The new playground at Terra Nova Rural Park in the City of Richmond is a destination-worthy playground. The City invested $1 million in the new playground which was designed by the Vancouver company Hapa Collaborative. The playground is unique as it embraces the natural surroundings and encourages imaginative and energetic play.
The playground occurs in 3 large sections. The main area features an unbelievably tall treehouse/spiral slide combo. Our usually brave 3 year old freaked out at the top of the treehouse. Fortunately the rope climbing structure (which is the only point of access) is pseudo-adult-friendly. I squished my way to the top (thanks to the lovely children who kindly moved out of my way so I could calm the shrieking child). At the top we joined forces and sailed down the slide together. A slide 40 feet in height is not for the faint of heart. I didn’t see another child freak out at the top, but everyone else seemed to be a bit older. So ensure your child is super confident or be prepared to wriggle your way to the top (and inevitably amuse all the parents watching from below).
Also in the main section is a log climbing structure. Imagine a pile of artfully placed logs and kids scrambling all over them. There are also a multitude of rope structures for kids to dangle off of and pull themselves over.
In the far section a truly wonderful twisty slide entices the kids. Note of caution, don’t put your kids in track pants. That material combined with the metal slide almost launched my 3 year old into space. He thought it was delightful; I thought about dental bills! The zipline is ridiculously funny! Some of the older kids were nearly able to flip themselves over. There are a few swings as well.
When we visited the section intended for smaller children was not yet open. It looked incredibly intriguing and we can’t wait to visit when it is completed. The official opening of the playground happened on September 27, 2014!
