Roxbury Park, Beverly Hills

A day in the park

Finding the right park to take your kids is a tricky (sticky) business. There are countless factors to weigh in on your decision from proximity to home, abundance of shade, quality of play equipment, and demographic makeup to parent/nanny ratio, proximity to cars/street, and ppf (potential pervert factor). Roxbury Park in Beverly Hills (Olympic and Roxbury) is a real winner.  
The denizens of Roxbury vary from morning to afternoon, but the park has a friendly, ebullient vibe that comes in part from the wide array of activities located in the environs. There is a senior center (lawning bowling whites required), there are basketball courts (to be circumvented if you want to protect toddler ears during missed free throws), and there are frequent soccer games (“football” for these true fans). Weekend afternoons bring out the birthday parties, ice cream truck, and parents looking for an activity. This park is great for loved up couples who want to read each other Neruda, frisbee tossing, walkers (there is a winding compressed sand track path), and harried parents alike. Chat up the friendly parents while your kids play with the ubiquitous sand toys (label your own in permanent marker) or zone out on the wall cordoning off the playground. The playground has a little kid section and a big kid section replete with slides, swings, climbing apparatus, sand, diggers, spinners, and playhouses. There are even a few climbable dinosaurs for your budding paleontologist. There is a fun college quad vibe to the park that makes is a great destination when kids of any age need some fresh air.