Our pick of Melbourne’s best playgrounds
WITH elaborate water play areas, flying foxes and giant slides, here’s our pick of Melbourne’s most exciting playgrounds. Best of all, they’re free.
Leader
Don't miss out on the headlines from Leader . Followed categories will be added to My News.
SO you’ve been forced to watch Frozen for the millionth time and your bored kids have started ‘decorating’ the walls with your favourite lipstick?
It’s time to get out of the house and head to one of Melbourne’s adventure playgrounds.
Many of these sophisticated suburban meccas of fun include water play areas, sandpits, huge slides, flying foxes, impressive climbing structures and equipment to suit all-abilities.
Here’s our pick of some of the city’s best playgrounds, guaranteed to provide hours of fun and free entertainment this school holidays.
HAVE YOUR SAY:Where are your favourite Melbourne playgrounds? Tell us below.
CITY
ArtPlay Playground, Birrarung Marr
Highlights: Rock and rope climbing equipment, tube slides, swinging hammocks and liberty swing.
If you’ve taken the kids into the city for shopping, a gallery visit or an appointment, they’ll no doubt be itching to escape for a play.
With plenty of equipment, including popular swinging hammocks, the colourful ArtSpace playground is the best place for it.
Kids also love rolling down the big hill nearby.
Consider a visit to the adjoining ArtPlay centre for children, which hosts workshops, events and performances.
NORTH
Royal Park Nature Play Playground, Flemington Rd, Parkville
Highlights: Water play area, climbing forest, rocky wall with slides, swings.
Royal Park’s newly opened $5.5 million nature playground is both a relaxing retreat and a place to burn off some steam for patients of the adjacent Royal Children’s Hospital.
But it’s not just patients and their families who are benefitting from the space at the site of the old children’s hospital. It’s also proving a hit with inner-north kids and a fun pitstop for those visiting the nearby Melbourne Zoo.
Older children will love the large rope climbing structures and big slides, while tots are thrilled with the water and sand play areas.
Bring hats and sunscreen because there’s little shade, and spare clothes because your kids are probably going to get soaked under the fountains.
Eltham Lower Park Accessible Play Space, Diamond Valley Rail Park, Main Rd, Eltham
Highlights: Double flying fox, liberty swing, butterfly climbing wall, spinning carousel and miniature railway.
Inspired by the life of the Eltham Copper Butterfly, this large park truly has something for children of all ages and abilities.
There’s tactile braille panels, elevated sand trays for people in wheelchairs and a liberty swing.
The flying foxes, one with a harness and one without, are huge hits.
The miniature railway, which winds its way across bridges and through tunnels, is considered one of the best in the country. It operates 11am-5pm on Sundays and is also running Easter Monday, 1pm-4pm and Wednesday, April 8, 1pm-4pm. Railway tickets are $3.
SOUTH
St Kilda Adventure Playground, off Neptune St
Highlights: Big aeroplane, go-kart track, wooden horse, flying fox, trampolines and chook house.
If your kids are sick of the same old boring play equipment and you’re looking for something completely different, then this is the place to go.
Built from recycled materials and with a bit of a rustic, backyard feel, this is surely one of the most unique and imaginative playgrounds in Australia.
In a departure from the sanitised, safety-conscious play spaces of today, the space aims to allow risk-taking play in a supervised environment.
This is not one for the tots and is best for kids aged five to 12 who will have hours of fun.
The playground is open Monday-Friday 3.30pm-5.30pm, weekends 12pm-4.30pm and school holidays 12pm-4.30pm, but check the Port Phillip Council website as it’s sometimes closed.
It will be closed on April 1, Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Monday.
Thomas Street Reserve, 164 Thomas St, Hampton
Highlights: Large wooden fort, swings, slides and fenced-off parkland.
A rather imposing, large, wooden fort is set in this lovely, shady reserve.
It’s great for older kids who will enjoy exploring the multiple-levels of walkways and hidey holes. There are also swings and slides for the littlies and plenty of space to run around.
The castle-like towers would be great for Frozen devotees to imagine they’re in Elsa’s Ice Castle, but just a little bit less chilly (we hope).
EAST
Hays Paddock, Leason St, Kew East
Highlights: Swing with harness, double-width slide and seesaw, hammock, sandpit with diggers and spider’s web trampoline.
This is one of Melbourne’s most beloved playgrounds and one of the most innovative and inclusive.
According to a sign at the park it opened in 1998 and was the first in Australia to cater for “all children, including children challenged by difficulties with hearing, sight, mobility, muscular control or behaviour”.
The colourful, whimsical design includes huge butterfly shade sails and a ring of toadstools.
Don’t forget to visit the ducks at the nearby Kew Billabong.
Casey Fields Regional Playground, 65 Berwick-Cranbourne Rd, Cranbourne East
Highlights: Pirate ship, liberty swing, rope bridge, steep tunnel slide and climbing net.
Ahoy little mateys! You’ll love the pirate ship, complete with steering wheel, binoculars and rope ladder, at this 3ha park.
The sandpit with sand scoops, cubby with cooking area and chain climbing net are also popular.
Kids will burn off plenty of energy running up the adventure hill and slipping back down the winding, tunnel slide.
Montrose Community Adventure Playground, 950 Mt Dandenong Tourist Rd, Montrose
Highlights: Miniature township, climbing Dino-Pyramid, lady bug springer and rope bridge.
Younger kids can enjoy a game of shops in this playground’s mini village, while older kids will love the challenge of the rope bridge and towering Dino-pyramid.
Pop into Montrose for fish and chips, grab a coffee and chocolates from nearby Hahndorf Cafe or enjoy a BBQ in the stunning bush setting because this park will provide hours of entertainment.
Name: Halliday Park, Mitcham Rd, Mitcham
Highlights: Flying fox, trampoline, rope polygon and sandpit.
After an upgrade last year this popular park features attractive and exciting new equipment.
Park users were thrilled the council retained the flying fox, for kids aged 12 and over.
There’s a separate playground for tots with a tunnel, slide and clock and a water play area.
WEST
Village Park, Newmarket Rd, Werribee
Highlights: Water play area, sandpit with play toys, net swing, monkey bars, climbing walls and stepping stones.
The $4.8 million Village Park opened last year and boasts a huge water play area with sprinklers, a spray tunnel and soaker cannons.
It’s the perfect spot for a hot day as the sprinklers turn on once the weather hits about 25C, but the playground is still worth a visit in cooler weather.
There’s also skate park and basketball court in the park.
Don’t forget swimmers and towels.
Mandrel Drive, Williams Landing
Highlights: Rope ladder, rock wall, pyramid rope climbing frame, sandpit with diggers, springers, slides and balancing beams.
Take off to Williams Landing for a visit to this airfield-themed playground.
Kids will love climbing the tall control tower and then sliding down the very-high tunnel slide or lower dual wave slides.
The sandpit with mechanical diggers is also a hit. There are barbecues and a large shaded area for picnics.
Man injured on wind farm south of Ballarat
Police, paramedics, and the SES have rushed to an industrial emergency in Rokewood understood to have involved an injury caused by a wind turbine.
Adrian Portelli’s exorbitant Vic gov land tax bill revealed
Lambo Guy will be paying a mammoth sum of money in land taxes and stamp duty to the State Revenue Office after snapping up all five Block homes. SEE HOW MUCH.