The Playgrounds of Ocean Beach Get a Flunking Grade

Ebers Street “Tot Lot”

As Ocean Beach becomes increasingly like one gigantic play ground for adults, we decided to check out the other type of playgrounds – the ones for kids, here in Ocean Beach – and see how they’re doing in comparison.  I took my 10-year-old granddaughter Bella with me to get a kid’s eye view on everything.  I asked her to give a letter grade for each playground we visited.

And we have to report back that the playgrounds of OB – in total – are not doing well. In fact, overall, they get a “D”.

Robb Field Playground = D+

The very first playground we visited was the one in Robb Field. It’s got 2 sets of swings, a tire swing, 1 small slide and a climbing dome – all within a large sand pit. And it has a few benches around part of the sand.

Robb Field equipment is over 45 years old.

Mind you, the equipment there was brand new when they were installed – way, way back in the 1970s!! Robb Field’s playground equipment is at least 45 years old – and has not been replaced.  All the equipment is metal – which means it gets hot to the touch in the dead of summer. Hardly any kids were there, either, when we came by.

“Old school” tire swing.

Bella was not very impressed with the equipment here – and especially after I told her it was older than her dad. She gave it a D+.

Dusty Rhodes playground.

Dusty Rhodes Playground = C+

Across a busy highway sits another playground on the western edge of Dusty Rhodes Park. In order to get there, you pretty much have to drive or bike over there with your kids or brave West Point Loma Drive, Sunset Cliffs Boulevard if you’re walking or pushing a stroller. So, right off the bat, it’s not very accessible.

This playground does have more modern equipment – it’s got 2+ slides, a swing, 2 different “monkey bars” and 2 sets of modern equipment. Of all the playgrounds in OB, this definitely has the best stuff to play on for larger kids.

We were there on a holiday and not a kid was there. Because it is hard to get to, we gave it a C+.

Mariner’s Cove Playground = D

Mariner’s Cove

We drove into the large expanse known as Mariner’s Cove to see if they have any playgrounds at all for the hundreds of apartments and all the kids that live there. Mariner’s Cove along Nimitz Boulevard is part of Ocean Beach. It does have a couple of swimming pools – and yet as we drove through on that holiday – we didn’t see one kid playing or out in streets or greens.

We did find a fairly small playground with modern equipment. But for all the young that presumably live there, it was tiny. Definitely not accessible to the rest of Ocean Beach either.

Small playground in Mariner’s Cove.

So, it’s okay for a few kids that live there, but in terms of being a playground for all of OB kids, it fails. We gave it a D.

Collier Park “Playground” = F

Collier Park picnic tables and horse-shoe pits.

One of the most beautiful pocket parks in OB is Collier Park West in northeast OB. It has a gently sloping hill with lots of grass, huge trees, a few benches, some picnic tables and 2 horse-shoe pits.

But no playground equipment. Not one piece.

The playground equipment used to be right here.

It used to. It had a see-saw horse, some swings and some other equipment. But when it all deteriorated from all that salt air, the equipment was taken out, piece by piece, and never replaced. I spoke to some parents during Bella’s and my visit and they commented it would be very nice if there was some equipment for small kids there.

Collier Park was part of a much larger piece of land that OB’s “father” DC Collier donated to the city. As a small park, it’s a wonderful place to throw frisbees or walk your dog on a leash, but in terms of being a playground for small kids, it fails. (I’m not suggesting either that small children always need play equipment – a large grassy field is always good to crawl or run on.)

Ebers Street Tot Lot = B+

The best playground in OB for small kids and tots is the Ebers Street “tot lot” right near the OB Rec Center – formerly called by the city “Ocean Beach Park”.

It has 2 tot slides, 1 swing set and modern equipment, all encircled by a small wall, picnic benches and grass.

Tot lot has rubberized ground material .

To top it off, it has a nice, bouncy, rubberized ground surface within the walled-off area – which did impress Bella. Larger kids, however, would get very bored here quickly. Plus, Bella thought some of the equipment was dirty, so she gave it a B+ overall.

Saratoga Street Park = F

Saratoga Street Park used to have playground equipment – and still may have some in the future.

The last park on our list was Saratoga Park – which may be renamed after OB’s historian Ruth Varney Held – the large grassy area at the foot of Saratoga Avenue, right next to the sand. It does have a few picnic tables. The park has been here for decades and every now and then it would flood and drown all the grass. The City always comes and replants the grass. Before the grass, it had a lot of sand.

And on the sand, it had playground equipment; monkey bars and a swing set. They were taken out years ago. But not replaced. So another “lost” playground for the kids of OB.

To be fair, the new plans for this park do include playground equipment. But they could be years away. In terms of the present, this park also fails as a playground.

Other Playgrounds

There are other playgrounds in Ocean Beach.

OB Elementary School

OB Elementary’s playground equipment is not accessible when the school is closed.

There’s the playground at OB Elementary School. But guess what. When the school is closed, its playground is closed. Inaccessible even to neighborhood children who can only look upon the playsets through the metal fences.

And there’s the playgrounds of private schools and of churches. All inaccessible to neighborhood children.

Of course, there’s the beach, the sea, the tide pools, but that’s nature. We were looking at human-made things for kids. Which wraps up our little study of the playgrounds of Ocean Beach.

In summary: they fail overall. We have a D+, a C+, another D, two F’s, and a B+. That is not a very good grade overall. 3 D’s, 2 F’s, a B and a C. If you came home with a report card like that, you’d probably be in trouble of flunking out.

So, who’s in trouble for the lack of good playgrounds here in OB? Who are the grown-ups responsible for providing a failing grade overall for OB’s kids and their playgrounds?

If you’re a parent – or grandparent – you might want to know.