Westminster Park

This is a big park with lots of amenities. Tennis courts, a municipal pool, baseball, soccer fields, two separate playgrounds, hills to roll down, a chalet with bathrooms, and of course new in 2019 is the huge splash pad! 

The large aquatic-themed splash pad with Vortex products features some new-to-the-West-Island critters like the super tall spider (which I initially thought was a crab and now I’m all freaked out!) and the octopus arms. 
Both kids loved the interactive Bobble N°1 which you can dunk and spin, and just maybe, I loved it too 🙂 
The Luna N°3 is excellent for spraying your brother in the face, or for aiming at the bobble and getting it to turn. 
There are also ship bows, gentle ground sprays, a huge anchor, and the concrete wave to sit on or splash down. My boys were…perplexed by whether it was supposed to be a slide, or a river, and found the concrete too scratchy for their feet and the water pressure not hard enough to properly enjoy it. Rubber surfacing would be more comfortable (but too slippery?) and less of a grade might make it more “river-like”.

Both my boys (11 & 6) found it entertaining, but I’d say its gentle sprays and products make it ideal for toddlers. If you want a BIG DUMP of water, check out the huge bucket at DDO’s new Lake Road Park. Completely different, but equally fun.

There are two separate play areas, one for toddlers and big kids and one on the other side of the tennis courts for big kids.
This is the first park this summer where I noticed the sand wasps, as there is full sun on the toddler part of the playground. They didn’t bother us at all but made riding on the race cars a little more exciting. My little guy LOVED the spring riders which include two easy to climb-into cars, the two-kid purple dinosaur that you’ll find in a lot of DDO playgrounds, and the cute rotund airplane.

The toddler climber has stairs, tic-tac-toe walls, slides and various metal ladders. 
The larger play structure has sky wheels, different kinds of slides, and metal rungs and ladders; and that metal bridge that I LOATHE. The playground is close-ish to the road and although there is a bit of a slope to deter runners, there is no fencing around any of the play area. 

New in 2021 – an inclusive sway boat. 

The separate playground behind the tennis courts has an Xccent Playmotion balance beam, a seesaw, swings, and a stand-alone twirly slide. Quite nice and shady with mature trees surrounding it. Actually, there are beautiful trees throughout the park with lots of good picnicking spots to choose from. 

THINGS TO NOTE:
-The splash pad hours are 9am-9pm like DDO’s other splash pad.
-There’s no dedicated parking lot but street parking is available (watch the signs!) or in the adjacent school’s parking lot during the summer break.
-The chalet beside the playground has bathrooms with the same opening hours as the other DDO parks, which are Mon-Fri 8am-10pm, and Sat-Sun 9am-6pm.
-There’s a drinking fountain on the outside of the chalet.
-Both playgrounds are on sand, and have some shade throughout the day. There is no fencing. 

 

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