Top-Notch Playgrounds Across Melbourne
Laidback Laughs: Score a Playground Adventure across Melbourne's Suburbs
Parents and kids in Melbourne are in luck, with loads of imaginative playgrounds scattered everywhere around the city. Whether you're in the inner or outer suburbs, you're bound to find an exciting outdoor playground close by.
From shady city treehouses to sandy suburban splash parks, these top playgrounds and adventure parks will get the whole gang pumped up for a family day out at the park.
Breaking it Down
- The best playgrounds in Melbourne's northern suburbs
- The best playgrounds in Melbourne's western suburbs
- The best playgrounds in Melbourne's southern suburbs
- The best playgrounds in Melbourne's eastern suburbs
Absolutely Amazing Adventures - Northern Suburbs
Accessible Adventures, Mill Park
Focusing on inclusive design, Accessible Adventures in Mill Park earns top marks. The park offers a water play area with accessible water tables, shooting water jets, and misting rings, along with a towering multi-level climbing tower with ramps and bridges for all. You'll also find a double flying fox, trampolines, inclusive swings, and slides. And for the quiet time, a sensory play area caters to those seeking a peaceful retreat.
- Shade: Yes, several shaded play areas
- Toilets: Yes, including accessible facilities
- Parking: Large carpark near the playground
Gumnut Grove, Donnybrook
At this northern park, the theme is all about gumnuts - giant timber gumnuts form part of the jungle gym, connected by rope and wire bridges. Kids will love climbing through and sliding down the gumnutastic slides. A smaller slide and play area for toddlers, sports courts, a skate park, and in-ground trampolines ensure fun for all ages. And as a bonus, a nearby café offers snacks when energy levels drop.
- Shade: Partial shade from trees
- Toilets: Yes
- Parking: Carpark by the playground
North Side Nostalgia, North Melbourne
This playground in North Melbourne is perfect for younger kids, with a cubby house, small jungle gym, sand pit, and swings. The best part? A crawling-creatures-themed equipment, including insect ride-on springers and climbable rope spiders, will keep little ones entertained.
- Shade: Tree shade
- Toilets: No
- Parking: Street parking
Lincoln's Lair, Carlton
With redeveloped equipment in 2019, you'll find a giant, nature-based, inner-city treehouse at Lincoln's Lair. Climb the enclosed rope and metal frames, cross the high, enclosed rope bridge, and slide down the large tube slide. Surrounded by majestic 150-year-old Moreton Bay fig trees, this park will have kids feeling like true-blue explorers.
- Shade: Plenty from the trees
- Toilets: Yes
- Parking: Street parking
Accessible Adventures playground, Mill Park, is the pinnacle of all-inclusive playground design. Image: City of Whittlesea
Playground Prowess - Western Suburbs
Crocodile's Play, Point Cook
Designed for both young and old, Crocodile's Play offers nest swings, slides, stepping stones, and spouting crocodile water features. Kids and adults alike will love the barbecue and picnic areas next to the artificial lakes.
- Shaded areas: Barbecue and picnic areas have shade; trees offer some shade
- Toilets: No
- Parking: Street parking
Jurassic Jungle, Yarraville
Step back in time 65 million years at Yarraville's dinosaur-themed park. The park is small but features a giant, realistic dinosaur sculpture kids can climb all over. Don't miss the dino eggs; they're perfect for hiding in! Other park amenities include a barbecue area, picnic tables, and an adjacent community garden.
- Shaded areas: Shade cloths protect the playground from the sun
- Toilets: Yes
- Parking: Small carpark
Big Climb, Albion
Head to Selwyn Park Albion for the Ninja training playground, offering challenges for kids to conquer ropes, wire climbing frames, ladders, and a Ninja Warrior wall. Don't forget about the second playground, with climbing equipment and swings between the outdoor gym and tennis courts.
- Shaded areas: No shade cloths, but plenty of trees
- Toilets: Near the tennis courts
- Parking: Carpark near the playground
Wyndham Whirl, Werribee
Featuring two playgrounds, Wyndham Park is a top spot for families. Kids will love the tall tower and slide, swings, rope climbing frames, a wide slide, sand pit, cubby house, and water play station. With barbecue and picnic areas and often hosting community events during summer, this park is a must-visit.
- Shaded areas: Shaded barbecue areas, trees offer some shade
- Toilets: Yes
- Parking: Street parking on Watton Street or a short walk away from Werribee Station
Southern Suburb Savvy
Royal Revelry, Albert Park
Also called Middle Park Adventure Playground, this fort-like playground, complete with a wooden castle, turns any child into royalty. Other features include swings, slides, balance beams, rope and wire bridges, and a flying fox. The entire play area is fenced for safety.
