North Park Community Park in San Diego is a cute gem! There are over 100 frogs all over the park, including a giant play sculpture in the shape of a frog! It features a large grassy area and a recreation center with ball fields, tennis court, soccer field, and basketball court. Recent (October 2019) reviews have said the bathrooms are often closed – they were closed on my visits (a Sunday afternoon and a weekday morning).
ADA friendly, Can reserve, street parking (free), restrooms (but they are often locked), hot coal bins, picnic tables.
Playground, Tot Lot, baby swings, regular swings, medium slides, small slide, rubber ground, sand, spinners, play sculpture, playhouse, wheelchair accessibility, monkey bars,
Large grassy area, ride a bike, walking path, recreation center with ball fields, soccer field, basketball court, tennis courts
Alcohol NOT allowed, dogs allowed, street parking (free), Art
Playground
The playground at North Park Community Park has so many fun and unique features. You’ll find several fun things that were created just for North Park.
Tot Lot (2-5 years old)
The tot lot is a little vintage, but still very cute and fun. My daughter liked jumping on the toad stools. The play structure has a slide, a playhouse, and some interactive elements.
She also liked the four-kid bouncer and the baby (bucket) swings. Many of the features are accessible by the rubber ground, which is surrounded by sand.
Big Kids Playground (5-12 years old)
The area for bigger kids is right next to the tot lot, and filled with lots of fun stuff! This thing is cool to climb, and there are monkey bars and little places to hide.
You’ll find lots of things to climb, two slides, and a few of these panels with fun facts related to North Park.
Here are the swings (saddle/regular) and the partial fence that cuts off direct access to the street.
This ramp provides wheelchair access to parts of the play structure, including one of the slides.
FROGS!
The most fun and unique part of North Park Community Park is the over 100 frogs hidden all around the park!
You can’t miss this guy, hanging out by the playground with his enormous tongue (which my daughter also enjoyed HAHA)! I won’t show you all the frogs here… you gotta find them for yourself!
Public Art
I loved some of the beautiful pieces incorporated in this park. According to Stone Paper Scissors, “the playground… contains areas of active play, open-ended creative play, developmental challenges for different ages and abilities, and opportunities for family interaction. Sculptural elements include audio experiences, an interactive water feature, 2 human sundials, integrated educational components, a colored concrete sculptural climbing structure and two kinetic steel and concrete sculptures.”
Shaded Park with Tables
The grassy area is huge and filled with trees (they aren’t great for climbing though). You can reserve space at this park, but given that the restrooms are usually closed, I don’t know that it would be good to have an event here. It might be a good park for a barbecue, and there are some hot coal bins.
The North Park Water Tower is visible from the park, which is another feature that makes this park feel very “North Park”.
Park Rules
Alcohol is not allowed at this park (24 hour ban) and there is a sign that says the park is closed from midnight to 6am. My feeling is that is because there are people who sleep/live in this park. I’d also like to mention that there is quite a bit of trash at this park. I tried to pick up what I could on my visits, but it seems to be an on-going problem. I suggest keeping an eye on very young kids, and telling older kids not to pick up anything.
Bathrooms & Parking
I’ve visited this park twice, and both times the restrooms where locked.
You’ll find street parking on three sides of the park. The parking closest to the playground is on Idaho. There is street sweeping on the 2nd and 4th TUESDAY of each month, between 7am and 10am – so keep that in mind if you like to get to the park before lunch.
