About Public Playgrounds

Public Playgrounds is an independent directory of outdoor playgrounds that are open to the public. It exists because the usual answer to “where can we take the kids?” is a map pin with a name and nothing else — no idea whether the place is fenced, whether there is shade in July, whether there is a restroom, or whether it is even a public park.

Every profile is built from open map data: 10,804 playgrounds across 953 cities and 23 states and territories, each one carrying the source records behind it. Where a detail is recorded, we show it and say who recorded it. Where it is not, we say that plainly instead of filling the gap.

What this directory will not do

• No “best” or “safest” lists. We have no defensible method for ranking a playground, so we do not pretend to.
• No ratings, reviews or photos copied from other services.
• No invented amenities. A missing fence tag means nobody recorded a fence, not that there is no fence.
• No paid placement. Nothing on this site can be bought.

Coverage

Coverage grows city by city rather than all at once, because a listing is only worth publishing when it can be placed in a real city and tied back to a source. The data sources page explains exactly how a record gets in, and which kinds of records are held back.

Something wrong or out of date? Report a correction — corrections that cite a public source are the fastest way to improve the directory, and they also improve the underlying open map data for everyone else.

Directory last generated: 2026-09-23. This site is independent of the parks, cities and agencies listed, and is not a source of safety, accessibility or legal advice.