Winter brings shorter days and quieter playgrounds — but for those planning tomorrow's playspaces, it's an important (and exciting) season of the year. Whether you're championing a single community playground or mapping strategies across an entire park district, the months ahead hold possibilities. By this time next year, your community will be thanking you for planning with purpose now.
As we look ahead to 2026 and evaluate outdoor space needs, two questions can guide the process: What should we prioritize to design playgrounds that last and how do we ensure they truly support the people who use them? Winter gives landscape architects, school leaders and parks and recreation teams the opportunity to evaluate needs, study trends and set clear goals. Spring will reveal those decisions as new playspaces open and communities return to spending more time outside.
The trends shaping playground design in 2026 are rooted in purpose and energized by innovation. They spotlight outdoor play solutions that endure, perform and evolve with community needs. Every site deserves a playspace designed for its community — one that reflects users’ needs and preferences and strengthens the way people move, connect and gather. Here’s where to focus your attention as you plan your next playground.
OUTDOOR LEARNING: DISCOVERY BY DESIGN
Outdoor learning is transforming playground design — shifting from spaces where learning happens incidentally to environments designed intentionally for discovery. Outdoor learning means STEM exploration, musical discovery, nature observation and hands-on problem-solving. The research is compelling: Children who learn outdoors demonstrate improved focus, creativity and retention. But more importantly, they're having fun while learning — which means they'll naturally return to those lessons.
It begins with thoughtful elements like educational panels and musical instruments, then expands into the landscape itself — integrating nature, experimentation and discovery at every turn. StemPlay® educational panels and PlayEnsemble® musical instruments demonstrate this integration, creating spaces where learning happens through play rather than despite it. When a child discovers that different-sized drums produce different tones, or that gears work together to create motion, they're not doing it to fulfill a curriculum; they're building a relationship with curiosity that will serve them for a lifetime.
FULLY INCLUSIVE DESIGN: PLAY WITHOUT BARRIERS
ADA compliance is the minimum standard, not the goal. Playgrounds that truly serve their communities go beyond checkboxes and aim for real accessibility — spaces where every child can play meaningfully, not just enter the area. Deep inclusion considers sensory needs, offers tactile-rich experiences, and creates multiple ways to engage with each element, while also giving space for kids who feel overwhelmed so they can step away without feeling isolated.
At Burke, we embrace the Universal Design philosophy — not as a mandate to meet but as an opportunity to create spaces where everyone belongs. When inclusion is designed from the beginning rather than added on at the end, it becomes invisible. The ramps don't announce themselves. The sensory-rich elements serve everyone, not just some. And children of all abilities play side by side because the space was designed for all of them from the start.
This trend isn't just good ethics — it's sound design. When you design for the widest range of abilities, you create better experiences for everyone.
NATURE INTEGRATION: BRINGING THE OUTDOORS IN
There's a difference between nature-themed equipment and nature-integrated design. The latter recognizes that a playground exists within a landscape, not on top of it. Biophilic design considers regional context — what "nature" means in Wisconsin differs from what it means in Arizona, and playgrounds should reflect this understanding.
Innovative designers and landscape architects are preserving existing trees, creating sight lines to open sky and working with topography rather than against it. They're thinking about how shadows move across a space, how natural vegetation can create zones without fencing and how boulders can serve as both climbing elements and gathering spaces simultaneously.
Burke often works with landscape architects and designers to support this integration through color palettes that complement natural surroundings, poured-in-place surfacing in earth tones that blend with landscapes and equipment designed to harmonize with natural features rather than compete with them. When design teams bring site-specific visions to life, we collaborate to ensure Burke elements enhance rather than overwhelm the natural environment.
The goal is to create spaces where nature and play equipment coexist thoughtfully, where children experience a genuine connection to their environment while engaging with purposefully designed play opportunities. When done well, you shouldn't be able to tell where the playground ends and the landscape begins.
THEMED PLAYSPACES: SPARKING IMAGINATION
Themed and customized playspaces are more than meets the eye — they are invitations to imagine, explore and move in new ways. When a playground reflects a story, kids don't just play in it — they immerse themselves and let the narrative unfold naturally.
A fire truck becomes a place to lead a mission.
A pirate ship turns into a journey across open seas.
A farm inspires tending, gathering and endless make-believe.
These themes give children a starting point, then let their creativity do the rest. The structures become catalysts for imagination, movement, collaboration and storytelling, making it a new experience each time they play.
Designing a themed environment doesn’t require reinventing every detail but rather using modular systems with intention, choosing color palettes that echo the local landscape and shaping spaces that honor the spirit of a community. This creates a genuine sense of place — a playspace that feels like it belongs here and nowhere else.
When designed with intention, a themed playspace creates an immediate connection. A child stepping onto a fire truck knows they’re leading a rescue. Standing on a pirate ship signals the start of a voyage. Exploring a farm invites gathering, tending and role play. Each theme has endless stories that expand every time they visit, adding a new layer of imagination as they grow.
Themed play isn't just decoration — it 's a pathway to deeper engagement, mor and a sense of belonging that stays with children long after they leave the playground. It’s play that invites everyone into the story.
CHALLENGE-BASED PLAY: DESIGNED FOR GROWTH
Children need appropriate challenges — experiences that stretch their abilities without overwhelming them. Challenge-based play recognizes that there's no single "right way" to navigate a climber, that kids should be architects of their own difficulty levels and that the best playgrounds grow with children rather than outgrow them.
This isn't about creating the tallest structure or the most intense experience. It's about graduated difficulty, multiple routes and opportunities for children to set their own goals. A child might cross the overhead events once this visit and twice next time. They might create their own obstacle course and try to beat their personal best. They might discover a new path up the structure they've been playing on for months.
Game-based elements like Gaga Ball or MOVMNT® have clear rules, but challenge-based play is self-directed. The equipment provides opportunities; the child brings the ambition. When playgrounds are designed this way, every child can find their edge — and every visit offers the chance to push it a little further.
OUTDOOR FITNESS: PLAY THAT MOVES EVERYONE
Fitness equipment is finding its way outside — and for good reason. Outdoor fitness spaces create free fitness opportunities for communities where gym memberships aren't accessible to all. These spaces serve everyone from children ages 5-12 to adolescents and teens for ages 13 and up, a demographic that particularly benefits from outdoor fitness options that meet them where they are.
When fitness and play converge, they create true community gathering spaces. When everyone has something to do, playspaces become destinations rather than duty — places families want to visit together rather than places one generation tolerates for the sake of another. The best outdoor fitness integration doesn't segregate ages into different zones; it creates opportunities for parallel play across generations.
The ELEVATE® Fitness Course exemplifies this approach: purposeful fitness opportunities that feel at home in a playground setting, rather than resembling gym equipment brought outdoors. When fitness becomes part of the landscape rather than an afterthought, it benefits everyone.
GET YOUR COMMUNITY TRENDING
These trends aren't predictions — they're already happening in thoughtfully designed playspaces across the country. More importantly, they're part of the answer to getting more people outside. Trends like these help playspaces stay relevant, adapting to how communities want to move, learn and gather. The question isn't whether your next playground should incorporate them, but which ones matter most to your community and how they come together to serve your specific needs.
That's where conversation helps. Our network of exclusive Burke representative partners collaborates with communities to identify trends that align with local priorities, how to balance multiple goals within budget realities and what trade-offs make sense for your specific situation. Because the best playgrounds aren't built solely from trend lists — they're built from understanding what your community needs, what your landscape offers and what will bring people back long after the ribbon-cutting.
Ready to explore what 2026 trends mean for your playspace? Connect with your local Burke representative to start the conversation.