Our visit to Paddlewheel Park was a spur of the moment outing. It wasn’t a Prince George playground we were scheduled to visit this summer with Hike it Baby Prince George; rather, a moment of “get us out of the house.” Sometimes, when you have 2 under 2, you just need out. It takes some time to load them up into the van, and pack the diaper bag to go, but once your there, it is a change of pace.
I admit, I was a little anxious about visiting this Prince George playground. Paddlewheel Park is located off Queensway down by the river. It is a neighbourhood that doesn’t get the best repetition, and for whatever reason I did not feel at ease. There was nobody else at the park at 8:30am on Friday morning, but does anyone go to the park early in the morning? The park appeared well kept and litter free (even more so than North College Park in College Heights).
Paddlewheel Park
This playground is slated to be replaced by the City of Prince George in 2018-2022, according to the city of Prince George playground plan. The playground structure at Paddlewheel Park is located across the street from the riverside park known as Paddlewheel Park. You can find it at 752 Hamilton Ave in Prince George, BC.
Paddlewheel Park playground structure is relatively dated. It features an older style playground equipment in the shape of a paddlewheel. If you take a look from the side, you will see the slide as the nose of the ‘boat’ and two turning things at the back. It took a while for me to notice this, but once you see you, it can’t be unseen. I love the theme, and hope the City of Pricne George keeps the theme with the playground replacement.
The playground features one slide, offers picnic benches, and is offset from the road a fair distance. While the road is quiet, there is traffic and no fence to contain curious toddlers interested in other adventures. The playground structure is most likely rated for 5-12 year olds, but my toddler managed to have some enjoyment out of this Prince George playground. Underfoot you will find sand and overgrown weeds.
There is a set of swing sets to accompany Paddlewheel Park playground. Included is a set of baby swings!
We can’t wait to see this park updated, and will likely return to visit with friends who live in the neighbourhood. Paddlewheel Park would also be a great destination to end or start a river walk.
I was actually surprised by how well kept and litter free this park was when we visited too.
We have friends that live right around the corner and so have now visited it a few times. I know that Queensway itself has a bad reputation but I think like some other areas in PG, it’s crazy how just getting a few blocks away it’s a different story in terms of what is going on. I didn’t know that this park was slated to be replaced and will look forward to seeing what they do with it.