# The best playgrounds in Los Angeles Written 2026-10-25 by Play Day. Los Angeles playgrounds by area, from Shane's Inspiration in Griffith Park to Grand Park's splash pad and Venice, and which have restrooms, shade and water play. Los Angeles is Hollywood, the beach and Griffith Park, 4,000-odd acres with the [Los Angeles Zoo](https://ourplayday.com/places/los-angeles-zoo-botanical-gardens-los-angeles), a merry-go-round and a [Griffith Park & Southern Railroad](https://ourplayday.com/places/griffith-park-southern-railroad-los-angeles) inside it. [Shane's Inspiration](https://ourplayday.com/places/shane-s-inspiration-los-angeles), in that same park, opened in 2000 as the first inclusive playground in the western United States. Downtown, [Gloria Molina Grand Park](https://ourplayday.com/places/gloria-molina-grand-park-los-angeles) has a splash pad between City Hall and the Music Center, and [Vista Hermosa Natural Park](https://ourplayday.com/places/vista-hermosa-natural-park-los-angeles) has a nature playground with the skyline behind it. Venice has two play areas right on the boardwalk, and the Valley got a space-themed one with the planets on poles. [Tongva Park](https://ourplayday.com/places/tongva-park-santa-monica) in Santa Monica and the pirate ship at [Reese's Retreat](https://ourplayday.com/places/reese-s-retreat-at-brookside-park-pasadena) in Pasadena are just over the city line, and both are worth the drive. ## Downtown and Echo Park ### [Gloria Molina Grand Park](https://ourplayday.com/places/gloria-molina-grand-park-los-angeles) Neighborhood: Downtown Twelve acres from the Music Center to City Hall, between First and Temple, with a splash pad and the restored Arthur J. Will Memorial Fountain, which has a pool you can wade in. The park's four areas are the fountain, a small performance lawn, a community terrace and the big event lawn, with the playground and splash pad among them. [The Broad](https://ourplayday.com/places/the-broad-los-angeles) is about five minutes' walk, and there's a Starbucks and a dog run in the park itself. Tip: The Metro B or D Line stops at Civic Center/Grand Park. - Restroom: Yes - Water play: Yes - Ages: All ages ### [Vista Hermosa Natural Park](https://ourplayday.com/places/vista-hermosa-natural-park-los-angeles) Neighborhood: Echo Park A nature-themed playground in ten and a half acres of meadows and oak savannah, with walking trails, streams, picnic grounds and the downtown skyline in view. The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority runs it, and there's an outdoor amphitheater set in a grotto and a soccer field shared with the school next door. [Patton Street Park](https://ourplayday.com/places/patton-street-park-los-angeles), a five-minute walk, has a play area and outdoor fitness equipment. - Restroom: Yes - Shade: Yes - Ages: All ages ### [Echo Park Recreation Center](https://ourplayday.com/places/echo-park-recreation-center-los-angeles) Neighborhood: Echo Park The play area is a few blocks from Echo Park Lake, with picnic tables, barbecue pits, lighted tennis and basketball courts and a soccer field around it. The lake, about five minutes' walk, has walking paths and the [Echo Park Lake swan boats](https://ourplayday.com/places/echo-park-lake-swan-boats-los-angeles). - Ages: All ages ### [Orthopaedic Hospital Playground](https://ourplayday.com/places/orthopaedic-hospital-playground-los-angeles) Neighborhood: South of downtown A dragon mister, a sound pad, a sensory slide and a spinner, with no sand anywhere, on a playground built with Shane's Inspiration in 2008 at the orthopaedic hospital on Flower Street. The restrooms have changing tables. - Water play: Yes - Accessible play: Yes ## Griffith Park and Pasadena ### [Shane's Inspiration](https://ourplayday.com/places/shane-s-inspiration-los-angeles) Neighborhood: Griffith Park Two acres of Griffith Park that the city's parks department gave for it, redesigned in 2019 with shade sails over rubber surfacing, a roll-on merry-go-round under a dome, a music panel and basketball hoops at several heights. Inclusion Matters by Shane's Inspiration, the nonprofit that began with this playground, has built dozens more around the city since. The [Griffith Park & Southern Railroad](https://ourplayday.com/places/griffith-park-southern-railroad-los-angeles), running since 1948 on a track that stretches over a mile past the pony