Irving Park

Irving Park is a nicely fenced park in a rather quiet area (at least when we were there).  Interstate 35 is nearby, so there is noise from that, but it is nothing like some of the parks on main streets in town.

It has a large field area for soccer, football, and basketball courts.  There are a lot of trees bordering the park and shady areas to rest.
There are a couple of benches around the playground area, which is a sand surface.  The play structure has:

• 2 swings
• 2 baby swings
• Speaking tubes
• 1 slide and 1 double slide
• Digger
• Stairs/ladders
• Arm pedaling crank
• Monkey bars
• Fireman pole
• Corkscrew
• Tic-tac-toe spinners

Duluth Parks page

Grosvenor Square

EDIT 6/1/17: This playground is no more!  The play structures have been removed.  :(

Grosvenor Square is a little playground next to a soccer field right off Superior Street in the Lakeside neighborhood.  It is a pebble surface with one structure and a little tunnel.
The structure has:

• 2 slides
• Fireman pole
• Ladders and steps

Duluth Parks page

Hillside Sport Court Park

The hillside playground is in a residential area but borders the busier 7th St.  The playground is fenced and has a few entrances.  There is a large field to the west side of the playground that is included in the fenced area.  The parks website lists a parking lot, but close to the playground there is only street parking.

The playground is a sand surface and features:

• 2 swings
• Accessible swing
• 2 diggers
• 1 slide and 2 double slides
• Log roller
• Curved ladders and steps
• Bridge
• Speaking tubes
• Pull-up bar
• Monkey bars
• Fireman pole

Duluth Parks page

Lester Park

Lester Park playground is located between two rivers on the farthest eastern edge of Duluth.  The rivers are enough to make me a little nervous with toddlers and keep a more vigilant eye that they don't wander too far but the playground is situated a good distance from them.

The surface is a rubber mat, which is great for shock absorption and means no little pieces for kids to throw or babies to put in their mouths.  There is still some concern among parents about off-gassing but it doesn't seem to be as worrisome as the recycled rubber tire mulch.

There is no fence around the playground, but a good tree line separating rivers/trails and open play area.  The parking lot is across a bridge and river, so plan on taking everything you will need out of the car in the first go.

There is a pavilion with tables, a soccer field, picnic tables, benches, and a lot of nice trails for walking and mountain biking.  The Lester River is a very popular swimming hole in the summer but it can be a trek to carefully get down to it, so take you time and assist little kids.

The playground consists of:

• 2 slides
• A climbing wall
• Steps and ladders
• A bridge made up of individual round steps at differing levels connected by rubber coated chains.

There are no swings, and if there is a large number of kids playing, the structure quickly gets overrun and it becomes hard to keep track of kids.

I didn't manage to get a picture of this playground when we recently visited because my son actually slipped and fell on the bridge section, hitting his head on the hand railing and necessitating a visit from the paramedics to make sure he was ok.  I am most definitely NOT a fan of that bridge, especially with the hard metal pieces and metal hand rails.  It is definitely not accessible to kids under about 4 and I really wish it had a traditional bridge that wouldn't allow kids to slip through the cracks.

EDIT to add picture:

Duluth Parks page