Libbey Park — Attraction in Ojai

This is probably the best park I've ever taken my kids to. It might be their favorite as well. Ojai is this wonderful little town and I like to visit there at least a couple times a year, even though it's almost a two-hour drive away.

Libbey Park is so clean and well-maintained. It's extremely thoughtful in design. One example: parents tend to just sit on benches at parks while their kids play (me-- I'm "parent" and I tend to sit there). So there are benches throughout the park-underneath a gazebo style roof. They're comfortable, roomy and shaded.

Another example: there is a literal sandbox for very small children to play in the same style as the shaded bench seating. You sit on the bench and below you is your toddler playing in the sandbox. This review is making me wish I took photos of everything so that people can see and understand all the little details of this park that I'm talking about. It's so lovely that I can't even begin to describe how much I absolutely adore this park.

I am not a fan of the wood chips because kids tend to get splinters. In fact, two of mine did when we were there last week, which is why I always carry a needle and tweezers with me everywhere we go, so that problem was taken care of quickly. However, the logic behind the wood chips is that if kids fall off structures and hit their heads, they're far less likely to get concussions and other brain injuries against wood chips than they are against sand. The only place there is sand is in the little area I just mentioned earlier.

There is a metal carousel structure that every child just loves. It has to be manually spun, which is exhausting since it can carry like sixteen teenagers easy but it's so much fun. There are several sets of swings but one in particular can carry several children at once. Even I like swinging on it.

The play structure is designed for kids of different ages and it's so big. I've never seen one so nice before. There's a bridge, rock climbing, rope climbing-- the whole shebang. The kids played for over four hours and they still didn't want to leave.

There's a large fountain in the front that's just for aesthetics but small children will play in it as well. There is a path for taking walks as well as a bridge that leads to who knows where (I've never actually crossed it because every time we visit, the kids are so consumed with playing that we barely leave that area). Libbey Park is huge. Next time we go, I'll do a better job at documenting everything and exploring more of it.

Besides the wood chips, the only other thing I don't like are the ancient restrooms. They're old, creepy and the stalls are weirdly designed. You'll see what I mean if you ever need to use it.

Part of what makes it so clean is that there are several trash receptacles throughout the park. They're two-parters: one trash, one recyclables. I promise you, every time I've seen them full, I come back around later and they're completely emptied. It's like it's on a schedule to constantly empty them.

If you're in the area, you really should check...

Libbey Park is the heart and soul of downtown Ojai and just received a full facelift that brings new vitality and energy to the park. A new kids playground added tons of high quality equipment for the kids to romp around on with plenty of seating for the less energetic in the group aka adults.

Misters and plenty of natural and artificial shade make it pleasant even on the warmest of Ojai Valley days.

One of our favorite new weekend family routines is to grab takeout food from one of the many nearby restaurants and bring it to the park. The playground provides the perfect incentive for the kiddos to finish all their food and gives the adults a nice rest after crazy morning hikes or bike rides.

Beautiful regardless of whether you're visiting in spring, summer,...

My rating does not reflect the entire park, just my specific experience the one afternoon we visited. Walked around the park, chose a picnic bench by the nice kids play area for a snack break but soon noticed caterpillars then little red specks all over the table, then realized these specks looked like tiny spiders on the bench and then on my pants and arms... eewww! (Looked them up online and I think they are harmless clover mites). Then went to the bathroom and one stall was disgustingly a diarrhea explosion. Other than these experiences, the park is idyllic. Seriously though I think my experience...