Magical Bridge Playground

This is a gem of all parks.
It’s a fun place with many play structures for toddlers. Highly recommended.

Magical indeed.
We were trying to get Ian to have some fun while the Mrs. and I were out looking after ourselves having one delicious Indian meal after another. So, we Unilocaled and had an option to choose between Palo Alto Children’s museum and this gem of a park. When Unilocalers mentioned that there was no shade, it made us a little leery. However, the weather was in the high 60’s, so we decided to give this place a shot. It was a good decision, to say the least. We parked near the library and took a really quick stroll to the playground.
The kids were B A L L I N G!!! So, were the parents.
I love when kids are involved in physical activity instead of being bogged down by electronic gadgets. We grew up half in the house, and half outdoors getting soaked up by the Tropical Sun. So, it gave me immense joy watching kids jumping, running, interacting with each other, and being… kids.
Pros:
Park and its play area can cater to a hundred energetic kids very easily without the kids running into each other.
There are different things to do for the kids in the single playground sectioned into different age groups.
Playground is barricaded so that kids do not wander away if parents are not paying attention to them.
I have never been to Disneyland, so I cannot comment on whether it is the happiest place on Earth. However, I do think this place has the happiest vibe amongst places I have been to recently.

Such a great park, went there with my 16 month old and he loved it! Lots of other families there with their tots as well. It was very well maintained and cleanly — my son was able to kick off his shoes and run around (his favorite thing!) Definitely going back there if we are in the area.

What a beautiful park! My son had an absolute blast at this park and didn’t want to go home after 2 hours of playing. It’s quite large with different sections. There’s even an area for puppet shows or plays and a seating area for the audience. Lots of big trees which offer good shade. I love the fact that the park was designed for ALL kids and accessible for those with disabilities. My son had the opportunity to play with all kids as young as 2 years old to 15 year olds! No matter the age everyone was having a great time. We will definitely be back and it’s worth the 25 – 30 minute drive from San Jose.

Went there with friends and children. It’s clean, so many things to play for the children. Kids were super occupied by trying everything. Can’t wait to take my 3 year old again… we all loved it… awesome park.

What a fantastic playground for kids of all sorts! It’s filled with unique, fun adventures around every corner.
Despite being in the company of at least another 100 kids (no exaggeration!), it still seemed spacious enough to play and have a turn on most playground equipment. There are definitely some play structures that I have never seen at any other park, which is a welcome change.
My son’s favorites were the toddler slides, as well as the musical flower bells. I also love the musical footprints that make noise when walked on/​by.
I’d love to visit again during non-​peak hours!

2^nd attempt to find this park and finally made it there. The park is surrounded by various structures so when you map it, there’s no way to get there according to the directions. You will have to go to Mitchell Park Center (community center, library, café & park) and walk towards the end of the parking lot to where the tennis court is. There you’ll see a path and sign to the park.
We arrived to the park today and it happened to be its 1-​yr anniversary! The park has many areas for stimulation that caters to both typical and developmental delays children just like The Rotary park in San Jose but bigger. It was crowded but yet the park did not seem packed. The play areas includes: Slide mound (slides of various textures, net climbing) Swing and sway area, music zone, toy zone, picnic & performance area, and spinning zone. The top of the slide mound has a bridge connected to a tree house that oversees the performance & picnic area.
My 3-​yrs old toddler loves this park and calls it «the big park». It was our first visit today and we were there for about 2 hrs. We definitely will drive the distance here whenever we need a change in park scenery!
(-)
–No shades above play areas. Making the slides pretty hot.
–Limited parking as the park is within Mitchell Park which also has a community Center and library.
(+)
–Bathroom right outside of the park.
–Foam cushion throughout the park.
–Water fountain and a water bottle filling station.

I have twin boys just a little under 2 years old and they love this park. There is a toddler area but they love to explore every area of this park. It is fully fenced but older kids sometimes leave the gates open, also there’s an upper and lower gate so you do have to keep a close eye on your little ones if they are runners. Every thing is pretty new and brightly colored. The bathrooms are outside of the gates and more by the tennis courts so not perfect but still 5star worthy.

Awesome place and very innovative play structures for all age group
My 3 year old went crazy looking at so many games at one place
Weekends r a bit crazy with too many kids

I’m not sure if I went to the right park but used my GPS to find the location. The play structures were smaller than expected. I brought my 2 and 6 year old who enjoyed the park with the various areas but for them it didn’t offer them any more than the park
down the street. It was extremely busy on the weekends with large number of families having bbqs. Parking was tough as the adjacent lot filled quickly and several of the nearby side streets are zoned.

