California Beach Playgrounds

Anyone who's gone to the beach with little kids knows that a playground on the beach is the ideal amenity to help pass the time with adorable ones, terrible twos and jumping bean threes. Even finicky fours and fabulous fives love a ride on a swing, or the constant climbing up a ladder then sliding down again...and again...and again. Children are bundles of endless energy which is great, until you travel with them and they need an outlet.

The good news is that many beaches in California have playgrounds and swings. Among them, some of our favorites include Pismo Beach, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Torrance Beach, Long Beach, Seal Beach, Sunset Beach, Newport Beach, San Clemente, Ocean Beach and San Diego.

Who doesn't have playgrounds on beaches? Believe it or not, some don't. When we asked one representative of Huntington Beach, for instance, why they can't put a playground on the sand near the Huntington Beach Pier or within its 5 mile radius, we were told that it doesn't attract the right crowd, namely overnight tourists spending money at hotels. If they put a playground on the sand there, the city would discover that the opposite is true. People return on beach vacations to cities where facilities and creature comforts of home such as children's playgrounds help families to function easier, allowing them to stay longer.