When we think of the playgrounds for toddlers we think of fences, swings, toilets, lots of tiny equipment and, even better, a nice shaded space. These things are not always possible (why can’t ALL playgrounds have fences ALL the way around?!), but check out these playgrounds around Adelaide that we think your kids – and you – will love
If you want a short list of our all time top 10 toddler playgrounds (say that three times quickly) here’s the ones we think are the very best.
Find it at: Christopher Grove, O’Halloran Hill Enter another world through this fun take on imaginative play at Christopher Grove Reserve, O’Halloran Hill. This picturesque reserve offers room for the children to run around and set their imaginations free.Pixies, fairies, goblins and trolls will delight in the whimsical mushroom cubby house, footbridge, dry creek bed and climbing tree tower. Dress up and join in the fun. Picnics and tea...
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Find it at: Park Cres, Brighton We do love ourselves a fully fenced playground and this one at Brighton is little, but covered by lots of natural shade and has equipment suited for the under 5s. It’s located in a quiet area and is surrounded by a nice size grass area where you can have more of a run around, kick a ball or have a picnic.
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Find it: Cnr Rugby Terrace and Halsbury Avenue Kingswood Playgrounds near ovals are always a winner for us. One because they mean there’s lots of space for running around, kicking a ball, flying a kite and two, there’s likely to be toilets. Kingswood Oval Playground is also fully fenced (love that) and has shade. So it’s ticking a lot of boxes. The playground is fully fenced (love that) and includes equipment for both the...
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Find it on the corner of Oliver Avenue and Riverway Drive, Fulham Gardens Located along the linear park trail we love this park because it’s fully fenced, which not many are along the river near here and also has heaps of natural shade. A great park for toddlers for it’s low, easy to use equipment and we love the tandem swing. There’s also some fun climbing nature play features, BBQ and picnic tables. No toilets though. You...
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Find it at: Doxiadis Street, St Agnes This 2024 built playground is set in the picturesque Doxiadis Reserve, and is aimed at the under 5s predominantly. With the equipment design blending in nicely with the surrounding bushland, this is a great suburban pit stop and very well put together. No toilets or BBQs however, but the Kokoda Trail commerative walking trail is a great opportunity to take the kids for a stroll and teach them about a...
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Find it at: Rozelle Avenue, Melrose Park The upgrade to the reserve opened in 2024 and provides a fabulous space for the younger kids. A BBQ, picnic table, and shelter will be added to the western side of the Reserve with fencing on the eastern side around the playground, enhancing the overall experience for visitors.
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Find it at: Corner Cedar Avenue and Croydon Avenue, West Croydon Renamed after local legend Eileen Harris, and with an upgrade in 2024 this shaded playground is fabulous for the under 10s. Spacious and with plenty of quality equipment for the kids to climb and challenge themselves on, it also features shade sails and natural shade from surrounding trees. No toilets or BBQs at this one, but definitely a quality suburban...
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Find it at: Valetta Road, Kidman Park We love this reserve as it is awesome for all ages and has such a variety of things to do. As this reserve is quite big it features 2 play equipment areas. BONUS .The original play equipment space is multi coloured and aimed generally for the older kids but still includes a few pieces for the toddlers. This section features swings, 3 slippery dips, lots and lots of awesome climbing equipment to keep...
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This playground has been recently upgraded and includes some great new features! Flying fox (ideal for 3+, it has a bit of a jolt at the end, so make sure little hands can hold on) Baby and toddler swings, plus “big kids” swing and swinging basket 2 playground structures, one aimed more at 1-3 year olds and one for 3+ A ‘spinning wheel’ with 3 grip bars that the kids spent AGES on. A big hit! Key features we also liked...
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Find it at: Nedford Crescent, Fulham Gardens A lovely suburban playground which is great for toddlers, has the double ‘Mum and Me’ style swing where you can swing with your baby. Plenty of safety features here too which allows the toddlers to climb safely,with safe rails guard rails and good steps. No toiles shade or BBQ here however, but there is some shade on the grassed areas under the trees. Two swings and some wooden stepping...
