Gorilla Playsets Wilderness Gym Swing Set Review: Boss Backyard

When it took a half-day just to unbox and lay out all the pieces in the backyard, I knew the Gorilla Playsets Wilderness Gym Swing Set wasn't going to be your average Saturday project. Two days later — with an experienced installer alongside me and a backyard that now looks like a small outdoor resort — my first impression is simple: this thing is a back yard boss. If your backyard isn't ready for a two-story cedar fortress, you might want to reconsider before you pull the trigger.

Build Quality: This Is Not a Flimsy Box-Store Set

Here's the deal: the moment you start handling the lumber and hardware on the Gorilla Playsets Wilderness Gym, you feel the difference. The 4x4 posts and 4x6 swing beam are thick, heavy, and solid — the kind of materials I was used to handling on construction sites, not the spindly softwood you get from a discount set that sways when two kids jump on simultaneously.

The premium cedar with amber finish isn't just pretty. Cedar is naturally rot-resistant and holds up to Central Illinois weather — humid summers, hard freezes, and everything in between. The tongue-and-groove wood roofs on both the main 4' x 6' tower and the secondary 3' x 3' tower add a structural detail you don't typically see until you get into commercial-grade equipment. These aren't decorative — they're solid.

The hardware is equally serious. Bolts, brackets, and connectors all feel heavy-duty from the first handful out of the bag. I've built enough structures professionally to spot the difference between hardware that's going to loosen up and strip in a year and hardware that's going to hold. This stuff holds. At 1,181 lbs assembled, this set earns its weight in the best possible way. Gorilla Playsets Wilderness Gym Swing Set

Features: A Full Play Destination, Not Just a Swing Set

Real talk: when I started listing out everything this thing comes with, even I was a little caught off guard. Two slides — an Alpine Wave Slide and a Quick Connect Tube Slide. Two standard belt swings rated at 225 lbs each and a trapeze swing. A rock wall with a climbing rope and a deluxe rope ladder. A clatter bridge with mesh panels. A built-in picnic table. Dual built-in sandbox areas. A tic-tac-toe panel, steering wheel, and play telescope.

That's not a swing set — that's a two-story mini apartment for kids who should be outside instead of on a screen. The main tower sits at 5 feet high, which is meaningful when you're building toward the treehouse or sky loft add-on options that Gorilla offers. Future-proofing a play structure is smart parenting.

The platform weight limits are generous — 800 lbs total across platforms and 225 lbs per belt swing means multiple kids playing simultaneously without any concern. The trapeze at 125 lbs stays in the kids' lane, but that's a reasonable spec for that type of attachment.

For a 13-month-old who isn't quite ready for the full setup yet and a young man who just turned 6, watching this grow with them over the next few years is exactly the kind of long-game investment a Boss Daddy makes. Gorilla Playsets Wilderness Gym Swing Set

Installation: Budget Two Days and Bring Help

I'm not going to sugarcoat this. Half of the first day was just unboxing, sorting, and laying out every piece and part. The hardware alone requires a methodical approach — and if you rush it, you will pay for it on the back end with misaligned sections and loose connections.

Costco was running a free professional installation promotion when I purchased, and I worked alongside the installer for both days. That made it manageable. Without that installer, I'd estimate a solo attempt at this build to be a three-day minimum, possibly more. We're talking about a structure that tips the scale at 1,181 lbs assembled and covers roughly 20.5 feet wide by 15 feet deep. This is not a two-bolt-and-done situation.

If Costco is running the free install promo when you buy, take it. That alone makes buying through Costco the boss play at this price point. If you're buying elsewhere or the promo has expired, budget for professional installation — it's worth every dollar. Trying to muscle a project like this solo on a Saturday afternoon is how you end up with a half-built swing set in the yard and a bad attitude at dinner.

The footprint also requires a minimum play area of 32.5' x 27'. Measure your yard before you order. No asterisks on that one.

Value: $3,599 for a Structure That Doesn't Apologize

Bottom line: $3,599 is a real number. I'm not going to wave it off like it's nothing. But when I compare this to what you'd get at a box store for $800 or $1,200 — the flex, the lightweight lumber, the hardware that starts backing out by year two — the math changes quickly.

This is a structure you buy once. The cedar is built to last a decade-plus with basic maintenance. The hardware is commercial-adjacent. The weight capacity means it grows with your kids and survives the neighborhood crew showing up unannounced on a Saturday. That's the real value calculation: not what it costs today, but what it costs spread over the years you use it versus replacing a cheaper set every three years.

For a Boss Daddy with a yard that fits it and kids old enough to use it, this is a clear yes at the price. The free installation promo through Costco made the value play even stronger for me — that's a meaningful offset on a professional two-day labor cost.

Where I dock a point on value is simply the reality of the price point as a barrier. Not every dad can write that check. If the budget is tight, a smaller Gorilla set is still a serious step above box-store flimsy — but if you can swing $3,599, this is where you want to land. This is the good stuff.

The Verdict

The Gorilla Playsets Wilderness Gym Swing Set is the kind of backyard investment that makes a statement before a single kid swings on it. Premium cedar, near-commercial hardware, 4x4 posts, a 4x6 swing beam, and a feature list long enough to keep a whole neighborhood of kids entertained — this is what it looks like when a dad refuses to buy something he'll regret in two seasons. My daughter isn't running the rock wall yet, but this set will be ready when she is, and I won't be embarrassed by what it looks like in the yard when the neighbors walk by. The honest caveats are real: this is a two-day build, it demands a serious yard footprint, and $3,599 is a commitment. But if you have the space, the budget, and the patience to do it right — or the good sense to catch Costco's free installation promo — this one earns a strong 9 out of 10 from me. Buy it, build it right, and let the backyard do the talking. Gorilla Playsets Wilderness Gym Swing Set