When it’s hot in Adelaide, it’s really bloody hot. So here are some great parks where you can find FREE shade, water play, and some playground fun to keep the kids happy and the electricity bill down. As always PLEASE be very careful with your kids around water. We love kids exploring, having fun in nature and having a splash but you need to watch them at all times! And don’t forget to slip, slop, slap and wrap!
Find it at: Leonard Norman Drive, Waikerie Opened in December 2018 the Waikerie Water and Nature Play Park was the idea of local couple Clive and Donna Mathews who received a $150,000 Fund My Neighbourhood grant from the SA Government and also raised a further $100,000+ from the local Rotary Club, Council and Go Fund me campaign. (how good is that!). The playground also now includes an accessible roundabout for wheelchairs and an accessible...
Read More
Marshmallow Park on Glen Osmond Road, in the Adelaide Parklands is a firm favourite with our families from the 2 year old to the 10 year old. With its huge new renovation, there is now heaps more to explore at this site – also known as Pelzer Park or Pityarilla Activity Hub! The renovation includes some brilliant new nature play features, alongside more traditional swings, slides and climbing frames. There is a great water feature hill...
Read More
Find it at: Maxwell Road, Para Hills West Well isn’t this a little bit sensational! The new playground at The Paddocks Reserve is OPEN and we must say, this is one of the best new playgrounds we have come across in a while, with some pretty spectacular pieces of equipment to keep the kids busy for ages! With access best via Maxwell Road, there is so much to talk about here its hard to know where to start. We have to start off with the...
Read More
Find it at: Mary Lee Street, Two Wells Well isn’t this one totally worth the drive out north! The new playground, Freedom Park, within the Liberty at Two Wells development, is the latest milestone in a $1.2 billion residential precinct way out north. We absolutely loved it when we took the drive to check it out, with our intrepid playground reviewers claiming it as one of the best playgrounds they have visited. High praise indeed! Lots of...
Read More
Find it at: Military Road, Taperoo With a $6.4million budget for the 2018 upgrade, the great thing about this playground is that it caters for ALL age groups. Something we love for Adelaide families as it keeps everyone happy oh and occupied. The equipment is quite spread out and has been zoned for ages . It incorporates lots of challenging climbing structures for the older kids and has a toddler play area along with sand pit and water play for...
Read More
Find it at: George Street, Marion The City of Marion have opened up yet another fabulous playground (they are really setting the standard aren’t they), this time a spacious playground at George Street. With an in-ground trampoline, swing, sandpit, water pump and 2 historical-themed cubby houses, including a village store and a workers cottage, this one is really cool. There’s also a miniature fire pole, slide and logs to jump on and an...
Read More
Renmark is the largest (and possibly prettiest?) town in South Australia’s Riverland and it is a great base for exploring the Riverland with kids. Renmark makes a beautiful family weekend or regional SA holiday break, with so much for the whole family to see and do, a visit with the kids is a must for your bucket list! We did the trip in around three hours from Adelaide. We recently spent some time enjoying the FREE waterplay in the town...
Read More
Find it at: South Parklands, Lightsview A fabulous adventure playground has been added to the Lightsview development, which is well worth the trip! Opened in April 2021, the nature play themed park includes water play, a huge number of logs and balancing beams to test out kids and parents alike! Throw in a climbing hill with slide, a basketball court, sand play area, in-ground trampolines, swings and even more slides, we love this park for...
Read More
Find it at: Central Avenue, Hallett Cove A fabulous new addition to the City of Marion’s range of playspaces opened up in March 2021, with the brand spanking new playground at Central Avenue Reserve. Using the site’s slope to the fullest advantage, the highlight here is a super quick flying fox which takes kids (and parents!) from the rock-climb inspired slide playground and basketball court, right down to the sand play and shelter...
Read More
Find it at: Railway Terrace, Beachport The fantastic playground upgrade at Beachport is complete and it is fantastic! The playground is headlined by easily one of the best playground pirate ships in the state, with plenty of sand play, climbing rope equipment, flying fox, slides and swings. There really is so much to do for all ages and how about the view! Just a stunning attraction for families in the region and all those from the city who...
Read More
Find it at: Kenton Avenue, Oaklands Park Another nice little playground for the locals, with a range of equipment outside of the normal combo of tower slide + swing. They do have some swings, which our crew got around, with a normal swing, toddler swing and dount net swing to entertain the troops. The big horizontal climbing net provided a good challenge for the older kids and the sound pipes are always fun! We loved the adjacent bike and...
Read More
Find it at: Wongabirrie Park – Wirrabara in the mid North Located on the banks of the Rocky River (which is great for exploring or yabbying when wet) is Wongabarrie Park up at Wirrabara. Where is that? Head to Pt Pirie and sort of turn right and you are about on the mark. The playground is a fantastic facility for the locals and travellers alike, with toilets a large rotunda (great for parties) and BBQ areas aplenty. Right next to the...
