Bay Horizon Park Playground ~ Birch Bay

We had already made plans with our friends, Jen and Natalie, to walk to Bay Horizon Park to let the girls play on the playground, so it was especially nice that summer decided to return to us for the day! We headed over on the gravel path from our housing development, and were greeted by a few blackberry bushes that had taken advantage of our recent rain. We managed to get through without anyone getting pricked, though we may bring clippers next time.

This park, at first glance, looks very interesting. There are two separate play structures that are each in the center of a circle that is filled with cedar and surrounded by concrete. One is for younger kids ages 2-5, the other is for ages 5-12 years. There are concrete ramps leading into each playground, but no direct path from one to the other. I really have to watch the girls as they run from one structure to the other, since there is a bit of a lip from the cedar shavings up the the cement. Both have taken spills here that have resulted in scraped knees. 

Of course, my girls (ages 3 and 4 3/4) seem to gravitate toward the playground for the older kids. This playground is not your usual playground. The slide on the bigger kids' playground does not have sides. Kids are supposed to wrap their legs around the sides and hold on with their hands. There is also a web-like rope section that the girls take turns pretending to be spiders on. Behind that, there are suspended circles, monkey bars and metal sections that spin. Though they don't have the coordination for all of the activities, the girls seem to have fun!

 

The little kids playground has equally fun things for smaller kids to do. There is a tire-swing looking thing that does not spin, as it is attached at the top and bottom. The girls will stand on it and shake it or pretend it is a fire pit. They lose interest in this pretty quickly. There are also some metal chimes, drums, a metal bar for hanging and a section with stairs that kids can walk around and around, up and down on. This play structure is usually ignored by my four-year-old, but my three-year-old seems to enjoy it.

There are a few picnic tables and benches at the park, but no garbage can, so be prepared to take your trash with you. The playground has a fence around it, and some grass, but not enough to kick a ball around or anything.  It would be a nice spot for a picnic lunch.

There is a port-a-potty located in the corner of the parking lot. It is a bigger one so you can pull in a stroller if needed. It also houses some spiders and other bugs, so be prepared for that. When we went, the current date was filled in on the inspection chart, but the hand sanitizer was empty. Nevertheless, it is always nice to have a potty available! 

There is also a newly revamped gym/activity center that is supposed to be open for open gym on Wednesdays from 4:30-8:30 starting August 10, 2011. The parks department will be holding other activities in the gym, as well. I can't wait to check it out!

Bay Horizon Park, Blaine's former Air Force Station, is located on Gemini Street. It is also home to Birch Bay Hostel & Guesthouse and Lions Camp Horizon!