Hansen Dam Universal Access Playground

Saturday, September 1, 2012

My Cost: FREE!

11770 Foothill Blvd

Lake View Terrace, CA 91342
www.laparks.org/dos/playground/facility/hansendamUAPRC.htm

After a fun morning at the Griffith Park Pony Ride, and the Griffith Park & Southern Railroad, (see my previous posts,) we spent most of the day back at home because Daddy (Omar) had to work. No rest for the cheesecake bakers! But by late afternoon Vivi started acting cooped up and I wanted to take her somewhere she could run and climb a bit. And, luck would have it, Daddy came back just as we were heading out the door! So we all got to go to the Hansen Dam Universal Access Playground. (By the way, you can find out more information about this, and other Universal Access Playgrounds at ShanesInspiration.org.)

I had driven past this playground back on August 8th, (my previous post on Hansen Dam Recreational Center,) and thought, seeing as it isn't that far from our house, that tonight would be a good chance to check it out! You have to enter the park off of Osborne Street at Dronfield Avenue, and the playground is directly behind the Lakeview Terrace Library branch, (which I also posted about on August 8th.) 

It wasn't super crowded, even for a holiday weekend, but I did notice some groups of kids there that seemed to be part of a camp or activity club. There are also private vendors here selling food and toys, (which I have seen at many other parks in the LA area,) but for some reason, at this park, contributes to a much bigger litter problem than I have seen anywhere else.

The litter issue is really a shame, because honestly, this is the nicest playground we have been to thus far in our exploration. It has a toddler area, an area for ages 2 to 5 years, and a third area for ages 5 to 12 years. Most places have only two separate areas. Plus, each of the areas was large by itself, so all combined this park had tons of space or playing! There are also plentiful low walls for supervising parents to sit, if not very many benches.

The Toddler Area. This is the only playground that includes sand.
Maybe toddlers like playing in sand more than bigger kids? I wouldn't know, Vivi's not into it yet.

The area for ages 2-5 years. The slides weren't steep, and the bridges and things had a lot more guard rails.

The area for ages 5-12 years. Vivi actually really wanted to play here more than anywhere else, because she's adventurous like that. I had to steer her away to the 2-5 playground so she wouldn't be able to hurt herself as easily.

Besides having the three large, separate areas for different ages, the different activities in each area were lots of fun for the kids.

Vivi taking BIG steps to try and cross one of the bridges on the 5-12 years playground.

Vivi at the top of one of the big, steep slides in the 5-12 years area. She loves to climb!
(And keeps mommy hopping trying to follow and keep her safe!)

Over at the 2-5 playground things were a little more her speed.

Going up and down any kind of stairs is always a favorite for this girl!

There was even plenty of room for my handsome baby to practice his crawling on a blanket,
thanks to the fact that Daddy was here to split the child care duties with me!

 All in all a great playground, but I was just bummed about all the garbage. I literally wished I had a trash bag and a pair of rubber gloves so I could go pick it up myself. I don't know why, considering there were plenty of trash cans around, people would just toss their corn cobs and soda cans straight on the ground. But they did, and also left sticky residue on a lot of the play equipment, and big dirty splotches on the ground. And a little graffiti vandalism as well. A shame.

There also were some homeless individuals resting not far from the playground. They kept to themselves and didn't interfere with the kids in any way, but they were nearby.