- Shaded areas: Yes, some shaded play areas
- Toilets: Yes
- Parking: Parking bays on Aughtie Drive
Turf Treats, Glen Huntly
Booran Reserve playground embraces its history as the old Caulfield Service Reservoir, with much of the original bluestone plinths and the central sluice gate incorporated into the playground. Features include swings, in-ground trampolines, sensory play areas, cubbies, sandpit, flying fox, and large rope climbing frame with a slide.
- Shaded areas: Yes
- Toilets: Yes
- Parking: Carpark off Alamar Avenue
Skills and Kicks, South Melbourne
Visit Skinner Adventure Playground for activities suitable for kids aged 5 and over. Originally designed for local children living in social housing, it has become a favorite for families from all over. Offerings include haunted houses, treehouses, various slides, sandpits, scooters, a stage, and sports facilities.
- Shaded areas: Yes, plenty
- Toilets: Yes
- Parking: Street parking, paid
Maritime Magic, Port Melbourne
Keep things nautical with the Maritime Cove Community Park in Port Melbourne. Repurposed equipment creates an ocean-themed park with forts, a crow's nest, marine bollards, old rail lines, a ladder bridge, and replica shipping containers. Plus, the park sits right on the beach.
- Shaded areas: Limited shade under shipping containers
- Toilets: Nearest toilets located next to the Sandridge Lifesaving Club
- Parking: Street parking
Eastern Suburb Splendors
Eltham Enchantment, Eltham North
Loaded with shade, the Eltham North Adventure Playground opened in 2018 after it was destroyed by a fire. The impressive playground is under a large wooden shed, transforming it into somewhat of a giant play "barn." Additional wooden cubby "shops," a sandpit with a digger, monkey bars, and a liberty swing for wheelchair users enrich this outdoor play experience.
- Shade: Plenty
- Toilets: Yes
- Parking: Large carpark near the playground
Waverly Wonderland, Mulgrave
Kids with a slide addiction will love Waverly Park, boasting two enormous two-layered slides and a giant embankment slide for that extra fun factor. Smaller kids will enjoy the sandpit area with a digger, and the park is home to standard play equipment like swings, flying foxes, and trampoline pits.
- Shaded areas: Shaded play areas and picnic areas
- Toilets: Yes
- Parking: Parking bays in front of the park
Park and Play, Kew
Victoria Park offers an assortment of play options, including slides, swings, rope climbing frames, poles, sensory nature play, water pump tubes, trampolines, a "ninja warrior" wall, and gym equipment. The park is also home to a family-friendly bike and scooter pump track.
- Shade: Lots of tree shade and shade sails
- Toilets: Yes
- Parking: Street parking
Nature's Nook, Noble Park
Don't miss the unique features at Ross Reserve Playground, like a roller slide down an embankment and child-sized hamster wheel. Older kids will adore the jungle gym fortress with multiple levels, wooden bridge, portholes, high-rise wire climbing tunnel, large rope ladder, and multiple slides, including the massive helix tube slide.
- Shade: Shaded sand pit, barbecue areas, and trees
- Toilets: Yes
- Parking: Street parking
Consider these playgrounds as your go-to family-friendly destinations in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, offering a combination of extraordinary themes, diverse play options, and chances for outdoor exploration.
| Playground Name | Location | Notable Features ||---------------------------|---------------|------------------------------------------|| Boroondara Park | Kew | Transport-themed, catering to all ages || Foley Reserve | Kew | Helicopter, petrol pump, tram, shade || Victoria Park | Kew | Modern, open spaces || H.A. Smith Reserve | Camberwell | Pocket park, play car with double steering wheels || Bowen Gardens Playground | Camberwell/Balwyn| Toddler and older kid sections || Yarra Bank Reserve | Hawthorn | Nature play, giant canoe || Kellett Reserve | Kew | Quiet pocket park for downtime || Herman Pump Reserve | Heathmont | Giant frog, tunnel slide, netted climbing frames || Maggs St Reserve | Oakleigh | New equipment, ropes challenges || Dales Park Playground | Oakleigh South| Spider web, climbing frames || Hepburn Reserve | Doncaster Hill| Simple, pocket of play fun |
These playgrounds present the best of Melbourne's eastern suburbs, providing families a safe, creative, and enjoyable play experience.
- Accessible Adventures, a playground in Mill Park that focuses on inclusive design, offers a water play area, climbing tower, and a sensory play area, making it a great choice for families looking for a home-and-garden setting in the northern suburbs.
- In the eastern suburbs, consider visiting the Eltham North Adventure Playground, located in Eltham North. This playground, which reopened in 2018 after a fire, offers a giant play "barn" under a large wooden shed, providing a unique home-and-garden experience for children.
