Parks & Recreation Department - Parks & Facilities

Fun Forest

Rebuilding Fun Forest After Fire Damage

On the early morning of April 1, 2010, an arsonist set fire to a major play structure at Fun Forest - children's imagination playground originally built with the intended purpose of building young minds as well as bodies - located in Chesapeake City Park. The Fire Department was called around 4:30 a.m. to extinguish the fire, and they did quickly. Fortunately, the other pieces of equipment in Fun Forest were not harmed.

Find out how you can help to rebuild Fun Forest »

Decorated wall at the playground - photograph

On three acres of City Park is Fun Forest, the ultimate children's playground, imagination center and family adventure area! Built by over 1,800 volunteers from private, public, and community sectors, open since 1995, and winner of the Virginia Recreation and Parks Society "Best New Facility in Virginia" award in 1996, the playground has an older children's area which encourages gross motor-skill development and features a dragon, three-way underground telephone, shaky bridge, dolphin tunnel slide, and many more challenges for the older child.

Play structure at the park - photograph The science and learning area teaches mathematics and science while children have fun playing with mirrors, whisper dishes, and a planet walk. The toddler playground invites little ones to steer a plane or truck, swing, slide and more. Fun Forest is truly a place for the entire family: The story circle offers a great place to sit, visit with friends and neighbors and enjoy the beauty of the outdoors, or get a bird's-eye view through the bird-watching tubes on the nature walk.

Play castle at the park - photograph The newest additions to Fun Forest include the Fossil Dig-a dinosaur buried in a pit under sand scattered with "fossils" to take home if you're lucky enough to find them-and the aquatics area, apropos to our locality, where you'll find turtles, sharks and a whale for climbing.

Children playing in the park - photograph

Many of the attractions are handicapped accessible, with paved paths, slides, swings, picnic tables and benches to accommodate wheelchairs. There's a wall decorated with tiles of hand prints, messages, and signatures of early contributors and a history wall of paintings of events in Chesapeake's past done by local school teachers. There's something for everyone.

City of Chesapeake, Virginia