HC09

We visited HC09 on July 20, 2018.

We set out to visit HC08 and HC09. Both appeared on the CA Pathways Map, but it appears that HC08 is no longer there. We parked on Even Star Place and took the path behind Longfellow Elementary School over towards Longfellow Pool. We passed where HC08 should have been, but didn't see any sign of it, so we continued on towards the pool, across the parking lot and basketball court to HC09.  For future reference, parking at the pool parking lot is much more convenient to the tot lot!
At HC09 we found one big kid swing and one baby swing on a shared beam. The big kid swing seemed a bit high off the ground. The plastic slide is about 5 feet high with a couple of bumps going down. The bottom of the slide is also at least 2 feet off the ground. There are steps going up to the slide. There are also a couple of tactile games here - tic tac toe, etc. There was also one unidentifiable object - so if you know what it is, please comment! It seemed like some sort of funnel, but I admit, I don't know what it was for - picture below.
This tot lot had trees around it, but was not that shaded. There are 3 benches to sit on.

slide

swings

benches and tactile games

what is this?

HC13 and HC14

We visited tot lots HC13 and HC14 on April 26, 2018.
We started at HC14, parking on Beatrice Way. However, there are 3 or 4 other streets right there that connect to the tot lot. The tot lot was visible from the top of the path on Beatrice Way, which was nice for the kids to see. This was a nice sized tot lot, with lots of space to play. The swing sets are set off in one space - 2 baby swings and 2 big kid swings. The big kid swings are a bit high off the ground. There's a nice large slide structure here. A ramp goes up to the top, (or there's a metal ladder on the side), and the slide is about 6 feet high, plastic with a couple of bumps going down. The bottom of the slide is about a foot off the ground. There also 2 bouncy animals and a sandbox here. This tot lot also had a couple of 'donated' items - a small plastic toddler slide and a small plastic picnic table.
There are 4 benches to sit on. It seems as if this would be a fairly well shaded tot lot as well.

swings

slide structure

another view of the slide structure

bouncy animals

From HC14 we walked to HC13. With 2 preschoolers and a toddler, the walk was about 7 minutes.  This is a smaller tot lot, but the kids still had a lot of fun. If you wanted to go directly to this tot lot it is directly off Eliots Oak Rd. There is one baby swing and one big kid swing. 2 bouncy animals and a sandbox. The slide structure has steps going up. The slide is about 4 feet high, plastic, with one bounce going down. There is one bench to sit on.

swings

slide structure

sandbox and bouncy animals

Tot lots HC15 & HC16

We visited tot lots HC15 & HC16 on April 18, 2017. Since these are right next to the Swansfield Mini Water Park, I wanted to make sure to visit them before the pool opened and it would be super busy.
Parking is easy because there is a lot off of Cedar Lane for the Water Park/Neighborhood Center. These tot lots are also directly across the street from Swansfield Elementary School.
A note about the Harper's Choice Tot Lots. When using the CA Pathways app on an iphone only 2 of the Harper's Choice tot lot list. On a different type of smartphone, the app seems to list the HC tot lots. So, if you're searching for them, you may just have to look around on the map a bit!

HC16 is a great tot lot, the only downside being that there's no shade. It's actually more like the park playgrounds. It is divided into 2 sections - one area for kids ages to 2-5 and another for kids ages 5-12.
In the area for ages 2-5 there are 4 benches around it to sit on. There's a very nice, full sandbox (but no toys). There are 2 bouncy cars, although as my daughter pointed out, one had a lot of sand in it. There are 2 baby swings. There is a very nice jungle gym type thing with 4 slides attached to it. 2 slides are right next to each other, going straight down, the third slide has bounces going down, and slide number 4 curves. My daughter was in heaven :)

  

sand box

slides/jungle gym

There is a separate section that has 3 big kid swings, and one special needs swing with a harness. All of the swings are a nice height, not too high off the ground, so fairly easy to get on, even for a small child.

The play area for ages 5-12 has a large jungle gym with 2 slides attached. These slides are both plastic, but much taller. One was about 5 1/2 feet tall, and the other was 6 feet or higher. There's a plastic 'mountain' to climb up as well as a swinging ladder. There are all sort of other climbing apparatus attached as well. Additionally there is a small 'zipline' type thing, and one other small climbing thing. I don't know what it is called though.  There are 3 benches around this area to sit on.

jungle gym/slides

zipline

My almost 4 year old enjoyed playing on both sections of HC16. Since there were only 2 other kids there while we were playing, I didn't mind. However, I suspect on a busy day, the area for ages 5-12 could be a little rough for a smaller child.


HC15 is on the other side of the Water Park/Neighborhood Center. It also backs up to an apartment complex. It is much smaller. The plaque was also missing, but based on the map, I knew it was HC15.
Although this tot lot was smaller, it did have some nice nature-y architecture. It was more shaded at this tot lot. There are 2  benches to sit on. There was one (sad looking) bouncy animal. Two big kid swings, and one baby swing.  There was a sandbox here as well. There was a cool ladder to climb up to the slide, which was metal and about 4 feet high.

HC4, HC5, HC7

We visited three tot lots in Harpers Choice on October 6, 2015.  One note about the Harper's Choice tot lots. When I looked on the CA Pathways app it only listed 2 tot lots, but there are many more. However, on my husband's app it does list all of the HC tot lots. (possibly a difference btwn using the app on an iphone vs. non-iphone?)
HC4 is right off of Harpers Farm Road, parking near 5525 Harpers Farm Road.  HC4 and HC5 are right by an apartment complex and serve more as tot lots for those in the apartments. HC4 has one adult swing and one baby swing. The baby swing is a bit high. There is also a small sit sandbox and one bouncy animal.  There is one bench to sit on.

HC5 can be seen from HC4. It has a slide about 4 feet high, with a bounce in it. There are steps going up to the slide. There is one baby swing and one adult swing. There is one bench to sit on.
HC3 is on the map as being right near HC5, but I did not see it there.

HC7 is about a 10 minute walk away. There is a nice square sandbox with toys. However, the sandbox backs up to a hill that goes down to a creek. So, keep an eye on your little one if they are in the sandbox. The plastic slide is about 4 1/2 feet high and has a couple of bounces in it. There are steps going up the slide, however, the steps are very narrow - my size 6 1/2 foot didn't fit fully on the steps. There is one baby swing and one adult swing.  One bench to sit on.