Cedar Summit Forest Hill Retreat Swing Set: Is It Still Available?

The short answer: no, the Cedar Summit Forest Hill Retreat is not currently for sale. KidKraft’s budget cedar sub-brand, Cedar Summit, has been discontinued, and the Forest Hill Retreat (model F23180) went with it. If you already own one, found a used listing, or are just trying to figure out what this play system actually was, here’s the real story: what it included, why the line disappeared, the safety standards that matter for any wooden swing set, and what to buy instead if you still want a cedar play structure today.

Is the Cedar Summit Forest Hill Retreat Still Available?

Cedar Summit was KidKraft’s value-priced cedar play-set line, sold mostly through Walmart, Costco, and other big-box retailers rather than through KidKraft’s own site. The Forest Hill Retreat was one of the larger sets in that line. As of this update, it doesn’t appear in KidKraft’s current catalog, and the original Amazon listing for it can no longer be verified as an active, in-stock product. If you’re seeing “currently unavailable” or a dead link everywhere you look, that matches what we found too, it’s not a fluke on one retailer’s site.

That doesn’t mean the information below is useless. A lot of these sets are still standing in backyards, showing up on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, or getting handed down between families. If that’s you, the safety section further down (ground anchoring, fall-zone surfacing, hardware checks) applies whether or not the set is still sold new.

What the Forest Hill Retreat Actually Included

For anyone trying to identify a used unit or compare it to a current playset, here’s what model F23180 shipped with, based on the manufacturer’s installation manual and retailer listings for the set:

• A two-story cedar clubhouse with a lower level (large cafe-style window and covered picnic table/bench) and an upper level reachable by a rock wall and access ladder
• An upper “crow’s nest” lookout platform with a peaked, shingled roof and dormer-style window detail
• A Twist N’ Ride tube slide running off the upper deck
• A separate swing beam with two standard belt swings plus a two-passenger glider
• Pre-cut, pre-drilled, pre-stained cedar lumber, which was the main selling point of the whole Cedar Summit line, less on-site cutting than fully raw-lumber kits

The Canyon Ridge and other Cedar Summit models shared this same pre-cut, pre-drilled construction approach, just with different tower/slide/swing combinations, which is why the sets in this line get confused for each other in secondhand listings.

Why KidKraft Discontinued the Cedar Summit Line

KidKraft positioned Cedar Summit as its budget cedar tier, built to compete on price against composite and metal sets at the same big-box retailers. Over the past several product cycles, KidKraft has shifted its outdoor lineup, and Cedar Summit-branded sets have progressively dropped out of active retail listings across the retailers that used to carry them. The brand itself is now largely absent from current wooden-swing-set shelf space, and competitor brands like Gorilla Playsets have stepped into the same big-box cedar-set slot that Cedar Summit used to occupy.

This is a common pattern with big-box exclusive playset lines: they run for a few years tied to specific retail contracts, then get replaced by a refreshed brand once the contract or the tooling cycles out. It’s the same thing that happened to several other retailer-exclusive wooden swing set brands over the last decade, the sets themselves weren’t recalled or defective, the retail relationship just ended.

Real Safety Standards for Any Wooden Swing Set

Whether you’re maintaining a used Cedar Summit set or setting up a brand-new one, three safety requirements apply across essentially every home wooden playset on the market, and they’re the ones inspectors and manufacturer manuals actually check.

Ground Anchoring

Wooden swing sets are tall, top-heavy, and catch wind like a sail once kids start swinging on them. Manufacturer manuals, including KidKraft’s own installation instructions, are explicit that a set shouldn’t be used until it’s properly anchored to the ground; an unanchored frame can tip or walk under load. Most sets use spiral auger-style ground anchors driven into the soil at each leg and strapped or bolted to the frame. If a used set didn’t come with its original anchors, a replacement kit like the one above is a cheap, quick fix, not an optional upgrade.

