Parks for a Crawly 9 month old?
Hey!
Our daughter's not walking yet, but still has tons of crawling energy. She loves pulling herself up and cruising as well. Any good places to go? Having trouble finding a specific park that fits this specific transition phase...like, I know she'll be walking soon enough, but what to do until then?
May 16, 2022
Parent Replies
Snow Park has a toddler playground that has a gate. Def some stuff for her to crawl around on. I took my daughter there as a crawly and still go there and she’s 2+
Here are some ideas:
Peggy Thompson Pierce Street Park in Albany has a great little kids/crawlers playground which is fenced in.
Christie Park in Emeryville also has a nice crawler area with little mounds in the rubber flooring and things to pull up on.
If you are willing to drive a little, Hal Brown Park in Larkspur has a great crawlers area with lots to explore on the ground.
Have fun!
You could try the bay area discovery museum in Marin. They have a nice tot area for crawlers and early walkers with lots of padding and things to pull up on.
Totland in Berkeley is all fenced in and has a sandpit. We spent a lot of time there when the kids were younger.
Also, we used to live near San Pablo park and there is also a fenced-in area there. It is often empty in case you're worried about other children bowling over the young one.
Finally, live oak park has an even smaller fenced-in area. That's a good one too.
Snow Park's tot area is nice for crawlers/pulling up to stand. There is a low to the ground tube to crawl through, a low slide, and a bridge. My son had fun there before he could walk.
Have you been to Totland? It's a good spot for this age!
I had a wonderful experience with my crawling infant at San Pablo Park in Berkeley where there is wide open grassy fields as well as a nice toddler playground for when she’s older.
Most playgrounds have a tot section for little kids (under 5) where the ground is rubberized and there are smaller play structures conducive to crawling and cruising. Some that come to mind that i know my kids enjoyed during this phase are Totland, Arlington Park, La Loma Park (the stationary train is an excellent opportunity for long-range cruising!), and Cordonices Park. Have fun! :)
Not sure where you are, but Totland is great for this age, especially in the morning.
Tot Lot in Albany! (Not to be confused with Berkeley’s Tot Land, which is also lovely.) This is a small corner lot with tons of push toys, walkers, things to ride on (when she’s ready), etc. Located on the corner of Talbot and Dartmouth. There are often some crawlers and cruisers there, as well as toddlers who want to ride toys (with their grown ups who want to sit down). Hope this helps!
Totland on Virginia is great, as are the toddler playgrounds at San Pablo Park and James Kenney Park. My daughter is also weirdly obsessed with Opal Staniek tot lot in Albany, which is tiny but full of preused plastic toys including lots of things to cruise around on!
I’m curious to hear suggestions as my almost 7 month old has started to cruise and is very determined to keep at it! The Tot Lot in Albany comes to mind as there are benches that could be good for cruising. And the ground is soft. Totland in Berkeley might also work but the ground might be concrete, I can’t remember.
Willard park has a perfect place for crawlers. Fenced in, small structures, little sandpit. There's also Bateman Park (not Bateman Mall Park) that's all sand and full of toys.