Slater Avenue Playground inside Huntington Beach Central Park

The Slater Avenue playground inside Huntington Beach Central Park is not the actual name of the park. This is just a way to identify the playground off Slater Avenue that sits inside the boundaries of the sprawling Central Park.

It is at the top inside corner of the east side of the park with a parking entry right off Slater. Very close to the Arco and Armstrong’s Nursery at the corner of Slater and Goldwest. In fact, the playground is behind the Arco — but you need to park in the park’s parking lot to get to it.

This not to be confused with the popular neon green treehouse playground near Kathy May’s Lakeview Cafe on the west side of the park or the Adventure Playground only open during the summer near the library. I have blog posts about both of those spots linked at the bottom of this post.

Instead, this used to be a pretty basic playground that was somewhat popular due to its location, yet never even made its way to my blog because it was always crowded and nothing very special about it.

This is a really nice upgrade with lots more color and some fun play elements in a space that makes it really easy to see the kids from all angles. You will want to be a little vigilant about supervising here because it is right next to a parking lot and public restrooms.

Directions to Slater Avenue Playground: This playground has a parking lot directly adjacent. You can enter the parking lot off Slater whether you are coming from the Gothard/Beach Blvd direction or the direction of Edwards. Most likely, you will be steered here by maps to come off the freeway at Beach Blvd and turn onto Slater where you will make your turn into the parking lot. MAP TO SLATER AVENUE PLAYGROUND INSIDE HUNTINGTON BEACH CENTRAL PARK

Highlights:

Like I said, I love the colors of this playground!

It’s compact and easy to watch the kids.

The big play structure has climbers on the outside and inside, plus a twisty tunnel slide.

The smaller play structure is perfect for littles with a smaller tunnel slide, a blue slide, and some interactive panels.

The playground is sand-free. The previous one had sand, so I think you will like this part of the upgrade.

It’s part of the bigger Huntington Beach Central Park so there are so many things to do nearby!

Lots of nature with ponds and ducks (please don’t feed them).

2 bench swings.

A small clubhouse which can be fun for pretend play.

Be Aware:

This is a big park and a popular park, so it can get busy with festivals and events. Be aware of your surroundings since you are at the corner of the park near a parking lot.

I found the bigger play structure, closest to the wall, to be tough to fit into to assist a younger child. You pretty much need to be doubled over in half. There are two pretty steep drop zones at each end of the structure (see photo below). Playgrounds are usually rated 2-5 and 5-12. I think the bigger one is best for 4 or 5 year olds and up who won’t fall and will want this climbing challenge.

On that big structure, little ones would be better to go up the stairs and down the small blue slide for their size (see photo below), without venturing inside further.