The Best Shaded Playgrounds in Adelaide


Thorndon Park Reserve Playground, Paradise

Find it at: Hamilton Terrace, Paradise Thorndon Park playground has been voted Australia’s Best Playground (Winner of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects award for best play space 2023) The upgraded (in 2023) playground at Thorndon Park is amazing! A hen (water play sculpture), wren (climbing structure) and crane (swing) now call the park home and don’t forget the biggest bird, a heron (slide structure), which takes...

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Marshmallow Park / Pityarilla Activity Hub

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...

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Parkway Reserve Fulham Gardens

Find it at: The Parkway, Fulham Garden Located directly behind Target at Fulham Gardens this playground can’t be missed with its bright orange play equipment. With a little something for everyone, the favourite and most obvious piece of equipment is quite a steep tubular slide with the BIG smiley face at the end. Located either side of the tubular slide are 2 more slides with slightly gentler slopes, leaving the kids with a lot of sliding...

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Price Community Playground | Yorke Peninsula

Find it at: Fowler Terrace, Price We have found the perfect stop for the kids to stretch their legs, get some fresh air and have a snack while you are road tripping on the Yorke Peninsula. Price is on the eastern side of the leg (back of the thigh, if you will!), about half an hour before Ardrossan. It’s not a huge town, it’s known mainly for its salt processing plant but the playground sits on the edge of the town adjacent the salt flats and...

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Polonia Reserve Playground, Croydon Park

Find it at: Essex Crescent, Croydon Park Following its partial closure for the South Road upgrade, Polonia Reserve has re-opened into a magnificent new playground, which features one of the most eye-catching designs of any playground in the state. The Polonia Reserve upgrade includes an open kick about lawn, play space and storm water detention area. The huge 7-metre-tall, 12-metre-wide soccer ball playground sculpture, built by local business...

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Cormorant Drive Reserve

Find it at: Cormorant Drive Hallett Cove A new playground and reserve has opened at Cormorant Drive down at Hallett Cove and it is very cool (especially for dino lovers) This reserve has an interesting history with a Diprotodon (Giant Wombat) fossil remains found here in 1992. This Australian megafauna was the world’s largest marsupial and lived between 15,000-10,000 years ago. A playground includes: Diprotodon sculpture climb Diprotodon...

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Bonython Park Playground

Find it at: Port Rd, Adelaide What a beautiful playground for kids of all ages! Renovated back in late 2012, the Bonython Park Playground has a some very cool features not found in the typical suburban park. Some of the best equipment includes two 25m flying fox lines fun for kids of all ages and an extensive water play area complete with pumps, gates and a watermill. Kids love playing and experimenting with water and this...

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Penfold Park Auldana

Find it at: The Parade, Magill What a fabulous playground and reserve this one is. Talk about a stunning location, you will find this if you head east on The Parade far enough til you think you are about to drive into the front garden of the fancy houses in the foothills. The playground has had a huge upgrade in December 2022 and is set a little way back from the car park, which is great because you get to walk across a beautiful little stone...

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Tanunda Recreation Park

Find it at: Bilyara Rd, Tanunda Huge news out of Tanunda with the opening of their fabulous new inclusive playground in December 2022. The new Playground has been made possible by State Government grant funding of $330,221 and a Council contribution of $782,800, making it a total budget of $1,113,000 Features of the Inclusive Playground include a flying fox, trampolines, climbing/elevated play, slides, swings, sand and water play, barbecue...

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Fairbanks Drive Reserve Paralowie

Find it at: Fairbanks Dr, Paralowie Fairbanks Drive has had a huge upgrade with the completion of a fabulous playground to accompany the recently completed rage3 cage. Not sure what a rage cage is? Its an all-in-one sporting…..cage (funnily enough) where kids can play a variety of sports including basketball rings, soccer goals, cricket stumps, a climbing wall, hopscotch and ball target holes. This playground is a paradise for older kids,...

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Stanley Street Reserve, Glengowrie

Find it at: Stanley Street, Glengowie This one will have your little crew buzzing (little bee humour there…you will see why in the pics), with this bee hive themed playground. This has jumped straight into some of our favourite playgrounds, with some very unique pieces of play equipment and a real commitment to the bee theme (even if the ride on bees do look sort of like they will appear in your nightmares at some point) Lots of shade, no...

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Meadows Playground

Find it at: Battunga Road, Meadows Not every playground needs to cost a million bucks and have every whizz bang feature to be a memorable day out does it. Sometimes it is all about the serenity and a relaxing moment in a busy day, where you can sit and the kids can play. Well the Meadows Playground, about 20 minutes south of Mt Barker, is one of those spots. Fully fenced, and with some absolutely beautiful natural shade (Trees. Lots of trees),...

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Lightsview Adventure Park

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...

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Tailem Bend Playground

Find it at: Railway Terrace, Tailem Bend Train fans this one is for you! That might even equally apply to the train enthusiast parents as well, because this one is a beauty! A fully fenced, humungous playspace in the heart of Tailem Bend, this one not only caters to train fans but includes a great range of play equipment for all ages. When we popped in for a visit, there were lots of local families enjoying what is obviously THE place to be for...

