If your kids love a playground with a bit of a story to it, put this little bee-themed gem on your list! 🐝 Stanley Street Reserve has been cleverly designed around the world of native bees, with a giant hive-inspired climbing structure, bee sculptures, a pretend honey shop and hidden bee-themed details for kids to discover. It’s not a huge playground, but there’s plenty packed in, and younger kids in particular can have a great time exploring all the little spaces. A lovely local spot for a play when you want somewhere a little different.
Find it at: 48 Stanley Street, Glengowrie.
Good for: Toddlers through to primary-aged kids, particularly children who enjoy climbing, imaginative play and exploring.
Best for: The bee-themed climbing structure, slides, swings, imaginative play and discovering all the little bee details around the playground.
Toilets: No. The nearest public toilets are at Da Costa Reserve and Hazelmere Road Reserve, approximately 1km away.
Shade: Yes. There are shade sails over the playground, with shaded seating nearby.
Fenced: Yes, with a small opening behind the picnic shelter leading towards the tennis court.
Accessible: Partly. There is an accessible merry-go-round and accessible access to this area, but the bark-chip surface around much of the main playground isn't wheelchair accessible.
Parking: Yes. There is a small car park beside the playground, with additional street parking nearby.
Cafe or food nearby: There isn't a cafe at the reserve, but there is a picnic shelter and BBQ if you'd like to bring your own food. Glenelg is also only a short drive away for cafes, coffee and lunch.
The centrepiece is a giant hexagon-shaped "hive" filled with climbing challenges, slides, crawl-through spaces and cubby areas. There's also a giant blue-banded bee to climb on, a fully accessible spinner, swings, balance logs and plenty of little bee-themed details to discover.
We also love the interactive fun of the honey shop and you can also try your luck at finding 100 bee stickers that are hidden around the playground.
Lots of shade, BBQs but no toilets sadly. It's mostly fenced (except for a walkway spot so watch out for that). Our little ones had an absolute ball here, with so much to explore and really immerse themselves in the theme. They will actually bee-lieve they are in a hive (sorry last bee pun....promise), especially when they visit the honey shop.
It is quite a beautiful little space and one of those little hidden gems you may come across and just love. This could have been another bog standard run of the mill back street playground but they have turned into something quite special.
