Amazing park so much to do even the big kids love it. Dog friendly and everything. Cool place to…read moreshoot a music video.

Really good park with lots of facilities. There are 3 distinct kids play zones, one smaller one,…read morewith a bike riding track that simulates a road, with traffic lights, stop signs, and roundabout. Then there is a huge slide complex with some very cool looking slides. There is a flying fox, and other area with activities suitable for smaller children. Highly recommend!

This isn't the quietest of parks - there's two fairly busy road but that doesn't mean you won't…read morefind some peace and quiet in here. The centre is a nice place to sit amongst the tall pine trees facing the waterfall. There's a cafe which is pleasant enough and some open stands by the football field if all the shade under the trees is taken. The best bit about this park is the kids play equipment.... If you could call it that. It's more outdoor design come burning man art sculpture focused than child fun park but then the kids playing around the popping water and sticks piece were having a lot of fun on the really hot day I was there. It's a funny mix of life colliding together in this park - the white butterfly landing on my screen followed by a group of school kids, skinny beaked marsh bird, the artsy creative type, the business suit and then the homeless man asking for bus money. Just the general happening of an inner city park I suppose.

Redfern gets a bit of a bad rap. In a suburb that's up-and-coming with some amazing cafes and bars…read moreand a pretty sweet park, I think people should be a little easier. I recently attended a Saturday afternoon birthday BBQ here and found it to be quite a lovely place indeed. The park has your classic amenities- large grassy field, fountain, restroom block, jungle gym- but also has a bit of style as well. My favorite example of this is the tall flower garden sculpture that has water geysers coming out of the ground at random. Nice touch, Redfern. Positioned on the corner of Chalmers St. and Redfern St., there are a lot of awesome little spots cropping up nearby. We stopped at the bottle shop in the Woolpack, which is right there, to pick up some libations for the afternoon. Walking back I took note of the cafes nearby. Next time, I might try lunch at the American diner-style join Eathouse, and then stretch out the full belly in the park for a while. More Redfern Park perks? You're a stone's throw from Surry Hills, and thus all the uber crowded hangouts over there, but you probably won't see your boss and your ex best friend, and your landlord's gay lover and everyone else you kinda know here. It's hip but not "too" hip, and because of that... I'm sold.

This park has got to house one of the most interactive playgrounds in the Inner West - for kids and…read moreadults alike. The play equipment here is great (yes, I have sampled it personally), and tailors to the Inner West's musical inclinations. With a giant glockenspiel amongst other musical/play equipment, it's great place to try out that new song you've been working on - the neighbours here must relish the sound of silence. In saying that, Foley Park is a pretty peaceful place. Despite the constant chortlings of the Wireless House, a sound-art installation designed to replicate an 1930's wireless radio that once lived here (this is really cool despite being somewhat creepy at night), this provides a more interesting and relaxing soundscape, as opposed to just being irritating white noise. Foley Park fills with people lying in the grass on their lunch breaks, and as a free wireless internet hotspot, its a common and lovely spot for uni groups to meet. It remains pretty well lit at night, and the pathway running through the park doesn't feel like it should bear signs of warning. And the best thing about it? It's directly opposite both Sonoma bakery/cafe and Fish On Fire, and thus makes the perfect picnic spot.

This is definitely an urban park. It's only a square block, but it's neat, it's clean, and it has a…read moreplayground for little kids. The small park is almost designed like a running track where there's a lawn/greenery in the middle and paved way with benches scattered throughout the track. Because it's so small, it doesn't really block out any of the traffic noise nearby, but visually, you can try.

Public Ping Pong table!? Why Sydney, you creative little devil, what an idea! Ward Park definitely…read morehas its quirky and queries, but there are some redeeming factors... most notably the ping pong. It's BYO paddles and balls, and although the wind is sometimes a deterrent and the table is often occupied, it's definitely worth a trip down there. Just recently they painted the table in a way that suggests a teen recreational center threw up all over it, but it's not so bad. Other park features include a sweet, almost art deco jungle gym, a large grassy field and some picnic tables. Just make sure you stay the hey-o out of there after dark, because I suspect there are some local park residents who you might not want to rub elbows with.

Newtown Park! I came here for the Newtown Music Festival,…read morewhen this place is hopping. They had the whole block shut off, and this park was in the center of all the action. I'm sure the park isn't this happening the other 364 days of the year. But it's a nice park with wide sidewalks that take you past fields of grass, shady trees, and park benches. There seems to be plenty of street side parking for this park, so it's easy to get to. There's also a subway stop just down the way from here. There's some drinking fountains, and other things to keep you busy. Be sure to check out the graffiti street art along the walls! Cool! There's also a playground if you're inclined. It was a great venue for a festival, and an asset to the neighborhood! The place felt safe, since they were checking bags at the park entrances, and there was plenty of security guys hanging about. I still managed to sneak in a bottle of vodka though. The park backs up to a cemetery, so it has quiet neighbors who don't mind if you're loud.