Fall-Zone Clearance and Surfacing

Playground safety guidance (the same framework referenced by ASTM F1292, the standard for impact-attenuating playground surfacing) calls for an obstacle-free zone extending at least 6 feet out from any stationary play equipment, and further out in the direction a swing travels. Under that zone, grass alone isn’t considered adequate protective surfacing for equipment over a couple of feet high. Loose-fill material, wood mulch or chips, engineered wood fiber, or shredded rubber mulch, needs a minimum compressed depth of about 9 inches for equipment up to 8 feet tall (poured-in fill is usually specified around 12 inches to account for settling and compaction over time). Rubber mulch holds that depth longer than wood mulch, which compacts and needs topping off, so it needs to be raked and checked periodically either way.

Periodic Hardware Inspection

Cedar resists rot better than most softwoods, but the metal hardware, chain, S-hooks, swing bolts, anchor straps, doesn’t get that same protection. Bolts back out from repeated swing motion and seasonal wood expansion/contraction; chain links and S-hooks wear at the contact point. A basic monthly check, tightening loose bolts, closing any S-hooks that have opened up, looking for splinters or cracked boards near stress points, catches most of the failures that actually cause playground injuries on home sets, long before the wood itself becomes the problem.

What to Buy Instead If You Still Want a Cedar Swing Set

If you specifically want a new cedar wooden swing set today, Gorilla Playsets is the brand that’s picked up the same big-box shelf space Cedar Summit used to hold, with cedar sets ranging from compact single-swing-beam models up to large multi-tower systems with rock walls and tube slides similar in spirit to the Forest Hill Retreat. Pricing runs roughly from the low $1,000s for a basic swing beam up to around $4,000 to $5,000 for the largest multi-activity towers, so it’s worth comparing configurations rather than assuming any “cedar swing set” is an equivalent trade.

If budget is the priority and you’re not set on cedar specifically, our Cedar Summit wooden swing set buying guide covers what to look for across pressure-treated pine and composite alternatives too. And if you come across a used Cedar Summit set, including a Forest Hill Retreat, secondhand, the construction quality was generally solid; the anchoring and hardware checks above are what determine whether it’s actually safe to put back into service, not the brand name on the box.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Cedar Summit Forest Hill Retreat still sold new?

No. Cedar Summit was KidKraft’s budget cedar sub-brand, and it has been discontinued. The Forest Hill Retreat (model F23180) is no longer listed as an active, in-stock product by KidKraft or by the major retailers that used to carry it.

What did the Forest Hill Retreat come with?

A two-story cedar clubhouse with a covered table and cafe window, a rock wall and ladder to an upper crow’s nest lookout, a Twist N’ Ride tube slide, two belt swings, and a two-passenger glider, built from pre-cut, pre-drilled, pre-stained cedar lumber.

Do I still need to anchor a used Cedar Summit swing set to the ground?

Yes. Ground anchoring isn’t specific to one brand or model, it’s a manufacturer safety requirement across wooden swing sets generally, because an unanchored frame can tip or shift under the load and wind resistance of active swinging. If the original anchors are missing or corroded on a used set, replace them before letting kids use it.

What’s a good replacement if I want a new cedar swing set today?

Gorilla Playsets currently occupies the same big-box cedar-set niche Cedar Summit used to, with a range of sizes and price points. It’s worth comparing the specific configuration (tower count, slide type, swing capacity) rather than assuming any cedar set is a like-for-like match.

Bottom Line

The Cedar Summit Forest Hill Retreat was a solid two-story cedar play system in its day, but it’s no longer a set you can buy new. If you’re shopping today, look at Gorilla Playsets’ current cedar lineup or a composite alternative instead. If you already have one, or you’re buying a used unit, the things that actually keep kids safe on it have nothing to do with the brand name: anchor it to the ground, keep 9 inches of mulch or rubber fill under the fall zone, and check the hardware monthly.