rides and an old Western town, is about a mile away on Crystal Springs Drive, and the [Los Angeles Zoo](https://ourplayday.com/places/los-angeles-zoo-botanical-gardens-los-angeles) is about the same. The park's merry-go-round, built in 1926, has 68 horses, every one a jumper. - Swings: Yes - Accessible play: Yes - Ages: Ages 3 and up ### [Reese's Retreat at Brookside Park](https://ourplayday.com/places/reese-s-retreat-at-brookside-park-pasadena) Neighborhood: Pasadena A giant pirate ship, a glider boat, a track ride and a zip line, universally accessible and opened in 2011 behind the aquatic center in Brookside Park, Pasadena's largest maintained park at 61 acres, just south of the Rose Bowl. [Kidspace Children's Museum](https://ourplayday.com/places/kidspace-children-s-museum-pasadena) is about six minutes' walk, and the park has picnic tables and barbecue pits for after. - Restroom: Yes - Shade: Yes - Water play: Yes - Swings: Yes - Accessible play: Yes - Ages: All ages ## Mid-city, the Westside and the beach ### [Pan Pacific Park central inclusive playground](https://ourplayday.com/places/pan-pacific-park-central-inclusive-playground-los-angeles) Neighborhood: Fairfax The main playground at Pan Pacific Park, with picnic tables, an amphitheater and a jogging path around it, and [Renée's Place](https://ourplayday.com/places/renee-s-place-at-pan-pacific-park-los-angeles), a second, universally accessible playground from 2008, about three minutes away in the same park. [The Grove](https://ourplayday.com/places/the-grove-los-angeles) is a five-minute walk. - Restroom: Yes - Shade: Yes - Water play: No - Swings: Yes - Accessible play: Yes - Ages: Ages 3 and up ### [Bill Rosendahl Del Rey Park (Glen Alla Park)](https://ourplayday.com/places/bill-rosendahl-del-rey-park-glen-alla-park-los-angeles) Neighborhood: Del Rey A sensory slide, a climbing wall and a whale sand area, built with Shane's Inspiration in 2010, with picnic tables, paddle tennis courts, lighted basketball and an off-leash dog park in the rest of the park. - Restroom: Yes - Fenced: Yes - Shade: Yes - Swings: Yes - Accessible play: Yes - Ages: Ages 3 and up ### [Venice Ocean View Playground](https://ourplayday.com/places/venice-ocean-view-playground-los-angeles) Neighborhood: Venice Two play areas on the boardwalk at the Venice Beach Recreation Center, with the [Venice Skate Park](https://ourplayday.com/places/venice-skate-park-los-angeles) about three minutes' walk. Muscle Beach, the basketball and handball courts, a gymnastics area, pickleball, sand volleyball and a fishing pier are all on the same stretch of Ocean Front Walk. - Fenced: Yes - Ages: Ages 3 and up ### [Tongva Park](https://ourplayday.com/places/tongva-park-santa-monica) Neighborhood: Santa Monica Six acres within walking distance of the Santa Monica Pier, laid out in four sections with play structures, sculptures, and a splash pad that runs through the summer. Picnics go under the shaded trees or up on Gather Hill, and the park puts on free cultural performances. - Restroom: Yes - Shade: Yes - Water play: Yes - Ages: Ages 3 and up ## The Valley ### [North Weddington Park](https://ourplayday.com/places/north-weddington-park-los-angeles) Neighborhood: Studio City Rocket's Universe, a space-themed inclusive playground from 2017, has the planets on poles around a rocket tower, a moon to climb, a spaceship, a roller slide, an omni spinner, a We-Saw teeter-totter, a cozy dome, a sensory moon wall and music chimes. The recreation center beside it has picnic tables and an indoor basketball court. ### [Mason Park](https://ourplayday.com/places/mason-park-los-angeles) Neighborhood: Chatsworth A splash pad beside the inclusive playground, built in 2014 with an omni swing, a double teeter-totter and a starburst climber. The recreation center has picnic tables, a stage and lighted ball fields, and runs a preschool and camps. - Water play: Yes - Accessible play: Yes ## Put it into a trip For a day-by-day plan with playground stops between the big sights, see [3 days in Los Angeles](https://ourplayday.com/guides/united-states/california/los-angeles/3-days-in-los-angeles). Where to sleep has its own guide: [The best family hotels in Los Angeles](https://ourplayday.com/guides/united-states/california/los-angeles/family-hotels). Page: https://ourplayday.com/guides/united-states/california/los-angeles/best-playgrounds