Newtown is by no means for the light-hearted ... It's a bustling suburb filled with hipsters,…read moretrannies, queens, drug dealers, artists and artisans, diversity and duality. I love this place, and couldn't feel luckier to call it home! You remember statistics class, right? When your professor would go on about a sample population and all that jazz? Camperdown Rest Park is the purrrrfect same population of Newtown! It's by no means where you'd want to bring your mum for a picnic lunch, as you're bound to get contact high from the couple sitting next to you. But if what you're after is some serious people watching with friends and cider, then this really is the perfect park. Rules seem to not apply here, and whether it's a man in a dress or a dog in a tutu, you can find everything you never knew you wanted here. Graffiti. Guy playing guitar. Man in a dress... It's an every-day occurrence here and Newies are absolutely unapologetic about it. On the weekends this park is PACKED, and even if a pop-up festival wasn't planned the day before, the sheer number of people here evoke the feeling that there's something going on. And trust me, there is. The only downside is that there are no public toilets .. but the lack of outhouses forces you to stroll into the closest venue around, which is The Courthouse Hotel, and my absolute favorite watering hole in Newtown and beyond! Lets be real, any excuse for a Sunday afternoon cider works for me!

A relaxing place to come, besides that one time a creepy fat homeless person was walking the…read moreperimeter footpath yelling obscenities at cars and spitting every where. Except that one time, this place is great just to sit with friends and catch up. There is a shaded fenced off area with play equipment. I've never had the chance to check out the quality (seriously, a dude hanging around play equipment by himself is NEVER a good look) but the kids sound like they're always having fun. There are a couple of tennis courts (no idea if you need to book them or if you just rock up). A few open field areas where sports can be played. The trees here are HUGE and offer great cover from the afternoon sun. I use to come here with a old friend and just talk for hours.

Burwood Park is conveniently located across from Westfield Shopping Centre, and two hundred meters…read morefrom Burwood train station. During the day, this place is a hub of activity. From tardy school kids to meditating seniors, Burwood Park is a multicultural hotpot buzzing with activity. The covered playground is perfect for little ones, while the outdoor chessboard, tennis courts and barbeque facilities are great for people of all ages. Standing in the shadows of the War Memorial Arch and Sandakan Memorial are Burwood Park's beautiful gardens and duck pond. If you hang around long enough you might even catch a glimpse of the 'bird man', who marches through Burwood Park every evening, with a bulging bag of bread in hand and a determined grimace on his face. But be careful not to loiter too long, because after dark Burwood Park is inhabited by somewhat undesirable characters (despite the extensive lighting). So be careful, and don't walk alone.

Nice park with a nice, although small, playground. The playground is definitely for young children…read more I think I wouldn't recommend it past age 5. The park itself is large with lots of space to run around. Not a lot of shade though.

Tranquil and nice park in Kensington! I like to come here after work to be in touch with nature,…read moreread a book, get some sun and relaxing. There is not much to do/see, but there is a playground for the kids and some benches to enjoy the park.

Gladstone Park is a beautiful place to lie in the sun or sit in the shade of their big, beautiful…read moretrees. Situated opposite The Little Marionette, a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop off Darling St in Balmain, Gladstone Park is the perfect place to enjoy a coffee/bite to eat without having to sit in a noisy or cramped cafe. Across the road on Darling St you'll also find a pizza shop, a Thai restaurant and a Vietnamese restaurant, making it the perfect location for early dinner picnics too. What's more, the Park's location opposite the Balmain Hospital makes it a nice escape from the hospital walls (this is coming from someone who hates hospitals, so having a park directly across the road is perfect for me). The Gladstone Park Bowling Club shares the park's turf, and the neighbouring primary school seems to also, making it less of a peaceful escape around lunch time. Often filled with Mum's Clubs and lunching locals, Gladstone Park provides a giant green and grassy mattress/lounge chair, ideal for sun soaking and coffee sipping. NB: Dogs on-leash only.

Gladstone Park sits atop an old reservoir. Once upon a time developers wanted to turn the reservoir…read moreinto an underground parking lot, which might have made this park less enjoyable ... but so this has not happened. This is a good flat park, with a nice mix of big trees for shade. There are the obligatory palm trees too, now getting very old and rather tall. There's an old basketball court, some rudimentary looking play equipment, and a few old brick relics. Gladstone Park is adjacent to Balmain Primary. The Park also has its very own bowling club (Gladstone Park Bowling Club) right in the middle of it. That effectively means you can be inside Gladstone Park, drinking a cold schooner, watching the old folks in their whites. Not bad. These days Gladstone Park is looking a tad dry and brown (but then again, so is everywhere). They have recently added an accessible ramp on the Darling Street side (for a long time this park was inaccessible from most sides, so this was long overdue). Gladstone Park gives you a feeling of being up high, elevated off the main drag of Darling Street. It's not super lush, but it has a great community vibe. One drawback, as Rachel said - it's on-leash only, which sucks, if you're a dog. (So - not a great dog park.)