Park made from rocks & logs

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

Official opening of Discovery Park on Saturday

A unique, natural playground, featuring equipment ranging from musical instruments to balancing logs, will officially open in Penticton on Saturday.

Discovery Park at Skaha Lake was designed and built by the City with contributions from local businesses and contractors.

"The park is an incredible addition to Skaha Lake and our vibrancy on the southern waterfront," said Mayor Garry Litke. "This park is an excellent space for young families and truly an amenity the community will treasure for years to come."

The new recreational facility, for children ages 5 to 12, is in line with the natural playground movement, which incorporates elements you would find in nature into play equipment.

Visitors can test their skills on boulders, sourced from local rock quarries, combined with ropes to create climbing features and balancing logs built from trees that at one time were infested with pine beetle.

There are also musical instruments, which could lend themselves to impromptu drum circles, earth berm slides, a playhouse and swings and an interactive water feature to educate and remind children that water is a valuable and limited resource.

The park is the South Okanagan Children's Charity's seventh Miracle Fund Project.

The City contributed $30,000 to the project cost, and partnerships cultivated by the charity exceeded $70,000.

"We are so grateful to the charity for their work to make the project a reality, and to all the donors who contributed to this park," said Litke.

The grand opening is at 9 a.m. Saturday. The Rotary Club of Penticton is holding a pancake breakfast and shirts will be given to the first 200 children in attendance.