4531 Bryan Ave, Irvine, CA 92620
Hours: Monday-Sunday (Open 24 hours)
Restrooms? Yes. Located in front of the playground on the side of the community center
Playground Surface: Rubber and sand
Parking Lot? Yes. 2 Big dedicated parking lots and street parking as well
Gated/Fenced? No
Overview
Northwood Community Park, also known as “Castle Park”, is an insanely fun and inviting, 17 acre park in the action packed city of Irvine, California. The Fortress themed playground is sure to grab anyone’s attention that visits and kids will come running as soon as they see it. The castle is surprisingly large and while it is the focal point of the playground, 4 other play structures are also present. A huge bonus to the castle is that it is wheelchair accessible and includes long, winding ramps to the top of the castle. Between the castle and the 4 play structures, kids will have enough to occupy them for hours on end.
Additionally, the park features massive lawn areas, tennis courts, picnic areas and ball fields among many other things. A community center is also on sight, along with an amphitheater. This is an incredible park for families and one of my absolute favorites in the impressive, park heavy city of Irvine.
Features
Castle/fortress themed playground with 2 play areas for kids 5-12 years old and 2 play areas for kids 2-5 years old
Castle Play Structure and Main Playground
- Drawbridge type bridge that leads to castle and main play structure area
- Castle (built with 8×8 retaining wall block) has winding walkways/ramps (wheelchair accessible) that lead all around the castle and end at a fireman’s pole
- 2 slides including a spiral slide
- Moving bridge, chain cargo net, monkey bars and tic-tac-toe play panel
- Tire Swing
Second Play Structure (Kids ages 5-12 Years Old)
- 2 slides including a spiral slide
- 4 bench swings
- Swinging bridge, tunnel crawler and 2 separate monkey bars
- Bedrock climber, deep rung arch ladder climber, snake ladder climber, fireman’s pole and chain ladder climber
Toddler Play Areas
- 1 race slide, bedrock climber and lily pad climbers
- Toddler play panels
- 4 baby (bucket) swings
- 8 horse spring jumpers
- 2 clubhouses (1 with benches)
- Sand panning station
Other Amenities
- Big lawn areas, community center, amphitheater and little free library
- 2 soccer fields, 2 tennis courts, half basketball court, handball wall, ball field and shuffle board
- 2 picnic shelters, 14 picnic tables and 4 barbecues
- Exercise equipment stations
Scout’s Story
Today presented my wife and I another opportunity to get outside with our daughter Scout. As Scout has been battling stage 4 cancer for nearly 3 months now, getting outside is currently not always the easiest thing for us. The plan on this day was to take Scout to a few parks on the way to stay with her grandparents, who were visiting for a few nights. Scout finished her last cycle of chemo on October 30th and our next step is to get P.E.T. scans of her tumors in the following weeks. While we wait for scans to figure out Scout’s next steps in treatment, we are currently spending as much time as possible with her, while enjoying every second of each day.
Scout’s Day at Northwood Community Park
After beginning our morning a little late, we arrived at the Castle Playground in Irvine. Of course, just as soon as we had arrived, Scout had fallen asleep. I went to check out the playground and was amazed at how incredible it looked. My wife and I decided to drive down the street to a quieter area and let Scout nap for a bit before returning to let Scout play after she had woken up.
Scout is currently only 17 months old and is still figuring out how to navigate some of the bigger playgrounds. We guided her across the bridges to the castle and other areas as she urged us to help her before taking off on her own.
Despite having just finished up chemo the week before, Scout’s energy levels seemed to be rather high.
A Fun Time for Scout at the Castle Playground
We were in luck as Scout played, as only a mom and her toddler were present and were on the opposite side of the playground from Scout. We knew that Scout’s blood counts would almost surely drop in the coming days and that we would once again be forced to seek confinement inside our house until her counts rise again. It’s important to my wife and I that we still get Scout outside. However it has become quite an effort at times to ensure that we are being as safe as possible to keep Scout away from others to limit the possibility of her getting sick due to her body not being able to fight off illnesses.
Overall, we had a fantastic day at Northwood Community Park and I was impressed by how long and how much of the playground Scout explored. Scout ran and ran until finally we informed her that we would have to leave soon. My wife and I both knew what was coming next. Scout pointed and begged to do her favorite thing before leaving. We made our way over to the swing and obliged her. These have been tough days and weeks for our family as Scout continues to fight. Unfortunately, we are left dealing with a lot of unknowns, but every day and moment we get to spend with Scout outside of treatment, fills our hearts with joy and allows us a brief reprieve from all of the constant fear.
November 7, 2022
