It was a lazy Sunday morning and the clouds had opened up with liquid sunshine. The last thing I wanted to do was replace my warm blanket with rain boots and head off for an adventure… a morning of cartoons would have been fine with me.
However our commitment to family adventure days meant it was my turn to “walk the talk” and I had to lead by example and get ready to head out. Fortunately with a 3 and 6 year old by my side, their greed for adventure exceeded mine that day and before I knew it we were out the door.
We were off to Redwood Park, a destination park that had been on my radar for about a year. Redwood is a different park as it has a ton of special features along with a very special Fairy Forest, but I’ll get to that part later.
Redwood Park is in Surrey (at 17900 – 20th Street to be exact.) The property was left to the city by two brothers, David and Peter. They had spent their life planting a wide variety of trees and today the park boasts over 50 different species of trees. I love how the park celebrates this and shares it with everyone by marking the trees species and names with special markers:
The park is a great place to go and get lost for a couple hours as it has SO many things to do. Other than the endless trails to wonder through and the huge forest to check out there are accessible playgrounds, fields and picnic areas, a huge tree house and a fairy garden!
If you’re heading to the park to check out the treehouse (That David and Peter once lived in) it’s just down the main trail from the parking lot… you can’t miss it! Unfortunately it was locked when we were there and I’m not too sure if it’s always like that or if it’s ever opened for visitors.
After checking out the treehouse we took the trail to the right to check out our next surprise. My kids were thrilled to walk a few hundred feet and then find themselves in the middle of a fairy forest. It’s my understanding that a couple years ago some people started hiding fairy doors and houses in this part of the park. It’s clear that this trend has picked up and the park is now overloaded with homemade fairy houses. It was neat to spend the morning under the forest canopy checking out all the different houses. Here was some of our favourites:
Unfortunately we came across a dead mouse on our trail but it opened up an interesting conversation about the circle of life. It was really touching to see how moved my son was about the death of this animal and how he felt he should be treated now that he was dead. He wanted to find a safe place to put him that he wouldn’t get stepped on. My daughter quickly told us to leave him so that the birds could eat him, which equally intrigued and horrified my son!
After touring through the forest we surfaced to find an amazing playground. There was a variety of different areas to play in and we could have spent hours there. Our favorite part of the playground though was when the birds all came over to a tree that we were standing under. They literally showered us with pinecones as they picked at them and then fell to the ground.
I don’t remember the last time I stood under a tree and listed to hundreds of birds. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have heard them from my morning nest on my couch.
Surprises:
– Long conversations about the importance of the trees and the forests after reading this sign:
“I am the head of your hearth on the cold winter nights. The friendly shade screening you from the summer sun. And my fruits are refreshing draughts quenching your thirst as you journey on. I am the bean that holds your house. The board of your table. The bed on which you lie. And the timber that builds your boat. I am the handle of your hoe, the door of your homestead, the wood of your cradle and the shell of your coffin. I am the break of kindness and the flower of beauty. Ye who pasby, listen to my prayer. Harm me not.”
– Umbrellas – I forgot how much fun they are… kids loved being able to run around and play with them.
– Park Playground and additional amenities were a pleasant surprise.
What to bring:
– FULL backpack…. Spend the day!
– Strollers are welcome, this is an easy path to cruise along.
