Lodestone Park — Attraction in West Valley City

This park is especially for children who know how to climb and can do so independently. There is something here for everyone though. I would stay away from this park with very small children unless you can arrange to accompany them the whole time. There are things for the littles to do but also many ledges and harder ladders that they could easily fall off. That being said I came here with a 1 year old and we will for sure be back. The park is huge. Imagine 5 neighborhood playgrounds all in one place. There is a pretend river made of fake grass material running through. The structures are inviting to kids. There are places all throughout for grown ups to sit and watch. The play equipment here is a beautiful mix of classic man made playground structures and natural play challenges such as large logs and rocks. It seems to be semi broken up into several smaller sections so I'll talk about each one that we checked out.

Swings for little kids: a lineup that includes several normal swings a couple traditional baby swings, a half baby swing with a strap mechanism, a seat and harness swing, a tire swing, and a platform swing.

Swings for big kids: several normal swings spaced out with lots of room for crazy big kids, and a platform swing.

Sand: just a lot of sand with some kind of water fountain in the middle that I assume kids could turn on and use to fill pretend rivers and build more solid sand structures.

Upper area: includes a climbing structure with spyglass toys and two very large slides that go down the hill. These slides are long and fast, however since it's against a hill it is possible for a grown up to hold on to an adventurous little one to help them down safely (yep, I did this today). They are also super sturdy and would not have a problem supporting a grown up sliding down. This area also includes a cool tunnel slide down to the lower section. It is possible to get up to this area via stairs, rock wall, or rope ladder.

Little kid playground: basic play structure with stairs, climbing equipment, and small slides.

Big kid playground: basic play structure but it is very tall. Many different ways to climb it provides unique challenges for kids to figure out. I have mixed feelings about the fact that there are stairs all the way up because the little one I take is big enough to do stairs but not big enough to be safe up so high. This hasn't been an issue at other playgrounds because the higher parts are usually accessed by harder climbing challenges. But I love that it allows grown ups to access the top level. There is a slide from the lower level and also a very large slide off the higher level.

Climbing ropes: a large structure that is mainly made of ropes. Kids can climb all over this and there are places for them to just sit and hang out.

Misc: this section we didn't check out because it's definitely for bigger kids but I was eyeing it from afar. It includes a very long zip line. I saw an estimate of 60ft and that wouldn't surprise me. It's only riding option is a rope with a circular seat. Nearby is also a giant log arranged for climbing and almost as long as the zip line.

Between the sections are other random climbing structures, big rocks, benches, park tables with seats etc. Everything you could...

Wow. Well don't go to loadstone park after 8! Apparently it's closed!! I went to go show my boyfriend where I took my niece earlier in the day because there were some really cool things about the park that I like and I figured he would like as well! But as soon as we get up to the main park in front of the bathrooms by the last light on the side walk I asked if he wanted to see the sand area first or the zip line thing. And he said the sand area then we would just walk around the whole thing so I could show him everything. Well boom. Huge flash and then a recording I'm guessing it was says "stop we have your picture this is a restricted area and we will prosecute you. Leave now" so we left because that said to me that the park was closed. Well let me tell you there are no areas of operation posted anywhere and most parks close at about 9-10 some even 11! So that pissed me off. You can't prosecute me for going to a park and not knowing it's closed!!! And we were there at 820 so I figured about 10-15 min to show him all the cool stuff and we would leave. Yea right... I'm not very happy about that. They even have huge lights for the side walk but what's the use of having them if the park is closed before it's dark?! Ya know some people can't go to parks until later because of their work schedule and if you are going to close the park early then have the hours posted! That is the only reason I'm giving it 3 stars because the park is beautiful and I love all the options kids have for playing my niece will live the bigger stuff when she's older. If I do have someone come after me for simply walking up to the park then I will not be happy I did no wrong and there was nothing saying I couldn't go up there. I would strongly suggest having it open until 9 and posting the hours of operation. There aren't even hours online when...

This is one of our favorite parks as it has tons of features for all ages. The tall slides and zipline are favorites for my kids.

Toddler parents beware: There is one structure with tall ladders built in a kind of shaft. It's uncomfortably high for me to have toddlers playing up there. There is also a set of stairs for little ones to get up and down easily, but I feel so nervous about little ones falling down the "shaft." (For lack of a better term.)

The rest of the main playground is fun for all ages, though.

There is a smaller playground further north from the main one that's more appropriate for toddlers.

Note that the playgrounds are not designed for all abilities.

The bathrooms are kept relatively clean. However, this is a busy park and we've been more than once when all the garbage bins are overflowing and trash sometimes gets blown through the playground.

And there is a huge pavilion where plenty of people can eat and keep an eye on their kids. It's far enough away that you can see the whole play area at once.

Other than the pavillion, there is no shade and no large shade trees, so be aware of that one hot summer days.

There are huge, open fields for soccer and kite flying as well as tennis and small basketball courts.

There is no splash pad...