Sweet Shade Park is one of Irvine’s city parks. It’s tucked off Harvard Avenue near the Villages of Columbus neighborhood. The bright blue geometric play structure caught our eye as we drove by.
Location: This park isn’t even on the map yet. It’s off Harvard Avenue which runs parallel to Jamboree Road. The easiest cut overs from Jamboree are Warner or Barranca. MAP to Sweet Shade Park in Irvine
Highlights:
- Nice mix of equipment for all ages. It’s one of the few playgrounds where older kids might get excited to climb and play.
- I’ve never seen a slide like this with no sideguards. It looked like a tongue and it required a little skill for the slider to wrap their legs around the slide to keep from falling off.
- This combination of equipment is unique. The 2-5 year old area looked futuristic/nautical with 4 baby swings (two types). The playground manufacturer is Kompan which is used on a smaller scale at Bluebird Park in Laguna Beach. It had pitchers to scoop sand and many small stations for imaginative play.
- I was completely fascinated with the 5-12 year old play equipment which commenter Laurie tells me is an Evos by Landscape Structures, Inc. (Thanks, Laurie!). You’ll look at it and think “What can I do with this?” It inspires you to jump in and crawl around. My 4 year old loved it. There are 4 bench swings in this area.
- I loved the picnic area here with its huge grills. It looked like a nice place for a family picnic at sunset.
- Beautiful landscaping and basketball courts past the small clubhouse (residents only).
- Shades over the playground, but it looked more decorative than functional. However, it’s probably great for lunchtime play when the sun is directly overhead.
- There is a smaller playground across Marble Mountain – but a sign says it’s for residents.
Be Aware:
- No restrooms
- Obviously, the blue structure is designed for kids over 5. A little extra supervision will be needed for the littlest ones using it.
- Smaller playground across the street warns that it’s for “residents only”
Checklist:
- Recycled rubber and sand play surface
- Dedicated parking lot
- No restrooms
- Drinking fountains
- Very nice covered picnic area with massive charcoal grills
- 2 basketball courts
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
We just visited this park. It is fabulous. While we were there my little girl had to use the bathroom so we asked a local where the nearest restrooms were and she instructed us to the clubhouse building. Around the backside is a metal door that looks like it would be locked but it wasn’t. I hope that helps somebody else like it helped us! Great site. Thank you for your hard work!
Correction: The cool 5-12 playstructure is an Evos made by Landscape Structures, Inc. out of Delano, MN.