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Brighton Oval Playground

Find it at: Brighton Road, Brighton (Highet Avenue is a side street nearby) Fully Fenced Playground! That is usually music to the the ears of a lot of people, because knowing your little tacker can run around and not actually escape is just bliss. Thankfully the newly developed Gladys Mathwin playground at the Brighton Oval sports complex is fully fenced and with a load of other must haves for parents (except toilets which weren’t readily...

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Quentin Kenihan/Rymill Park Accessible Playground

Find it at: Rymill Park / Murlawirrapurka (Park 14) Disability advocate, writer and actor Quentin Kenihan has been memorialised with a new inclusive playground built in Rymill Park. The $1m playspace, promised by the Premier Steven Marshall to be “the very best inclusive playground in the country,” includes sensory elements, waterplay and features that encourage shared play and will be suitable for children and parents with...

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Alpine Road Reserve

Find it at: Alpine Road, Seacombe Heights Opening for business (kid business that is) from the start of November 2020, this fantastic new park is tucked away in the quiet back streets of Seacombe Heights. It really has it all this one, with a junior playground and flying fox, as well as a really fun ninja course for the older kids. Don’t forget to pack the bikes, scooters and balls to use on the scooter/pump track and basketball court! We...

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Orphanage Park Playground Millswood

Find it at: Mitchell Street, Millswood Wow what a fabulous toddler playground this spot is. It is fully fenced, with sensational shade from both the shade sails and the beautiful big trees (probably gum trees…all big trees are gum trees right?). With lots of lovely toddler orientated equipment, a little bike/scooter track around the perimeter and lots of seating, I can’t remember feeling so relaxed at a playground! It really was...

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Tiranna Reserve West Lakes

Find it at: Tiranna Way, West Lakes. Talk about location, location, location! We often forget we have an incredible lake over at West Lakes which provides some of the most beautiful scenery in town. This is a spectacular spot which if you visit on a nice day like we did, will make you feel like you are on holiday at some sort of fancy resort. There were a lot of things we loved about this one. The view of course. Obviously! But we loved the...

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Prettejohn Reserve Para Hills

Find it at: Wilkinson Road, Para Hills The City of Salisbury has spruced up the (FULLY FENCED) play space at Prettejohn Gully Reserve in Para Hills, with new play equipment including a multi play unit, activity box, monkey bars, musical equipment, talking tubes, carousel, two-person springer, sandpit and swings. While the kids play under the recently constructed shade structure, you can relax under the new shelter which features a picnic...

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Renmark Lions Playground

Find it at: James Ave, Renmark We love a cracking regional playground and this one is a beauty. Located on the corner of Eighteenth Street and Renmark Ave, this multi-purpose play space has plenty of parking, is close to large undercover BBQ facilities which overlooks the playground, (and is also undercover) which is suitable for toddlers to teens! The playground has swings, slides, lot of climbing equipment for the avid ninjas in your crew and...

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Cadell Street Reserve Seaview Downs

Find it at: Gawler Street, Seaview Downs Not a bad little backstreet playground for the locals to spend some time at, but some upgrades (Toilets!) would certainly be handy. Shade is great and there is plenty of grassed area to run around/fly a kite/lay on the grass and stare at the clouds. Couple of slides, swings and some climbing equipment which suits the 3 years + crowd. No BBQs but a little bit of seating for the adults was much nicer than...

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Morrie Harrell Reserve Unley

Find it at: Ash Avenue, Unley What an absolute beauty this place is! Talk about a hidden gem that I am sure the locals would want to keep that way. A beautiful, fully fenced play space featuring a lovely playground, sandpits, swings and a heap of smaller play equipment scattered around the park. One thing I found amazing was all the toys left lying around, which are free for everyone to use and return once they are finished. How fantastic! Sand...

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McLeay Park Parkside

Find it at: George Street, Parkside A nice little set up, with a heap of Pros but a few Cons too. Parking was a nightmare, a little side street not far from Greenhill Road was a tough parking challenge, but once you stop it is quite nice what they have done with the space. Fully fenced which is fab! The area has been fenced off into a large playground space and an open grassed section for sports, dogs etc. The playground is also fully shaded...

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Maitland Playground

Find it at: Rodgers Terrace, Maitland On the corner of Rogers Terrace and Robert St in Maitland there is a great combination playground. It boasts both the typical metal/plastic style playground with a large wooden climbing section. There is a spinning ride (although beware after rain as it fills with water), swings, a big slide, a digger and climbing equipment. It is surrounded by fence for most of the playground with just a small gap for...

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Lewiston Playground

Find it at: Pederick Road, Lewiston It’s a beautiful playground in such a quiet area. There is little traffic passing by and its enclosed. The playground is in good repair, clean and lots of fun for a range of ages. There is a bbq area with plenty of undercover seating, rubbish bins and a public toilet. The carpark is off the road and has plenty of space and there’s even a wetlands walking track. Whilst there we noticed that...

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