Adventure Playground: Forts, Mudslides & Rafting

 

FORT BUILDING

 

THE MUD SLIDE

RAFTING

Adventure Playgrounds has been around since the 1930s. Starting in Europe, they were imagined by an architect who noticed that city children liked to play everywhere -- except in the playgrounds he built. So he imagined playgrounds where children would build forts, play in mud and in wide open spaces that would allow city kids to play like children who live in the countryside. Today, there are more than 1000 Adventure Playgrounds spread across Europe and in Japan. In the United States, there are two such playgrounds; both are located in California: Berkeley and Huntington Beach. Berkeley's location is open year-round, but the Huntington Beach location opens from mid-June to mid-August annually.

Sixty miles from home, traveling along one of the world's busiest freeways -- and even then, the playground is worth the trip. When I asked Alex if he liked it, he replied. "No (in that 'ah --duh' sort of tone). I LOVE IT!" There aren't many places where kids can practice rafting on pallets like Tom Sawyer & Huck Finn, or build their own tree house forts. At Adventure Playground, kids are encouraged to get wet and dirty. Safety is monitored strictly. This simple 'boy-scout-like-camp' experience blows away all the kid museums we've visited by allowing the kids the freedom to create and experience fun 'the old-fashioned way.'  When I win the lottery, I'm going to build 1000 in the U.S.