West Hillsdale Park is C4 on the parks map. It is NOT easy to find! The park is set back from the road down a little path, so it is not visible from the street.
If you aren't careful, you'll drive right by the sign which is nestled between two suburban houses. The path is on 31st Ave and just a few blocks behind the Hillsdale Mall on the right hand side of the road. If you reach Hillsdale High school, you've gone too far. We had to turn around and come back to it.Parking:
Only street parking here, but the neighborhood streets were pretty empty so we had no trouble finding a spot.
Only street parking here, but the neighborhood streets were pretty empty so we had no trouble finding a spot.Surface:
The surface under the play structure is wood chips but there is LOTS of lawn in this park! E loved the wide expanse of open grass, even though it was pretty marshy.
Playground:
There is one play structure, which is a strange combination of rubber coated metal, with two slides. There is not much imagination to this structure, just bars and steps. The little slide is double wide, which is nice if friends are going down at the same time. But, it has a pretty high drop off at the end so I would suggest having someone at the bottom to catch a little one.
The big kids section of the structure has climbing bars and a twisty slide. It also has a pair of "slide bars" (those big green poles) for kids to hang onto and slide down.
There is a set of four swings behind the structure, two toddler, and two regular.
There are two spring toys that were looking a little worse for the wear.
Behind the spring toys is a tiny sand box to dig around in. I'm pretty sure I saw dog poo in this little box though, so I steered E back to the slides. BLECH!
Coverage: Huge trees line the park so there is shade around the edges. The play area and lawn are exposed. 
Bonus Feature:
There is a basketball court right next to the playground. It might be a nice place for a group of friends to meet after work or on some lazy Saturday for a picnic.
The surface under the play structure is wood chips but there is LOTS of lawn in this park! E loved the wide expanse of open grass, even though it was pretty marshy.
Playground:
There is one play structure, which is a strange combination of rubber coated metal, with two slides. There is not much imagination to this structure, just bars and steps. The little slide is double wide, which is nice if friends are going down at the same time. But, it has a pretty high drop off at the end so I would suggest having someone at the bottom to catch a little one.
The big kids section of the structure has climbing bars and a twisty slide. It also has a pair of "slide bars" (those big green poles) for kids to hang onto and slide down.
There is a set of four swings behind the structure, two toddler, and two regular.
There are two spring toys that were looking a little worse for the wear.
Behind the spring toys is a tiny sand box to dig around in. I'm pretty sure I saw dog poo in this little box though, so I steered E back to the slides. BLECH!
Coverage: Huge trees line the park so there is shade around the edges. The play area and lawn are exposed. 
Bonus Feature:
There is a basketball court right next to the playground. It might be a nice place for a group of friends to meet after work or on some lazy Saturday for a picnic. Animals: Although there was a sign out front requesting dogs to be leashed we were met by a friendly, unleashed, chihuahua sitting on the steps to the slide. The owner and her grandson made a hasty retreat when they saw that E and I planned to stay.
Crowds: Other then the dog owner who seemed upset that we were interrupting her peaceful playtime, we saw (and heard) NO ONE!
What we liked: I like that this park is so far removed from the street. Nothing but trees and houses line it. It's a quiet place to feel like you're alone in the world (at least on a random Wednesday morning). E liked the wide-open lawn and swings.
What we didn't like: The whole park had a neglected feel to it. The structure was not much fun, the spring toys were peeling and rusty, and a careless dog owner had let his pet use the sandbox as a bathroom. We will not be making this park one of our regular visits. Of all the parks we've been to so far, we spent the least amount of time here. E was bored and I was bored. What's our overall opinion? MEH!
I really don't like those long green bar things - I never knew what to do with them. They are weird! Gross about the poopie dog and too bad the play area is pretty boring. But the privacy is a plus. There are so many more parks - you will find that perfect one!!
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