From there it’s up a wood ladder to the top – where the slide adventure can begin.
Originally we were hesitant to let our three-almost-four-year-old partake in the slide – due to not only the speed of the slide, but also the wood ladder leading up to it. Of course, we were being overly cautious. She took on the challenge with parent very close by. After a few rounds of that, she was rocking it. One thing parents will notice (and no, it wasn’t just us who commented on this) is that when kids ascend the ladder up to the slide platform there is an opening to their backside that one would think if they fell off the ladder they’d go tumbling down a fairly large drop to the ground. From what I can tell, the slant of the ladder is greater than it appears from afar, and the likelihood of this is fairly nonexistent.
Speaking of, the recommend age range for most of the playground is 5 to 12 years old, but – as mentioned – your 4 year old can likely master all of it quite quickly.
On hot, sunny days parents may want to give a feel to the uncovered portion of the slide to determine how hot it is (yes, it can heat up!) In such cases, pants may be the way to go for kids wanting to enjoy the slide.
It should be noted the slide is Dad-approved – based on a sample of one downtown dad.
Oh, if your little-one is a bit too small for the daunting big slide, the playground features two other smaller slides that run side-by-side. Yes, your kids can race each other to the bottom (for the whole 2 second drop).
What about swings? There are four swings: One junior swing, two regular swings, and one adaptive swing.
Another speedy element is the merry-go-round (or roundabout, if you prefer). It can go a decent clip. Kids of all ages seem to enjoy this feature.
Back to the tipped over ice cream cone: Likely the best part of the tipped-over-cone is how the kids love to climb on the cone portion (I’m guessing, as intended). Note that on wet days, inside the cone (the wood flooring) can get quite slippery.
How is the seating for parents and caretakers? Really good. There’s a raised section of grass that has a short rock wall – which is a great spot to watch the kids from. Just across a walkway is a large, wooden stage-like structure that is also fantastic for sitting and watching the kids. It’s also a nice spot to enjoy a picnic.
That said, skateboarders have stumbled upon this feature and sometimes ‘make use’ or one side of this. There is also a picnic table close-by the playground structure, and – of course – plenty of grass (and a small hill) — all within vantage point of the playground.
Beside the just-mentioned wooden platform, there’s a small splash-pad feature (ok, likely better described as a ‘spray pad’) to help the kids keep cool. Two settings exist in terms of water: The regular spray or more of a soft mist spray. The latter is nice for when you don’t want the kids to get soaked, but they could use a bit of cooling off. This area is not large by any means, but over the first summer in operation that didn’t seem to be an issue.
Some new playgrounds in the city have washrooms. This one does not. The closest ‘public’ washroom is likely St. Lawrence Market — just two blocks down Jarvis. Of course, the Market hours may not mesh with your playground adventures. That said, you can turn your washroom break into a coffee/snack/gelato break quite easily: There’s a Starbucks across the street [edit: sorry, it closed in October 2020] and a nice pizza/pasta/gelato place also across the street. If you’re more on board with a decent pint of beer, AAA bar is across the street, or a quick walk to Front Street gives you options such as The Corner Place, Jason George and – this writer’s personal favourite, C’est What? (yes, you can bring your little-one to all of these – just don’t expect high chairs and all that).
Safety update: We highly suggest that you don’t let your kids play in the garden behind the stage. In July 2021, a large deposit of needles was discovered in this garden. The park is very safe, but kids should stay in areas where they can see what is on the ground.
That’s our rundown of the playground at St. James Park in downtown Toronto. We hope to see you there! If you’ve visited before and have more to add, feel free in the comments below.