Anne L. Francis

Cozy Castro Playground

Located in the heart of the Castro district, the Eureka Valley Playground and Recreation Center entertains your kids with indoor and outdoor play areas. Renovated in February 2006 to accommodate children from infancy to age twelve, the small, outdoor playground sports a springy, child safe, rubber ground, two slides, a rope climbing dome, seesaw, and a couple of infant swings, all in good condition.

Inside the recreation center (a few feet away from the playground), you can explore the children's playroom. This room is large and well-equipped with thick, tumbling mats, books and toys, ride-ons, slides, swings, a climbing structure, and tunnels. Children's play classes are held here, but it's open to all kids when classes are not in session.

While Eureka Valley is a great place to bring the kids to play, it does have a couple of safety issues. The playground is surrounded by a metal safety fence, but the gates have broken latches (at this writing and for the past several months), so if you're children can walk, be aware of the escape potential. And know that the occasional stranger does loiter (or sleep or talk to himself) on the sidewalk and park benches near the playground. It's a city -- expect the unexpected.

The center could improve upon the bathroom cleanliness. While the bathroom is conveniently located right in front of the playground entrance and large enough for you, your stroller, and a few kids, it's quite dirty -- everywhere -- and has no changing table. Have your own supplies handy.

Though parking is tough in this neighborhood, Eureka Valley Playground has easy access for pedestrians, with a curb drop-off point right in front of its entrance and a ramp for wheelchairs and strollers. And you can't beat the location for food or other supplies, with first aid kits and ice packs available inside the center itself, a grocery store right next door, and many family-friendly cafes and restaurants a very short walk away.

Happy playing!

Eureka Valley Playground & Recreation Center
100 Collingwood
(between 18th/19th, Diamond/Collingwood)
San Francisco, CA, 94114
415-831-6810

Stars: 3 out of 5