Codornices Park - 8.5/10

This is a wonderful little park nestled in the Berkeley Hills across from the Rose garden. In addition to a wonderful play area there is a creek, and hiking trails, a tunnel that connects to the Rose garden, picnic area and more.This is a Hillside concrete slide, and boy did it look like fun. It was fast, there wasn't a little slope to help you slow down midway. There were these little kids who were sliding down, and I swore they got some air half way when they made the turn, certainly they slide up the side. it was cool. We decided to save it for another trip.This was the Play structure for the big kids, the tall slide is 8 feet tall, there is a sliding pool, and a climbing net too. It looks like a lot of fun.It's always great having Daddy with us at the park. Holly really has a blast pulling him around, or better yet, letting him chase her. She makes a game of it. She had on her little hat but didn't really need it because it was so nice and Shady in the park.Here Holly is climbing up to the slide. She is getting really good at navigating the stairs and platforms. She pauses to play at the various wall fixtures like these cool xylophone tubes.But it doesn't take long for her to trot over to her most favorite activities. The swings, and of course Daddy is happily waiting to push her.
Check out this fun Video of Holly on the swings. She loves the swings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIhAj2Z0V1c
And of course, everywhere Holly goes she makes new friends. There was this really cool play house shaped like a boat. Holly climbed up into the Boat all on her own to say hello to this little girl. She was about 2.They headed over to the slide together, and climbed up. Holly loves climbing up the slide, and then going down the platform, she just likes to do things backwards.The little girl had an older sister playing with her who looked around 4 and there mom who was sitting on the bench watching them play had a new born around 2 months old in a carrier. The girls were really friendly.The play area was nice because the tot structure was enclosed. The ground was supposed to be wood chips / tree bark, and then there was also a huge sand box. But as one might guess the kids had basically transferred most of the sand out into the playground, so now the ground was a mixture of the sand and bark.Here is our little miss "Cindy Loo" waddling over to play. She is just getting the hang of wearing her shoes in sand. There are so many stages in learning new things, walking, then walking on new surfaces, then walking with shoes, and then wearing shoes on new surfaces. She just recently learned to walk on the bed. She only makes it about 3 steps before tumbling over.I had to include a picture of this tree, it gives you the idea of the character of the park, all old trees and woods. The park is nestled down in a little valley from the road, and you can climb up to several little trails that over look down into the park. There is also a creek in the back near the picnic area.This is an overview from the pathway of the play area. There is also a meadow and basketball court. There is a little bridge that you walk over to get down into the park. When we left we walked up these little "trail" stairs, and Holly walked up them all on her own, well not really, a little help with Mommy's hand.
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=12118

Slides - 1 - Besides the double slide int he little tot playground, there were several large slides and the hillside slide as well.

Swings - 1 - Yes, and they were lots of fun.

Surface - 1/2 - A mix of Sand and Wood in the playground, grass and concrete in the park.

Shade - 1 - Lots of trees and shade, but also a nice sunny patch in the meadow.

Climbing - 1 - lots of places to climb. The structure as well as the hillside.

Parking - 1/2 - Parking isn't great. Street parking up the hill, but it is on a narrow road and limited, especially for such a busy park, and of course the Rose garden is also right there.

Bathrooms - 1/2 - According to the website there is a bathroom in the park, but I don't remember seeing them, so they aren't near the playground.

Distance - 1 - This only just makes the higher score. its only about 3 miles away, but it is up through the windy roads of the Berkeley hillside, so it takes at least 10 minutes if not more.

Friends - 1 - There were lots of children in the park, and other parents to chat with. The mom of the little girl, ended up having 3 older kids as well, who were playing in the other playground. Imagine a family of 6 Yikes!

Fun - 1- So much fun. Lots to do, lay in the grass, take a walk or hike, see the flowers, play in the side, climb, slide, or swing. We had a blast. We went late in the day, so didn't stay too long, but a lot of time could be spent here, especially with a picnic and snacks.