Best backyard playground playsets with slide

Top pick: Backyard Discovery Canyon Creek. It's the best all-rounder for a backyard — cedar wood, a fort, climbing wall and a slide, two swings, and it's rated for ages up to 10 with the strongest review record of the group. If you want one set that grows with the kids and looks good in the yard, start here.

Who the others suit:

• Backyard Discovery Belmont — the sensible first playset: slide, swings and climbing wall without the fort, and the easiest way into a wooden set.
• Backyard Discovery Beach Front — cedar with a slide, swings and a sandbox, for younger kids who want sand play as much as climbing.
• Backyard Discovery Tucson — a compact cedar swing set with slide for a smaller yard.
• Lucas Wooden Playset — slide plus two swings in a tidy footprint, for a simple, no-frills setup.
• Swing-N-Slide Knightsbridge Super — a big, tall structure for a large yard; check the space it needs before ordering.
• Backyard Discovery Dover Bay — monkey bars plus slide, for older kids who want a challenge.
• Gorilla Playmaker Deluxe — the premium, heavy-duty choice if you want it to last a decade.
• Swing-N-Slide Cedar Brook — a sidewinder slide for something a bit different; reviews are more mixed.

Whatever you pick, measure your yard and leave clearance around swings and the slide exit, and plan for a two-person build over a weekend.