Sometimes you just want to go big. You’ve got older kids, larger kids, lots of space, lots of kids, or just a need to impress the neighborhood. Whatever the reason, you’re looking for a playset on the large end of the spectrum. We are here to help you with that. Below are the picks we’ve made for the large format playsets. We’ve taken a hard look at what’s out there and brought the best of the backyard to you.
In many cases, we’ve already put together a longer review of the individual playsets, but we continue to add more. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or suggestions for more reviews.
The Backyartisan's Short List: Best Large Playsets For Your Backyard
| Treasure Trove Swing Set by Gorilla Playsets | Best Overall Large Playset |
| KidKraft Falcon Ridge Swing Set | Best Large Playset with Small Footprint |
| Backyard Discovery Skyfort Elite Wooden Swing Set | Best Lookout Playset |
| Lifetime Double Adventure Tower | Best "Fair is Fair" Playset |
| Empire Extreme Swing Set from Gorilla Playsets | Best "Go Big or Go Home" Playset |
Treasure Trove Swing Set by Gorilla Playsets
Best Overall Large Playset
Backyartisan Rating: 4.4 stars
The Treasure Trove hits on all cylinders, with 3 slides falling from 2 forts connected by a clatter bridge. We like the overall durability of the Gorilla product, even if it's a beast to put together. Your kids are going to have something that lasts for a decade and is plenty big for them as they grow older.
Where It Shines:
- All the slides your kids will want
- Long-lasting Gorilla product
- Tons of social and solo play options
Where It Could Improve:
- It ain’t cheap, but you get what you pay for
- Receiving and assembly is tall order
KidKraft Falcon Ridge Swing Set
Best Large Playset with Small Footprint
Backyartisan Rating: 3.7 stars
The Falcon Ridge comes with a super large fort, even if it doesn’t have tons of slides or swings. That huge fort allows for a large number of kids playing clubhouse games without necessarily taking up the expansive footprint that many slides will require. You will get the feel of a massive playset without taking up your entire yard.
Where It Shines:
- Large structure to accommodate a lot of kids
- Small overall footprint
- Under $2,500
Where It Could Improve:
- Not built for older kids
- Not our favorite color scheme
Backyard Discovery Skyfort II Wooden Swing Set
Best Lookout Playset
Backyartisan Rating: 4.1 stars
The Skyfort II has a really cool crow’s nest, an interesting angled roofline, and serves as a potential showpiece for your backyard. It comes at a great price at $2,000 and covers the monkey bar bases as well. Your kids will love spying on the neighborhood from the third deck!
Where It Shines:
- Interesting looking
- Monkey bars
- Most cost effective on our list at $2,000
Where It Could Improve:
- Only one slide
- Not known for long term durability
Lifetime Double Adventure Tower
Best "Fair is Fair" Playset
Backyartisan Rating: 3.5 stars
When you have children who need their own space, compare themselves to each, or are twins and you just need to keep them twinning, check out the Double Adventure Tower by Lifetime. With two towers that look just alike (ladders, slides, forts, and all) and a connecting bridge, you'll have what your kids want for a “fair” gift.
Where It Shines:
- Double towers
- Lot of potential games
- Heavy duty plastic
Where It Could Improve:
- You may not love the plastic look
- Pretty high price at $3,700 for limiting sliding
Empire Extreme Swing Set from Gorilla Playsets
Best "Go Big or Go Home" Playset
Backyartisan Rating: 4.4 stars
Welp, you’ve arrived at the fact that nothing but the biggest will do for your kids. Enter the Empire Extreme. With an expansive fort, clatter bridge to second fort, and slides galore, the Empire Extreme does it all (well, technically it doesn’t have the tire swing). Your kids will love and grow up with this Gorilla set, and you can rest assured that it’ll last.
Where It Shines:
- Very durable
- Tons of play options
- Slides!
Where It Could Improve:
- Major playset with major price tag
- As with all Gorilla, installation is tough
How We Picked the Large Playsets on This Short List
Shipping & Receiving Process
The shipping and receiving process for playsets is a daunting process and large playsets make that process even more clunky. You could be receiving your playset in as many as 25 different boxes all totaling hundreds of pounds! Your playset will be shipped in freight or LTL shipping and many manufacturers will either offer curbside or "inside" delivery (aka direct to your backyard). When it comes to this part of the process, we pay particular attention to: making trucking company appointments, taking inventory, dealing with pallets, and the unboxing process.
Some manufacturers are better than others at the whole shipping process, so this is a big consideration for us as we are writing reviews and choosing playsets to feature here - especially for large playsets with all the bells and whistles.
Installation & Setup
Playset installation and setup is a long, arduous process especially if you are doing it by yourself with the help of your wife, husband, or neighbor. Large playsets have several hundreds of components and thick installation manuals, so being able to make sense of it all is crucial so that you aren't banging your head against a wall after a few hours.
In this category, criteria like quality of directions, total installation time, and space needed for installation are the main things we are looking at. For larger playsets with more components, don't be surprised if it takes you 3-4 full workdays to put everything together.
You can also hire playset installers too if that sounds like too much work.
Stability & Durability of Materials
If you're getting a large playset, you're probably spending north of a couple thousand dollars on it. Wouldn't it be a huge bummer if that mammoth of a playset wasn't stable or durable to last through the years? This criteria is a big consideration for us when choosing playsets for this Short List. Criteria like weight limits, joint quality, crossbeams, and ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) requirements are the biggest factors we look at.
Play Elements
Big playsets are going to have a lot of different play components, both social play (multiple kids) and solo play (meant for just one kid). In general, most larger playsets are going to have a built-in swing set, a slide (maybe multiple slides), several fort decks, potentially a climbing wall, and several other components. We look at the build quality of each one and the popularity of each component - are the manufacturers putting in play elements that kids want or just things they will ignore? Additionally, we also look at interchangeable components and the ability to add on different accessories.
Price & Value
Price is obviously a huge consideration. And not just price, but value - how much are you getting for your dollar? We take into account all of the criteria we mentioned above and look at overall value, cost per element, shipping costs, installation costs, and the brand warranty. For large swing sets and playsets, your average cost will typically be around $2,000-$3,000 or more.
For more information on all the factors to look for in a playset, read our full breakdown on how to buy a playset and be sure to check out our top overall picks for the best playsets of 2023 and best swing sets for small yards.
Recap: The Best Large Playsets
- Treasure Trove Swing Set by Gorilla Playsets - Best Overall Large Playset
- KidKraft Falcon Ridge Swing Set - Best Large Playset with Small Footprint
- Backyard Discovery Skyfort II Wooden Swing Set - Best Lookout Playset
- Lifetime Double Adventure Tower - Best "Fair is Fair" Playset
- Empire Extreme Swing Set from Gorilla Playsets - Best "Go Big or Go Home" Playset