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Find it at: McFarlane Street, Glenelg North (just off Tapley’s Hill Road) Combine a fantastic playground with all the facilities you will need, with a bit of local history, and you have the Old Gum Tree historic site and playground at Glenelg. With 3 seperate undercover areas to cater for multiple groups at one time, scattered around a spacious area shaded by huge (probably gum) trees, this is the perfect spot for your family...
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Find it at: Hessing Crescent, Trott Park Hessing Crescent was upgraded in September 2024, and this little playground is packed full of features for the under 10s. Did we mention it is FULLY FENCED? There is a public toilet at this one too which is fantastic. You will find it through the public courts to the north of the playground (about 60m) and there is a sign pointing the direction It includes the following; A multistation with slides Three...
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Find it at: Lumsden Avenue, Ridgehaven This August 2024 upgraded playground is a fabulous quiet suburban spot, nestled amongst the established mature trees. The park features a variety of play equipment, including swings, 2 slides (allowing the younger age group to also enjoy), climbing wall, balancing bridge, rope ladder and balancing, sensory panels, and a rocker. These facilities are designed to encourage physical activity and imaginative...
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Find it at: The Esplanade, Semaphore Semaphore Foreshore is set for an incredible redevelopment, which will include a brand new playground (which will replace the existing playground below). The revised Master Plan is open for community consultation until 19 May 2024, but check out some of the concept images below. We are loving the proposed new activity hub (new playground to be built next to this), and water play! To read the Master Plan and...
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Find it at: Poltawa Terrace, Broadview Broadview Oval is a fabulous community space, which includes equipment and facilities for the whole family including: Playground Electric BBQ Cycle Track Tennis Clubs Oval Dog Park Kiosk (open Monday to Friday 8am-11am and 4pm-8pm, weekends for football games). This area is only an off-leash area for dogs between 5am and 8am, and 5pm and 9pm. The fenced off dog park is off-leash all of the time. We love...
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Find it at: Mosley Square Glenelg The Glenelg Foreshore Playground is SO good and we have absolutely loved visiting (along with most of Adelaide!) over the past few years since it opened. With the recent seasonal addition of the Giant Wheel, from about October to April, it makes for a brilliant day out! It’s a great mixture of beach surrounds, fun for young and old kids, and the move towards ‘nature play’ areas. Highlights...
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Find it at: Warland Reserve, Victor Harbor Stage 2 of this fabulous development has been completed and it looks brilliant. The earlier redeveloped GT Fisher Playground in Victor Harbor opened in July 2019 and is located where the old train playground was, right near the horse trams, this nature playground will have the kids smiling all around. What an amazing interactive, quirky playspace the people of Victor Harbor have delivered. Based around...
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Find it at: Saltflee Street, Port Noarlunga South Jubilee Playground is one of the biggest and best playgrounds in the Adelaide area. It’s an oldie but a goodie and most of the awesome play equipment that forms a castle is made out of wood which makes it even cooler! Jubilee Playground has HEAPS of things to keep kids from toddler to high school amused and has different sections for different abilities – from slides, swings,...
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Find it at: Main St, Hahndorf Hahndorf is one of the best day trip locations in our fabulous state. Seriously nothing better than a walk along Main Street, popping into the little shops for a treat or an ice cream, then washing it all down with a litre of beer from a stein and a few kilos of meat (Hahndorf Inn you have my heart….but I digress) There has always been a couple of small playgrounds in Hahndorf but the recent...
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Find it at: Main St, Woodside If you’re looking for a nice playground for school aged kids in the Adelaide Hills, with full facilities then this might be it! Woodside Playground is located right on the Main Street next to the Woodside Oval and sports complex. It has all the usual playground equipment – slides, a small ‘flying fox’, climbing frames and swings all within a fully fenced play area. In addition, it’s...
