Best New Seattle-Area Playgrounds of 2023

Edmonds’ newly renovated Civic Center Playfields are a hot spot for family recreation. The 8-acre site serves as a community gathering spot, provides playfields for youth and adult sports, and promotes outdoor activity for all ages. Most enticing to young kids is Mika’s Inclusive Playground, a play space for kids of all abilities. Built and named in memory of a local boy, Mika Zimbalist, this playground features accessible elements.

While Mika’s Playground is a bit of a mish-mash of playground styles, it totally works. Climb on wood-framed rope climbers, then dance around wooden poles that follow a sort of labyrinth pattern in the rubber surface. Zip down a small hillside on a wide metal slide, then take a turn on the digger to dig into a gravel pit. A large basket swing and other swings honor Mika, who loved to swing. A zero-barrier carousel has space for two wheelchairs and can be pushed from the outside or self-propelled by riders from a wheel in the center.