Lorie wrote:

A consideration with mulch, is that many people are allergic to it.
I was not aware of this until I had it put in front of my house,
then had to have it all removed.

There are dozens of different types of mulch. It's rather a stretch to say
that "mulch" can be allergenic without specifying the type, although I have
not heard of any allergic reactions to any that are commonly used in my
area.

To the OP - look for somthing called "play chips" in your area. They are a
very common product here for just this purpose. Wood chips that are often
combined with recycled rubber - long lasting, safe for kids, cushiony and
relatively inexpensive. Runs about $12-15 per cy here for the quantity you
are looking at. I wouldn't worry too much about weed development - foot
traffic should keep them to a minimum except perhaps along the periphery of
the play area. A reasonable alternative may be sand, but watch out for
neighborhood cats :-)

pam - gardengal