Park Feature: Belvedere Heights Park

The Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department is happy to announce a brand new park! Kids can swing, slide, spin, and more at Belvedere Heights Park, a neighborhood park located in West Palm Beach. Watch this video to learn about the park and its amenities!

Opportunities for exercise for families with children who have a disability

The Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department is committed to enhancing the quality of life for children and adults with disabilities, as well as their families. Find out all the ways families can enjoy exercise with children who have a disability.

Therapeutic Recreation Complex

The Palm Beach County CMAA Therapeutic Recreation Complex is a facility designed for individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities. The facility incorporates a state-of-the-art design with sophisticated adapted equipment that allows everyone to participate in sports and physical activity. People of all ages and abilities can train and compete in sports, participate in fitness programs, and experience a wide array of visual and performing arts programs. Kids and parents can play a variety of sports at the TR complex, including wheelchair basketball, boccia, goalball, wheelchair rugby, and more. Gleneagles Country Club Aquatic Center is also located at the TR Complex in John Prince Park and is open from April thru September; pool lifts are available for individuals with physical disabilities to assist with entering the water.

John Prince Park Wheelchair Course

Palm Beach County parks allow children and families a chance to exercise and live active lifestyles, regardless of age, gender or ability. During a visit to John Prince Park in Lake Worth, you’ll find a nearly half-mile long Wheelchair Course. Participants can travel down the trail, completing a series of exercises at seven stations throughout the course. Each stop includes clearly marked instructions on completing the exercises.

Barrier-free playgrounds & accessible equipment

Three barrier-free playgrounds located in John Prince, Lake Ida West, and Burt Aaronson South County Regional Parks provide children with and without disabilities a colorful, sensory-rich, accessible experience to run, jump, roll and slide. Newly-installed accessible playground equipment is also available for children to enjoy at Lake Worth West Park in the Central part of the county. Palm Beach County playgrounds are inspected and beautifully-maintained to ensure the safest and most enjoyable experience for families and children.

Fitness zone^®, Stations & Exercise Courses

Select Palm Beach County Parks offer Fitness Zone^® Exercise Areas, Fitness Stations and Exercise Courses for all abilities to utilize. At John Prince Park, a Fitness Zone^® allows parents and kids the opportunity to use 17 pieces of outdoor, resistance exercise equipment that uses one’s own body weight for strength-training purposes. The equipment is accessible for people of all abilities. Fitness stations with accessible equipment are also available at Westgate Park and Lake Worth West Park. Families can also spend time stretching, bending and balancing at exercise courses in a number of parks located throughout Palm Beach County.

For more information on enjoying our parks with children who have a disability, visit pbcParks.com.

Regular inspections by certified team ensure kids of all ages play safely

A special, award-winning Parks Division team certified as Playground Safety Inspectors by the National Playground Safety Institute of the National Recreation and Parks Association has the challenging job of inspecting 154 playgrounds at 101 park sites each year. This unique group is re-certified by the National Recreation and Parks Association every three years.

What are they looking for? Sharp edges and protruding bolt ends, loose bolts, worn parts, broken or missing rails, steps, rungs or seats–to name only a few safety hazards. Aesthetics are also thoroughly evaluated. Necessary repairs are documented and often made on the spot. And this team works efficiently:  they closely examine older or damaged equipment that’s been removed from our parks and recycle parts that are still in good working order. New playgrounds are costly, yet many of our popular sites average 18-20 years in age thanks to the efforts of this specialized crew.

“The playground equipment is always in good condition and the play areas are always clean!” said an appreciative park patron.

This same valuable and skilled team of inspectors also conduct regular inspections of our fitness trails and the Skate Park at West Boynton Park. The special reward for this important Safety Inspection Team is the opportunity to see kids playing and having fun–safely.