Playgrounds for little ones are a special kind of place — we offer our recommendations on where to go with your baby or toddler
Champaign-Urbana is a great place to live and raise kids, and one of the benefits of our community is its impressive parks. The various locations cater to different needs so that everyone has an outdoor space to enjoy those beautiful spring, summer and fall days. Our youngest community members, too, have several great places to explore, learn, play, and socialize.
Chambanamoms thanks Read.Talk.Play.Every Day! with United Way of Champaign County for presenting this list.
Read. Talk. Play. Every Day! is a community-wide initiative to provide preschool-aged children (0-5) and their families with opportunities and resources for reading, talking, and playing, every day so they can enter kindergarten ready for success. Here, you’ll find resources and tools to help engage your child in the three key areas each day. Reading, talking, and playing are essential skills that young children should practice every day – and you are their best teacher!
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Some of the things we look for in a playground for little ones:
- Mulch-free! We love the rubber surfacing you find on many newer playgrounds. Not having to worry about our toddlers stooping down to scoop up a snack of mulch is key. Some of these playgrounds do have mulch, though.
- A playground exclusively for tots is such a win! They won’t be tempted to want to race up the tallest slide on the playground and you’ll be able to let them (more) freely explore if the equipment is mostly built for them.
- Swings where a baby and adult can face each other. These are some of the best playground inventions we’ve seen during our child-raising years. Whomever thought this one up is a genius.
Champaign
Clark Park
900 S. McKinley Ave., Champaign
The Clark Park area is filled with beautiful, historic houses and mature trees. The neighborhood has a comfortable feel to it. The park itself is no different. Clark Park has several playground features, including basketball hoops and tennis courts. The draw for toddlers, though, is the sandbox. It is in a comfortable, shady spot, and it is filled with “communal” dump trucks, beach buckets, shovels, and other toys for digging, building, and moving sand. The sandbox at Clark Park is a toddler’s dream.
Centennial Park
2205 Sangamon Dr., Champaign (near the entrance to Sholem Aquatic Center)
This playground makes a great stop before or after a visit to Sholem, but you can work it in any time of year. Families love the cushiony playground, simple design (easy to supervise here) and musical fun you’ll find integrated into the equipment.
Hessel Park and Splash Pad
1400 Grandview Dr., Champaign
A crowd favorite, Hessel Park entertains residents of all ages, little ones included. The paved walking path is just over a half mile, the perfect distance for a brief walk for little legs or a stroller ride. The playground features two child-parent swings, a playset for little ones with slides and climbing features, and a squishy floor to protect babies and toddlers from inevitable falls. Of course, we can’t feature Hessel Park without talking about the splash pad, which has an area with smaller water features and sprinklers that cater to children under 5. The splash pad is open between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Sunset Ridge Park
4102 Boulder Ridge Dr., Champaign
Sunset Ridge is tucked behind Boulder Ridge at the edge of Champaign, but it’s worth the drive if you have little ones. Not only does it have a skate park, tennis courts, a basketball court, and an open field for frisbee, soccer, or other games, it also has a great playground for toddlers. There are climbing walls and faux-rock features, musical toys, tall slides, and baby swings. Toddlers also enjoy the paved walking path that weaves through prairie and around the park. Note: not a lot of shade here.
West Side Park
400 W. University Ave., Champaign
West Side Park might be the oldest park in Champaign, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a great option for your littles. One reason: if you have babies and toddlers who are runners, this might be the place for you. Why? The playground is gated! This park also boasts one of the best fountains in Champaign-Urbana, which can mesmerize the little ones. Thankfully the fence around it keeps children from getting soaked.
Savoy
Dana Colbert Community Park
203 E. Church St., Savoy
Colbert Park is a must visit on windy days. It is home to the giant hill, which is a great place for flying kites and climbing for older kids. The park features a lake surrounded by a paved path, which is perfect for strolls with babies and toddlers who like to feed the ducks. The playground includes a playset just for little ones, with smaller slides and climb-ables, and two child-parent swings. The new music play is also a hit with toddlers. Oh, and one side benefit: the trains. If your child loves trains, this park is (safely) nestled right up against the tracks.
Urbana
AMBUCS Park
1200 E. University Ave., Urbana
AMBUCS Park is a hidden treasure. The park’s playground is what makes it unique. Like Eisner Park in Champaign, it has a fully accessible playground. In addition to its typical play equipment and elevated sandboxes, it has various uncommon play structures, including a wooden boat, train, and bridge that children can play and pretend in. Toddlers also create songs with the large selection of outdoor musical toys. AMBUCS Park is one of a kind.
Blair Park
1406 S. Broadway Ave., Urbana
One of the newer playgrounds on our list, Blair Park got a recent relaunch. There are plenty of things for toddlers to enjoy here — including some equipment that will require help from a grown-up — and parents with strollers will enjoy a stroll around before or after some play time.
Carle Park
400 W. Indiana Ave., Urbana
Many families with young kids call Carle Park their home away from home, during spring and summer mornings, that is. The big kid equipment and little kid play structures are located close to one another, so if you happen to have older children, they’re going to love this park, too.
Friendship Grove Nature Playscape at the Anita Purves Nature Center
1505 N. Broadway Ave., Urbana
The Nature Playscape embraces the free-spiritedness of children. It’s unique in that all its play features are natural. It includes a small hill that toddlers can climb on or climb under using the tunnel that goes through it. Kids love to balance on the fallen tree and dig in the sandbox. Imaginations can wander using the fort for all sorts of pretend scenarios. As if the beautiful, shady playscape weren’t enough, toddlers love running the boardwalks that wind through the Busey Woods area on the other side of the Anita Purves Nature Center. It’s a sensory experience in nature for children and adults alike. And, if little ones’ legs tire, parents can take strollers on the journey through the boardwalk.
Sunnycrest Tot Lot
505 E. Sunnycrest Ct., Urbana
If you prefer a small, quiet park for your child, this one might be the antidote to some of the larger, grander parks listed above. Tucked into an older Urbana neighborhood, this is a park geared only to kids under 5. There are infant-only swings, a small slide, ride-on animals and a fire truck. All the equipment is specifically designed for little tots, hence the name tot lot.
Want more fun with babies in the Champaign-Urbana area? Here are some more ideas.
