When you think of a playground, you probably picture kids swinging across monkey bars, zooming down slides, and racing to the top of tall climbing structures. But what does that same playground look like to a child with a disability? Traditional playground features can create barriers that make it difficult, or even impossible, for some children to join in and play alongside their peers.
As communities place a greater emphasis on accessibility and inclusive recreation, inclusive playgrounds are becoming more common in parks across the country. Designed to create opportunities for children of different abilities to play, explore, and connect, these spaces rethink what a playground can be. Here’s what you need to know about inclusive playgrounds and what it takes to create a park experience that welcomes more families.
What is an Inclusive Playground?
An inclusive playground is thoughtfully designed for children with a wide range of physical, sensory, and cognitive abilities. The inclusive playground movement gained momentum in the 1990s, following the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Early leaders like Jonathan’s Dream, Boundless Playgrounds, and Shane’s Inspiration helped push beyond traditional design to help remove barriers to play. Through accessible equipment, interactive features, and engaging experiences, these organizations demonstrated how playgrounds could remove barriers and give more children opportunities to participate together.
How Does an Inclusive Playground Impact the Community?
Inclusive playgrounds allow children of all abilities to participate in outdoor play. But they also open a door to deeper conversations about accessibility in the community. Nancy Baker Curtis, leader of Changing Spaces Iowa, explained that inclusive parks do more than create opportunities for play—they also encourage important conversations:
“Children are children, and they’re blunt. They’ll ask, ‘What’s that? Why does he need it?’ Those questions start a conversation. You’re planting seeds of inclusivity and dispelling ableism at a very early age. When children have the opportunity to ask questions—and aren’t shamed for being curious—it helps them invite that child to play.”
5 Key Elements of an Inclusive Playground
While every community’s needs are different, these five elements can help make playgrounds more welcoming and usable for children with a range of abilities.
Adaptive Equipment
Wheelchair-accessible merry-go-rounds, adaptive swings with supportive high backs and harnesses, and ramps instead of stairs help children with different mobility needs participate in more playground activities.
The impact of adaptive features is often immediate. When Nancy Baker Curtis visited a local playground with Charlie, her 11-year-old son with disabilities, she demonstrated how he used the playground’s communication board.
“Members of the Chamber of Commerce, economic development team, and parks and recreation board were wondering, ‘Was this really worth it?’ As soon as I started modeling the communication board and they saw Charlie respond, you could see it in their faces—it clicked for them.”
Accessible Routes & Ramps
Wide pathways, gentle slopes, and ramps help children using wheelchairs, walkers and other mobility devices reach different areas of the playground and participate alongside their peers.
Smooth Flooring
Poured-in-place rubber or accessible turf provide smooth, stable alternatives to mulch or gravel, making it easier for wheelchairs, walkers and other mobility devices to move throughout the playground.
Quiet Zones
Low-stimulation spaces with comfortable seating, tactile features, or calming activities give children a place to pause, regulate, and enjoy quieter forms of play.
Ground-Level Play
Sensory panels, musical features, and other ground-level activities offer engaging ways to play without requiring children to climb or access elevated equipment. These features can often be added to an existing playground without requiring a complete redesign or major renovation, making them a practical first step toward more inclusive play.
Inclusive Play Across the U.S.
Below are just a few key examples of inclusive playgrounds, although they can now be found in all 50 states and all around the world. [If you can provide any sort of stat illustrating explosive growth, that would be the best]
Image sourced from Unlimited Play Playgrounds Facebook
Jim Woods Park, Steubenville, OH
Jim Woods Park is designing a playground that includes ramps (where children with disabilities can access the highest point in the playground!), wheelchair-accessible swings, smooth surfacing, a quiet room for sensory and an accessible restroom with lifts for children and adults with disabilities.
Read more: JeffCo Community Playground at Jim Woods Park
Pacawa Park, Plover, WI
Lake Pacawa Park in Plover, Wisconsin, offers inclusive fun both on the playground and in the water. The park features a fully accessible 6,000-square-foot splash pad, a renovated ADA-compliant playground, wide walking trails, and a swimming area, giving families of different abilities more ways to enjoy the outdoors together. The park also includes an Ascent universal changing table, helping extend accessibility beyond play areas and into the restroom.
Variety Playgrounds across Iowa and Kansas City
Variety-the Children’s Charity of Iowa has helped bring inclusive play to communities across Iowa through its Variety Star Playgrounds. Locations at Ewing Park and Riverview Park in Des Moines, Noelridge Park in Cedar Rapids, and the Iowa State Fairgrounds feature inclusive elements such as accessible ramps, smooth surfacing, adaptive equipment and sensory-friendly play—giving children of different abilities more opportunities to play together.
Variety KC builds inclusive playgrounds and helps families locate accessible play spaces throughout the Greater Kansas City area through its online playground and play space map. The resource highlights playgrounds, splash pads, and other inclusive destinations where children with different abilities can play together.
Marc Harrell, CEO of Variety KC shared that, “People come from across the city for these destination playgrounds. A family in Liberty, in the northeast corner of the metro area, may travel all the way to the southwest corner because these opportunities aren’t available everywhere."
Explore more innovative and inclusive playgrounds across the U.S. here!
Inclusion Goes Beyond the Playground
Nancy Baker Curtis offers communities a straightforward reminder:
“If you design a park and call it inclusive, but it doesn’t have a restroom with a height-adjustable, adult-size changing table, you shouldn’t call it inclusive. If we don’t have restrooms that meet our needs, we can’t fully enjoy our time.”
The playground is an important place to start, but creating a park that truly welcomes everyone requires considering the entire visitor experience. Accessible parking, pathways, seating, picnic areas, and restrooms equipped with universal changing tables all affect whether families can comfortably spend the day at a park.
When accessibility extends beyond the playground, more families can stay longer, explore more, and enjoy the experience together.
Design Your Play Space for All
Inclusive playgrounds are helping to create communities where more children and families can play, explore, and spend time together. But true inclusion doesn’t stop at the edge of the playground. By considering the entire park experience, including pathways, parking, accessible-height picnic tables, restrooms, and more, communities can create spaces that welcome people of all abilities.
As Harrell says, “At the end of the day, every child deserves the right to be a child, whether that means playing outside, attending a concert, seeing a show or going to a game. Watching a child using a mobility device, a child with autism wearing headphones, and an able-bodied child all laughing together on a zero-entry merry-go-round—that’s what we want. That’s what makes society more beautiful.”
Ready to make your park more inclusive? Browse Sova’s adult changing stations to find the perfect fit for your park.