Bronte Creek – Oakville

I’ve been meaning to take my daughter here since the beginning of summer and finally got around to it with grandma’s help.  I was really impressed by the play areas and the ginormous wading pool.  My 2 year old (plus 5 months) had a fantastic time and so did my 7 ½ month old who was really motoring (i.e. finger walking) in the wading pool.  I’d come back here anytime!

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(Click on the pictures for a larger view)
Area: Oakville, Ontario
Age Range: All ages
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Here’s what I thought about Bronte Creek:

Overall Rating:		Plenty to do at Bronte Creek and I loved the wading pool!
Activities:		Play barn- slides, tunnels, big mats for jumping onto from above, tire swing, rock climbing wall (main floor for 1- 5 year-olds and top floor for 5- 10 year-olds). See pics in the slideshow. 3 outdoor playground sets next to the picnic area by the Playbarn. Wading pool with a surface area of 1.8 acres. At its centre, the pool is 1.8 metres deep. There’s also a sandy area by the pool for kids to play in. Farm animals (goats, chickens, pigs, peacocks, bunnies).  Animal feed is 25 cents.  Grandma got some long dandelion leaves from outside for the goats to munch on. Nature Centre where you can see turtles, fish and there’s a “touch table”. Walking trails, camping and fishing (with a fishing license) also offered.  (We didn’t try these activities.)
Amenities:		Parks Store (offers hot food, drinks, water toys, sunhats and sunblock), washrooms, spacious pool changing area, lockers ($0.25), parking ($), lots of picnic tables throughout the park (including next to the Playbarn around the wading pool).
Value:		We paid $19- $13 for parking (we got the senior rate thanks to grandma), and $3 per adult for the wading pool.

*Rating Guidelines

My daughter loved the Playbarn.  It was a bit busy at first with the summer camp groups but she soon warmed up and was using the slides, running through the tunnels and she even jumped onto the big padded mat from above (while holding my hand )! I like that they have outdoor playground sets by the Playbarn picnic area so if you have older kids, they can play by themselves after they finish eating and the adults can relax and take their time. The Nature Centre was really cool!  There were live turtles and fish, and a touch table where kids can pick up and look at a robin’s nest, coyote skull, deer antler and opposum fur. We spent hours at the wading pool.  There’s a shallow area around the entire pool and clear makers where the water goes deeper.  Plenty of lifeguards on duty.  My daughter had her pail, bucket and shovel, and she played and played.  My baby also loved the pool, walking me around and around (too bad I forgot to put sunblock on my bare back!). You can bring your own food in or buy it at the Parks Store (next to the pool).  Picnic tables are spread throughout the park, including around the pool. The water/ sand toys sold in the Parks Store are reasonably priced.  You can get a pail and shovel for under $2, sand toys for under $3. They even sell kids and infant sunhats and sunblock in case you forget your’s at home.

The animal farm could have been bigger but it’s not the main attraction so no big deal. More shaded areas around the wading pool would be nice.

Here’s a picture of my cutey examining the coyote skull before she decided it was too scary to hold and almost threw it down (luckily my reaction time is lightening fast :-O )

And here’s some more information about Bronte Creek park (correct at the time of posting):

Have you been to Bronte Creek with your kids?  What did you do there?  Did they enjoy it?