Read More
Find it at: Dwyer Road, Oaklands Park Folks, the future is here! Remeber the Jetson’s? The cartoon with the family from the future who flew around in flying cars and lived in houses in the sky? Well they probably played at playgrounds like this! The Dwyer Road playground at Oaklands Park is the first high tech playground in South Australia. With $750k of Federal funding, plus a bit from the Marion Council as well, this playground has come...
Read More
Kids LOVE water play, it’s cheap, and usually pretty clean and well a bit messy but that’s ok, only water right? With hot days ahead it’s always a fun option. Here are some of our favourite activities involving good old H2O that will keep your little people both cool and entertained this summer. An old baby bath, a clam pool and a hose with a changeable pressure and water distribution nozzle are some of the things we find...
Read More
Find it at: Hermit Street, Roxby Downs The Hermit Street Nature Play Space in Roxby Downs opened to the public on Thursday 7 May 2020 and doesn’t it look fantastic! The aim of the redevelopment was to provide a recreational space that encourages the community of Roxby Downs to embrace the Roxby Downs environment and for children to utilise their imagination to enjoy a range of outdoor developmental activities. It was also...
Read More
Find it at: Brownhill Creek Road, Brown HIll Creek Test out an afternoon with nature at Brownhill Creek. Enjoy a quiet adventure with the family here year round. In summer there’s usually just enough water to be fun for the littler kids without the faster flowing water you’ll find here in Autumn and winter. We have spent a number of wonderful afternoons down at Brownhill Creek armed with nothing more than some bathers, towel,...
Read More
Find it at: Sixth Ave, Ascot Park The Joan Herraman reserve has a brand new playground, adjoining the Scout Hall on Sixth Avenue. With a child safe locked fence on the Sixth Ave side (the busy main road), but no fence on the quieter street on the opposite side of the park which isn’t too bad. Nature style playground with sand, slide, rope climb and water play, with lush beautiful grassed area for picnics or hurling the vortex around. Enough...
Read More
Find it at: Shamrock Road, Hallett Cove Nestled amongst the neighbourhood of Hallett Cove and located right next to the Hallett Cove train station and tennis courts this playground has just had an upgrade and it looks fabulous. With a mixture of a few pieces of equipment, water and nature play this is a great spot for the local kids to hang out for the school holidays. The long tube green tunnel slide is the first thing you see as you arrive to...
Read More
Find it at: Bradley Grove, Mitchel Park Using the existing trees for shade and consisting of a lovely combination of play equipment and nature play this play concept is an awesome addition and enhancement to the Mitchell Park Oval and Sports facilities. The Marion council contributed $235 000 to this upgrade for the community, a major enhancement to the existing facilities the oval currently offers. The playground features an embankment slide...
Read More
Find it at: The Esplanade, Point Turton The playground section of the park includes nature themed play equipment including: Hill slide Toddler slides Timber frame swings Nest swing Lots of wooden climbing and balancing logs and structures Wooden play “kitchen” Water pump Sand play Another great feature of this park is the bike track built into the hill above the park. Kids will love cutting laps around this track, and you can then...
Read More
Find it at: 120B Hendrie St, Park Holme Livvi’s Place has been specially designed in close consultation with the community to ensure no-one is left out, including those with disabilities, and is located at Hendrie Street Reserve, behind the Marion Outdoor Pool. Built on a beautiful tree-lined reserve, the playground features a wheelchair accessible carousel, swings, slides, a nature play creek, play tables, an accessible cubby house and water...
Read More
Situated on Linear Park amongst the walking track this playground has a lovely local vibe and is an awesome spot for the kids to explore and play. The play area includes equipment and nature play and has a nice balance of the two blended together. It includes water and sand play along with a small flowing creek with rocks and logs which allows the kids to get in to nature play. There’s also lots of natural shade. The playground also...
Read More
Find it at: Sixth Ave, Ascot Park Just in time for school holidays we managed a sneak peek of this newly developed nature playground.The Marion council have done a great job of this space which sits adjacent to the Scouts Association. The nature based area is a fabulous spot for toddlers and young kids to run around and be creative with this awesome little sensory play area. Featuring a sand play and water play area along with natural logs and...
Read More
This park was renovated in 2015 and it still looks great. It’s in a really nice big open space next to Payneham Oval and surrounded by trees and covered in nice green grass. The playground has shade sails over the main play areas but definitely make sure you bring your hat and sunscreen because there are lots of open areas to play. The playground is not fully fenced BUT it’s easy to watch your kids from all angles and the streets on...
Read More
