Discover 2 Natural Parks for the Price of One (Free!)

Shake up that playdate with these new natural parks that are much more than swingsets and monkey bars - kickstart your new year with a park that combines ecology and biology lessons with sliding, puddle-stomping and climbing!

By jen arrow January 1, 2014

It’s time to shake up that usual playdate plan! These two Westside parks (Tongva Park in Santa Monica, which opened earlier this year, and three-year-old Legacy Park in Malibu) are both part of the new “natural parks” movement. So much more than swingsets and monkey bars; kids can learn about native plants, the water cycle and community enrichment, all while still getting to slide, puddle-stomp and climb up, up, up. Both parks beautifully balance wild touches with an ultra-contemporary, family-friendly appeal that will have your kids asking to go back again and again.

Take a look:

X Marks the Urban Hot Spot

Even the bathrooms at Tongva Park are garden gorgeous! This divine purple vine is being trained in decorative criss-cross pattern over the exterior utility building and restrooms. Everything about the park (including those potties) is pristine, and an on-site maintenance staff will keep it so, especially since park visitorship is expected to increase when the Expo Line to Santa Monica is completed in 2015.

Tongva Park
1615 Ocean Avenue
Santa Monica, Ca 90401
Hours: 6 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Online: tongvapark.squarespace.com

Legacy Park
23500 Civic Center Way
Malibu, CA 90265

-Jennifer Arrow

Have you visited these, or any of Los Angeles’ other new natural parks (like Vista Hermosa Natural Park near downtown or Augustus F. Hawkins Natural Park in south L.A.)? Which is your fave? Tell us in the comments!

Images courtesy of the author.