McGuane Playground
Based on what I’ve seen during my playground investigation to date, this little playground tucked away off the beaten path behind Darien’s Little League fields is second only to Cherry Lawn. It’s clean, was built in 2003, has 2 playgyms, each of which offers fun activities and slides, a swingset with baby swings, and a feature that I think is really cool on a playground: rubberized safety surfacing, which is a special kind of “flooring” that is soft and has a lot of give to it. In addition to making the playground fully handicapped accessible and meeting ASTM standardsas well as numerous other playground safety certifications by dramatically reducing the “owie” factor of trips and falls, this also means no sand in shoes or socks and no wood chips mysteriously finding their way into underwear or jammed up pant legs.
McGuane Park is located behind the Noroton-Heights Firehouse on Noroton Ave, but you can also access the playground more directly from West Ave by turning onto (oops, have to confirm the name of that street)!
You’ve got all types of slides represented here: covered slides, high slides, low slides, swirly slides … lots of different levels to climb, as well. I know I focus a lot on the slides in these reviews, but my years of experience as a big sister, babysitter and daycare/ pre-school teacher have taught me that, at the end of the day, a playground is only as “fun” as its slides!
McGuane also has one of those plastic rock-formation climbing things, which is definitely a newer playground innovation, as well as some other fun and creative climbing options … but perhaps the biggest bonus of this playground is the fact that there is a relatively clean bathroom up at the concession stand. Oh yes, I said “concession stand:” since McGuane is also the home of the Darien Little League, if you go during game-time, you can also enjoy hot dogs and other refreshments. Going to McGuane playground can be a great end-of-the-day-let-the-kids-tear-around-and-get-nice-and-tired-and-then-eat-dinner-there kind of outing … or just a nice addition to your morning or afternoon walk in the neighborhood.
