Rancho Mission Viejo, CA 92694
Hours: Monday-Sunday (7 AM-9 PM)
Restrooms? No. There are restrooms inside the community center (behind the playhouses) but I believe they are for residents only
Parking Lot? Yes. There are about ten designated parking spots in front of the play area. Street parking is available as well in the surrounding neighborhoods
Playground Surface: Synthetic lawn
Gated/Fenced? Yes. The play area is fully fenced with a gate that closes upon entry
Overview
The toddler playhouses at “The Garage” (community center) are a great pit stop for those with toddlers. The community center (the garage) is for local residents of the Rancho Mission Viejo neighborhood only. However, as far as I know it is fine to use the playhouse area. I couldn’t imagine anyone coming and kicking toddlers out of a play area. As long as visitors are respectful and not in a big group, I’m sure the community will have no problem. There is also an artificial turf area behind the playground for kids to run around. There are only 2 playhouses but they are super cute and toddlers will really enjoy them. The area is small but is completely fenced and gated.
The best bet for visiting this area, is to take a few hours to enjoy it. The residential area is super quiet and relaxing. After (or before) visiting the playhouses, visitors will surely want to make the quick walk right down the street, to the must see “Backyard” playground. Regardless of what order you decide to visit these places, walk and don’t drive. The short walk will bring visitors to a cute chalkboard that kids can use along with a few other areas that are worth the quick walk. In addition, Esencia Zipline Park is a short walk in the opposite direction, although the zipline seems to always be broken. This is a great area and a great place to spend a few hours with the kids.
Features
Two playhouses in a small, fenced and gated area with artificial lawn
- Pretend kitchen set and toddler table
- Hopscotch area
- Playhouse with a front porch
- Table, chairs, chalkboard and make believe kitchen inside
- Separate Playhouse with a front porch and a kayak inside of it
Scout’s Day at the Playhouses at the Garage
My wife and I, along with our daughter, Scout, rather frequently take trips towards San Diego. This weekend would be no different. Our reasoning for visiting this time was to meet up with our daughters grandma and grandpa. One of the biggest things we have come to realize when traveling with a toddler, is that it is always easiest to make stops along the drive to keep her entertained. I mapped out a few places on this day and our first stop of the morning would be the “Backyard” playground in Rancho Mission Viejo.
After letting Scout play here for some time, I told my wife that I wanted to check out a little play area that caught my eye on the drive in. I didn’t know what it was going to be exactly, but we decided to check it out. The short walk over was great and there were multiple areas to stop and sit and a cool chalkboard for kids. We took a left at the street corner and could now see the little playhouse area. This whole area was just so relaxing and we were just enjoying our morning and time being outside.
We made it over to the playhouses and entered through the gated area. This area is so great for toddlers. Scout (who had just turned 2) ran between the two playhouses countless times. Her favorite thing was climbing in and out of the little kayak and just having her mom and I chase her.
This was such a great start to the morning and we were excited to get on the road and see what else the day would bring us on our way to San Diego.
May 26, 2023
Scout’s Story
As I have wrote about on so many occasions, Scout was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer almost one year ago. Exactly a month prior to this day, Scout, underwent a 10 hour surgery to remove cancerous tumors from her liver and rectum. After a few weeks of living in the hospital while Scout recovered, we arrived home on May 5. Two days later on May 7th, Scout would turn 2 and on May 8th we visited the clinic that Scout gets treated at to see the doctors. We were aware that the pathology of her tumors was back and our oncologist would go over the results with us. After a bit of discussing all the ins and outs, Scout’s oncologist informed us that there was no active cancer left in her rectum or liver. Scout’s cancer would be being placed into remission one day after her second birthday.
This was such a monumental moment for us. There is still a lot of work to do going forward. We will be monitoring the small portion of the tumor that the surgeon had to leave behind which at this time is benign mature teratoma. Our next step is for Scout’s surgeon to remove her central line from her chest in one week. She has been living with this since diagnosis and we are looking forward to her being able to get in the water and get wet again. So many things have happened so fast but we are so excited to be moving in an upwards direction. Our days will continue to be filled with Joy and appreciating every moment that we get to spend with our daughter.
May 26, 2023
