12500 Excelsior Dr, Norwalk, CA 90650
Hours: Monday-Sunday (Sunrise to Sunset)
Restrooms? Yes. Located in front of the parking lot
Playground Surface: Rubber
Parking Lot? Yes. Huge dedicated parking lot just in front of playground
Fenced/Gated? No
Overview
Holifield Park is a small, quiet park, located in the city of Norwalk. Even as we visited on a summer weekend, there were very few people around. The majority of visitors that are present will be from the little league baseball games that take place here. The ball fields are very nice and there is a full basketball court as well, although it’s a little bit worn down.
One of the newer additions is the playground directly in front of the parking lot. The playground’s main attractions are the multi-tiered tower with two amazing, large slides and a zipline that kids will go crazy for. Beautiful oak trees provide shaded areas in the grass for relaxing or picnicking. A second, less spectacular playground is a short walk from the main playground. Overall, this is a great playground, especially for toddlers, and is worth a quick visit for those in the area.
Features
Tower Play Structure
- Colorful tower play structure with 3 levels and 2 large slides coming out of it, including a wave slide and a spiral slide
- Zipline
- 2 bench swings and 2 baby (bucket) swings
Toddler Play Structure (Kids Ages 2-5 Years Old)
- Clubhouse for toddlers with a tunnel crawler and small slide
Other Amenities
- Baseball fields and full basketball court
- 5 picnic tables and reasonable amount of lawn space
- Second smaller playground a short walk from the main playground
Scout’s Story
My wife and I decided to take a quick Sunday morning trip to nearby Holifield Park to let our daughter, Scout, get a little bit of energy out. Exactly three months prior to this day, Scout was preparing to undergo a 10 hour tumor resection surgery on cancerous tumors in her pelvis and liver. After 9 months of battling stage 4 cancer and undergoing numerous cycles of chemotherapy and treatment, Scout finally received her opportunity to be operated on. Just weeks after the surgery (and one day after Scout turned 2) we were shocked when we were presented with the news that Scout’s cancer was being placed into remission and that her surgery went about as well as we could have hoped.
As Scout has now been in remission for nearly two months, our family is still slowly attempting to get back to normal life. Scout is now able to play with other kids without us being in constant fear of her getting sick. Additionally, Scout no longer has any restrictions as to what she can do or where she can go. The smallest things are such a joy to watch as she progresses in her motor skills and development as a toddler. On this day, my wife and I watched as Scout navigated the tower play structure and came down the large slides a few times before begging to ride the zipline over and over.
Shortly after finishing with the zipline, Scout made her way to the bench swings and we watched as she sat and swung completely by herself. Only once before had Scout ever swung in a swing that wasn’t a baby swing. I watched as this time she completely managed to swing entirely by herself. It felt like something so basic and so simple, but for some reason it made me get a little emotional. After watching Scout continuously fight since being diagnosed with germ cell tumors at 15 months old, I was now watching our little girl, looking completely healthy and growing up so fast. Something as simple as her swinging by herself was nearly bringing me to tears.
The smiles and joy that exudes from Scout brings our family so much happiness. I know I have said it a million times, but I will say it again. These small moments are never lost on us. Each day, activity and adventure, is something that we will never take for granted and are continuously grateful for. I am so excited for the coming weeks and months and to see where our newly refocused lives lead us.
July 23, 2023