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Find it at: Onkaparinga Valley Road, Balhannah Balhannah Playground is located on Onkaparinga Valley Road, just outside of the main town. Look left as you go past the shops and you can’t miss it. Situated perfectly between the Balhannah Oval, Tennis Courts and BMX track, it’s the kind of spot you can bring the whole family to no matter what the ages. If you’re after a birthday party location a bit different to the standard...
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Find it at: Churchill Ave, Clarence Park Dora Gild Playground is a great little play space hidden at the end of Churchill Ave in Clarence Park. We have been there a few times and really enjoy it – with plenty of options to keep a range of aged kids busy for a while. It is great for those with older and younger kids as there are separate areas suitable for either the toddler age or 5-9 year olds, but they are close enough that parents can...
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Find it at: South Terrace Adelaide Another fully fenced park in the city, this South Terrace playground is located near the Unley/Pulteney Road intersection of the Parklands. Well equipped and better suited for slightly older kids than the one a few blocks West, this playground includes a good sized, seated flying fox, numerous toddler and regular swings, slides for all ages and spring rockers. It also has a sizable climbing net for older kids,...
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Adelaide is home to some amazing playgrounds, but sometimes, your kids may have a really intense love for a very specific theme. Most kids do at some point, whether it be dinosaurs, pirates, trains or just wanting to run around and get so damn dirty that you think you may get arrested for stealing sand. Whatever your kid is into, we have scoured the archives and compiled a list of some of Adelaide’s Best Themed Playgrounds for you to...
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Find it at: The Parade & West Terrace, Kensington Gardens Hidden away in the inner Eastern suburbs is this the awesome Burnside Adventure Playground. Despite being a multi-award winning park and just off The Parade, I’ve been surprised to find how many locals don’t even know about this place with things to do for families of all ages and interests! It s a firm fave for us and our two boys under 5, plus our friends with toddlers...
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Find it at: Watahuna Avenue, Hawthorndene This park is a beautiful leafy, shady spot and great for kids of all ages really. Heaps of space to spread out, play ball games and run around AND it’s fully fenced! Yahoo! The playground features areas for the little people, and the bigger kids with swings, slides, firemans pole, monkey bars, flying fox, see saw and a cute little pretend ‘shop’ area where the kids made pretend...
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Find it at: Bowker Street, North Brighton The super popular reserve and oval benefited from a 2022 upgrade to the playground which now includes swings, a couple of slides and a small amount of equipment to suit the under 10s. The reserve also includes a BBQ and toilets, as well as outdoor fitness equipment, 3 on 3 basketball court, tennis courts and a netball ring. The reserve is home to a number of sporting clubs from a variety of sports, and...
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Find it at: 43 Jervois Street, South Plympton Jervois Street Playground in South Plympton is up there with Morialta and Glenunga as one of our favourite playgrounds in Adelaide. Some of the Jervois Street Reserve highlights are: Fully fenced junior playground with lots to keep the little ones happy including double slides, a ‘bird’s nest’ swing, regular and baby swing, sandpit and a water play feature with pump action water...
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Find it at: Corner of Bundeys Road and MacKinnon Parade, North Adelaide There are two main playground areas within the North Adelaide Playspace both with similar equipment but one lower to the ground and therefore better for 1-4 year olds, while the slightly bigger equipment is well suited to ages 4-10. Each playground section has HEAPS of options for climbing including lots of different wood and rope sections, log balance beams, wooden...
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Find it at: Esplanade Largs Bay The Largs Bay foreshore play space redevelopment in 2024 brought to life an amazing concept which feels like came straight from the imagination of us as kids! This one is a very popular site with local and visiting families and the new ice cream themed playground is sure to make it even more popular. We love when councils and designers think outside the box to create imaginative play areas for the kids. This one...
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