Just when I thought my 9-​year-​old was getting bored with playgrounds…
We’re planning a trip to the Stanfurd Theater to watch «Singing In The Rain», and I had four things we could do in the two hours we’d be in PA before the movie. I told her about this playground that was like the Matteo playground in Concord, only far better. The girl picked this playground.
We were here for just over an hour, and I think she could have stayed here longer. She stayed mostly on the slide hill and the Christmas Tree-​looking carousel.
The Magical Bridge Playground has many unusual features to it, and a big aim is to give kids with disabilities a lot of options for having fun while helping themselves grow mentally and physically. Signs tell what each area aims to do. Plenty for both rowdy kids and mellow kids. A community stage is in one corner, and its log «benches» double as a picnic area. A Kindness Corner includes quotes by notable people such as Albert Einstein, Mark Twain, and Mister Rogers. The one that caught my attention was the Magic Harp, an archway that has sensors that play notes when people walk under it — at one time, it was actually playing the background vamp to Chicago’s «Colour My World», in the same key and tempo as the 1971 song.
Another thing. My girl has played at two other playgrounds in Palo Alto. She’s an extrovert always looking to make new friends, but the girls she’s played with have either been snooty or mean. She did not run into that at all at Magical Bridge. The kids are all fun, accepting, good attitudes, and she made new friends of all ages and races here. Whew.
Naturally, I’d like for it to be bigger, but for this age group, it’s probably big enough. The only nit for me to pick is that it’s a long walk from anywhere at Mitchell Park and accessible only by a small bridge over the cemented creek, unless you park in the back of the parking lot at Abilities United on Middlefield.
Your kids will love the Magical Bridge Playground. You will too.

Best playground in Bay Area. A little hot, as there is not much shades. But lots of structures to entertain the kids.
In the words of a 5 year old «Best playground in the whole wide world!»

Awesome+
What can be said? We came here for an hour and fifteen minutes, went out to lunch, then the kids wanted to come back. So we are back going on another hour.
Can easily spend all day here. The grass hills are the most popular. Kids loved running thru the theatre, the turnstile (tall netted one) is where they are playing again at. The swings look like giant car seat rollercoasters-​hilarious!
Grateful for all the folks that sponsored such a park to be inclusive. Very well thought out. The parents and kids here are also very friendly.

Tons of people! But kids young and old are able to play together. Very nice. Tons of fun!

It is magical!
It’s magical because it’s a playground that is almost impossible to get hurt on. I remember my childhood being sand, concrete, tanbark, and if I’m lucky, small pebbles. Now it’s that bouncy foam thing and cushiony slide end piece. You kids will never know what a skinned knee look like.
But seriously, this place is awesome. It’s a playground for all kids regardless of physical abilities and developmental levels. There’s a theater and house structures for dramatic play, a musical area, lots of gross motor activities, spinning discs for proprioceptive and vestibular inputs, and just room to run.
There’s a baby/​infant section as well.

I had heard great things about this place from the local news and other community boards and it was a nice little place to visit with my 2 year old daughter.
I like the fact that most of this playground is handicap accessible and they’ve put a lot of thought into making this place a friendly place for everyone. I think the electric harp was very cool and high tech — truly representative of where we live in the heart of silicon valley.
It was a Saturday mid-​afternoon and the place was packed with other families and their kids. Just around the vicinity is another park and the Palo Alto library. It’s a good place to hang out with the kids!

This is the best playground we have ever been too! Our group ranged from age 2 up to 92 and we all enjoyed ourselves! We loved the instruments, swings and different slides! The spinning area was amazing! I’m glad there are signs leading you back to it because it is a bit hard to spot if you are entering from Mitchell Park!

Don’t make the same mistake we did and go on a Sunday mid-​morning. It is insanely busy! BUT it is an awesome park. Where we parked is near Mitchell Park. To get to the Magical Bridge Playground you need to walk on the gravel path past all the tennis courts. There are 7 different areas that accommodate visitors with different physical and cognitive abilities. This article provides a great summary about the park:
My daughter had the best time in the spinning area. There’s a merry-​go-​round which accommodates wheel chairs which is pretty amazing. And she liked the rolly slides however some of the kids just cut so just be aware and the saucer swings. There’s plenty of places to sit or set up a picnic.

Clean, brand new park. It was designed for kids of all ages and abilities. My daughters had fun with all kids and everyone had a great time. People were friendly and courteous of especially the kids who needed extra attention. Will definitely come back soon and frequently.

What an awesome inclusive park! It’s divided into zones with different themes. Everything is wheelchair accessible. There is also a landing platform for one of the larger slides, so that a child can access a wheelchair after going down the slide. How cool is that!
This park isn’t just inclusive for children either. Parents with disabilities can easily join their children here, too. :)