For one day of our Hawaii vacation, we rented a car to see some of the rest of the island. Our primary destination was Waimea Valley, where there is a very stroller-friendly walk through Waimea Valley up to the waterfall, where you can swim around and cool off after the walk (it is an easy 20-minute walk).
Aiden finds a giant leaf
We took our time walking to the waterfall, enjoying all the tropical plants and some of the sacred artifacts on the property. Waimea Valley is over 1,875 acres, though it is obviously not all open to the public. There are several scheduled activities on site, though none were running during our visit.
One of 5000 documented plants in Waimea Valley
Our walk to the waterfall took us past more than 5,000 kinds of plants, including native and endangered Hawaiian plants.
Posing in front of Waimea Waterfall – swimming welcome!
Waihï, the Valley’s waterfall, is approximately 3/4 of a mile from the entrance along a paved pathway. The waterfall wasn’t huge during our visit because of a drought in Oahu, but it was still impressive. Although we couldn’t encourage Aiden to go in the water so close to his nap time (kids are required to wear lifejackets and he wasn’t going for that), we all took dips in the water using the free floaties to relax a bit.
Aiden taking a welcome snooze in his stroller
Aiden took a nap on the way back from the falls (huge achievement!) and we all sat down in the cafe after to enjoy a break while he slept before later adventures in the day.
Visitors tip: there are lots of 2-for-1 coupons for Waimea Valley in local tourist magazines – keep your eye out! The beach across from Waimea Valley is also fantastic, with a huge rock that appeared popular for cliff diving.
You can find more photos from Waimea, and our whole Hawaii trip, here.
One of the big draws of Granville Island in the summer is the Waterpark, the largest free water park in North America. Open sometime in May – early September, the waterpark includes a water slide, a large and varied spray park, as well as adjacent fun in the large sandbox and playground.
The waterpark was fantastic, with lots of opportunities for even the most water-shy child to explore. Water pooled near a drain, and Aiden loved that, and found a few of the spray areas not too forceful. He was desperate to try the slide, but I don’t think toddlers can go down, even with adults, until they are a little taller.
The playground itself is quite old, in need of an update, but still in fairly good condition. It’s not huge, but with all there is to do at Granville Island, it doesn’t need to be.
We will be back next year for sure!
I realize that not every playground or park can have a bathroom, and that not every playground will have play structures for kids of all ages, but when playgrounds are built with obvious oversights, it kind of drives me crazy.
A parent decides to fix the ‘toddler’ play area with a log in lieu of a stair
- Offering too many climbing structures and not enough for other types of play
- Having toddler ‘rocker’ toys that are several feet off the ground (inaccessible even to good climbers)
- Toddler play areas that don’t have stairs at toddler height
- Water parks that don’t offer one ‘gentle’ spray area (Kilmer is the best for this)
- Not having a single garbage can. Really?!
- Having metal toddler slides (tend to be too fast in some brands)
- Having new play structures that are flat and wooden (they become dirty faster and don’t encourage early climbing with the metal holes)
- Having only high railings across bridges
- Sand in a shady park. It always feels damp
- Placing the foot of the slide too high for a toddler to hop off
Playgrounds often follow the same pattern these days, which is a bit of a pity. I like the playgrounds that incorporate different toys, such as musical toys or teeter totters or tunnels, but they are few and far between these days.
Sure, I could go on about my pet peeves for other kids and parents in the park, but that’s a whole other post ;)
Ambleside is one of the more well-known and well-loved beaches in Vancouver. Situated in West Vancouver, the beach spans a huge area from Lions Gate Bridge all along to about 13th St where you can continue along the waterfront path to many shops and restaurants, to John Lawson Park, or the beautiful seawall walk to Dundarave. The park itself features huge grassy fields for kite flying, a concession, a duck pond, and a playground.
The beach itself is one of the more ‘sandy’ beaches on this side of the water, though it doesn’t compare to beaches in Kits or Second Beach. Being exposed to the ocean traffic as it is, the waves can be quite large here (I have a memory from my own childhood of being pulled under from a large wave).
Depending on the tide, you will either enter the water from the sandy-ish beach or will have to pass through the seaweed / rock belt. Very low tide offers the best sand at waters edge. This is a beach that requires water shoes or sandals no matter the tide. The tidal pools in low tide are fun to search for shells and crabs and for collecting seaweed. Aiden is a little hesitant about the ocean at the moment, and finds the waves here particularly overwhelming, but I’m sure that will fade with time.
The playground isn’t huge, but it does offer some great activities for the really little ones. The ‘water park’ is essentially two fire hydrants with a controlled flow, so Aiden was completely in his element there. There are a couple of slides, some swings, and a playhouse to round out the toys.
A few weeks ago, we were trying to head to Stanley Park via transit for a free concert when a traffic jam made us change up our plans. Instead, we headed to Yaletown and David Lam Park. We were not familiar with playgrounds in Yaletown, and honestly weren’t in love with the one we found at David Lam Park.
Despite being a beautiful park, with the waterfront views and seawall, the playground area was not that great. There were a few different play structures as well as swings, offering a variety of options for kids, but it was a very “concrete” area and I was not in love with that.
Do you have an opinion on this playground?
