FEATURES: Small, fully enclosed. Not well shaded. In shopping center with food and restrooms nearby.
HOURS: 6:30am – 9:30pm
SUMMARY: For a shopping center playground it is great! Plenty big with structures for small and bigger kids and some seating for adults.
elsie's playground at broadway at the beach
Elsie’s Playground is a welcome haven for parents of small kids who are dying to run free at Broadway. Broadway at the Beach is one of the Grand Strand’s largest and most popular shopping, dining, and entertainment destinations. The playground is in the Charleston Boardwalk section, nearby Paula Deen’s Family Restaurant (see this map).
Playground features
Elsie’s Playground has 3 small and low to the ground play structures in a decently large, fully fenced in area right by some price dining and shopping. It also looks right out onto the water where that speed boat thing will continually zip to keep the parents entertained with excellent people-watching.
The structures are mostly stairs, slides and some hanging/climbing challenges. There is one swinging bridge too. The three structures are spaced out well to prevent the playground from feeling crowded. Some picnic tables are scattered around for seating for adults but the area is not well shaded. Summertime visits during the day and even the early evening will be quite hot so bring sunscreen and limit the time you spend out there!
The playground is probably best suited for kids between ages 2–8. It’s a pretty basic playground but the mulch is still thick and the equipment is in good shape. And best of all, it is a free and safe place to let the kids run around… in an area where everything else is trying to take all your monies.
other things to do at broadway
Broadway is full of entertainment and kid-friendly fun. One of the newest features is the Key West Village which includes the lively new Hangout restaurant. We visited Illumination Park, in that same area, shortly after it opened and had some thoughts about it.