OLD PIC of Barbour Dave Waks Memorial Park- See updated pics below!
Barbour Pond Park is located on 39 Barbour Pond Road in Wayne, NJ. A bit difficult to find, you should follow the signs for the Overflow Parking to the Maquet Lot, past the baseball fields at the end. Located right next door to the firing range, so expect some startling blasts at times, this playground is tucked away and hard to find but it is wheelchair-accessible, with a lot of places to run around and picnic tables to have lunch or a snack.
Recommended Ages: One larger playground for 5-12 year olds and a pre-school playground for 2-5 year olds
Climbing: Tons of monkey bars, handles to grab, and rings, and poles
Merry Go Round: yes
Playthings: steering wheels, and a wobbly balance beam
Sandbox: Yes with digger
See-saw- Bouncy animals that rock
Slides: Toddler slides plus some metal ones
Swings: Big kid swing and baby swings
What kind of amenities can you find at this location? I did not see a bath room facilities, anyone know? please comment below
Parking: Larger parking near the playground area
Benches: A few benches and picnic tables
Handicap Accessibility: Yes!
Sports Fields: Lots of open fields
Other Cool Stuff: Our kids loved the spinning merry-go-round.
Make a Day of It: We noticed that the Ice Vault is a few yards away from this park. Wayne is huge, and we look forward to exploring more of the town, if you have a suggestion for a rainy day, or another attraction, please comment below!
***Update- Playground has been updated: these are 2016 pics- wooden ones are here for historical purposes only:
This park tends to have a decent amount of shade in the summer, which is always nice. We pack sand toys for the kids to play with, too. We love this park, with the sole complaint that the littlest kids can access the “older kid” equipment a little too easily. You have to pay attention to your toddlers, because the equipment is designed to sit very high above the ground (8-10 feet!). This isn’t the kind of park where toddler moms can really chat and not watch their kids like hawks. (Come on, you know what I mean!) Overall though, I’ve been coming here for years and years and love it!
Funtime Junction and Chuck E Cheese aren’t to far away. And Farmview Farm is there as well. We have gone strawberry and pumpkin picking there.
Thanks so much for the feedback Kym and Victoria, it is soo useful to parents!
This park was renovated in 2014 and now looks completely different. Very nice, great equipment and the chipped rubber surface is much nicer than mulch.
Barbour Pond Park (now Dave Waks Memorial Park) used to be my favorite playground to take my grandchildren. We anxiously awaited the renovations last year only to find that they replaced the natural mulch with TOXIC RUBBER TIRE MULCH! We unknowingly went once and were overcome by the fumes given off from the mulch. So I researched and found tons of research indicating how toxic and dangerous it is not only for children but for the environment due to runoff as well as testimonials. I sent all of my research to the director of Parks and he sent back research that refuted mine. Only problem is that the research he sent was paid for and conducted by the rubber tire industry not a third party. Further research indictates that their study was seriously flawed. My sources are varied and I trust their findings and also found testimonials from contractors whose kids became seriously ill with autoimmune diseases after rubber mulch was installed in their backyards. So we no longer visit Wayne playgrounds because they are ALL rubber tire mulch now, as per the woman I just spoke with at the parks dept. So I am looking for a natural mulch park to bring my grandchildren near Wayne that’s a little closer than Verona Park which they love.
Passed the arena (ice) , the large open baseball field and parked in the Marquette lot. Back tracked to the small service road and parked next to 2nd field and children’s playground. No where (except for one bench in a 20 sq.ft area) is there any shade whatsoever.
Carol: there is a lovely park in Bloomingdale, called Bogue Pond, on Glenwild ave. Great for big and small kids. We love it.