Sunny Fields Playground, Solvang

Santa Barbara, CA Print   Leave a comment

Description

Sunny Fields Playground is an amazing playground with everything a child could want! It is a wooden castle playground with a gingerbread house where kids can make believe they are in the kitchen baking cookies. There are shady spots like a theater where kids can put on a puppet show. There are plenty of medieval towers, monkey bars galore, rope bars kids can balance on, bridges, a tube slide, rock-climbing wall, baby swings, regular swings, and a tire swing! The helm of a viking ship decorates one end of the playground. It will take a long time before your child will become bored here!
Hopefully more trees are coming so that it is less hot and more shady at this lovely park! In the summer there is an archway with a mist maker- kids can run under it and cool down.
If you continue north along Alamo Pintado Dr you can enjoy a Sideways-like drive! You will pass wineries with white picket fences, and country manors with flowering trees. Next you will come to a cute miniature horse farm, Quicksilver Ranch. Take a minute to admire the horses. This drive will lead you to Los Olivos, a charming wine-room town (Turn right at the sign for Alamo Pintado Rd- yes, the same name- and then left on Grand Ave, the main street in Los Olivos). If you turn right on Roblar Ave instead of left onto Grand Ave, you will come to idyllic Clairmont Lavendar Farm (highly recommended in June and July). Continue on along Grand Ave or Roblar Avenue and you can make a triangle (turn right on Highway 154 and then right on Highway 246) back to Santa Ynez and visit my favorite winery, Sunstone Winery.
The town of Solvang is a fun place to explore with your kids. It's a Disneyland-style town with Danish windmills and lots of tourist stores where they can buy a Viking sword or Danish doll dressed in traditional clothes. If you're hungry, Paula's Pancakes is a nice place to go with kids. You can sit on their enclosed sunny patio and look out on the half-timbered buildings and overflowing flower pots around you. Toddlers can roam happily without running out on the street. The food comes quickly and is delicious. Try their Danish sausage and Havarti cheese sandwich.
Just a few minutes south of Solvang is Nojoqui Falls where you can walk through a gorgeous forest to a waterfall. It's a ten-minute walk, easy to do with kids.
If you have more time to travel, along Highway 154 toward Santa Barbara, check out pretty Lake Cachuma. It has a nature center that is interesting for kids. A little further is the Santa Ynez River, great for an ice cold swim!
Less than an hour away is the town of Lompoc where you can visit La Purisima Mission, which is a lot of fun because of the rooms set up as they were in the mission-era days, the farm animals, and the scenic location.

Photo Gallery

The magical clocktower at the entrance. Rolling golden hills with clusters of trees- a typical Solvang countryside scene.	The same hill in spring!	Gingerbread house.
Half-timbered facade and cow bouncy.	Wild west town.	Viking ship.
Baby swings with a view.	Tire swing with wooden castle in the background.	A whole course of monkey bars in a triangle: a first grader's dream!
Tube slide amidst other fun structures.	Places for toddlers to play peekaboo!	Rock-climbing wall.
The windmill near the entrance.	Medieval towers.	Slides.

Directions

Sunny Fields Park is located at Alamo Pintado Rd and Lark Hill Rd, Solvang CA 93463. You can use 919 Alamo Pintado Rd in your GPS to get to the general spot.
From Highway 101, follow the signs to Solvang and you will be on Highway 246. After driving through the main strip of Solvang, turn north (left) on Alamo Pintado Rd. After you pass Coyote Creek Rd, turn right into the parking lot for Sunny Fields Park.
Quicksilver Ranch, 1555 Alamo Pintado Rd, Solvang CA, call (805) 686-4002.

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Overall Visitor Rating:

Colleen 07/16/2011 14:52	This park is just like being in a storybook. Kids & kids-at-heart will enjoy this park.
Monkey 02/08/2011 22:40	I used to play here when I was a kid and I have wonderful memories. I nevr regret going there to play. Although I was young I still remember. Take your kids and I hope try never change or knock down the park!
Sarah 03/08/2010 15:24	Bring your kids, bring your dog! The huge field is a great place for well behaved dogs to run around, though use caution because it is NOT completely fenced in, there are a few spots where Spot could escape! Also, they have dog bags just in case your dog has to "go!" We take our daughter and dog all the time!
Fred 02/17/2010 12:13	Just so everyone realizes, the landscape and hardscape improvements have been completed as of March 2009 and there are several shade structures and about one hundred trees that will be providing necessary shade in summer 2010.
Melanie 12/22/2009 13:18	I like it, it is so brilliantly designed!
Arnaud 10/09/2009 20:11	wow..love the rolling hills..beautiful
Wendy 09/19/2009 19:46	I love it. It is very nice and colorful. I have been there several times and I am taking my class there tomorrow.