This is a delightful piece of paradise in a beautiful neighborhood. There are many ducks and birds…read moreto enjoy, and my family always likes to take a look. The new playground has a bird theme, but I think it might be a little too advanced for very young children. Kids aged 5 and older can use some parts of it, but certain areas can be quite high and hard to reach. Make sure to stroll along the outer path when you arrive, and get close to the water where the birds are. They waddle over to you, which is an amazing experience.

Thorndon Park Reservoir used to provide the water for the whole area, although is no longer used as…read morea water source these days. The surrounding recreation reserve is really well set out, with a long walk through carefully tended gardens going all round the reservoir set so picturesquely into the hillside. The grounds are huge, with excellent walking trails, and tons of space for family picnics and gatherings. Plenty of bbq's are available to support those gatherings, and there's a kiosk on weekends if you forget your picnic basket. There is a huge playground, all under shade cloth, with a steadily growing collection of equipment for the kids - including the Liberty Swing, a special swing for children in wheelchairs to ride, a nice touch although I'm yet to see it in use. There's a big spiders web on a stick for climbing, a number of swinging things that spin around (one with rather comfy chairs dangling from a frame shaped like two big bat wings - not that I'm a big kid at heart or anything), swings, see saws - there's hours of screaming and running around like a mad thing here, and then the kids can have fun on the playground too. :) There's fish in the water - mostly small minnows of some sort, but bigger fish can be spotted at times if you're feeding the ducks. Lots of trees provide shady areas for the picnic and bbq crowd - there's a few big structures and pavilions, too, if it's wet. BBQ's are electric and plentiful. Thorndon Park is used for a number of gatherings for the local community, including Campbelltown Proud Day, a celebration of all that there is in the local area, a big Christmas celebration starting with a parade and ending in fireworks and carols. This is one of my favourite spots for a stroll - many a time I stopped in on the way home from a hectic day in the office and had a wander right round the lake. Calm, peaceful and serene - a world apart from the kids playground on a busy weekend. Recommended.

Meath Avenue Reserve is a spacious park in Athelstone - the kids playground is simply equipped, and…read morevery well shaded. My kids love to stop here to burn off some energy whenever they get the chance. No facilities for a BBQ but lots of picnic space. No toilets, either, unfortunately. The grounds are well kept, free of litter and junk. Good place for a gathering that's off the main roads.

Lovell Reserve is an excellent little park just off Gorge Road in Athelstone. It features popular…read moretennis courts (including the obligatory basketball hoops on the sides), a spacious, shaded childrens playground, barbecues, a drinking fountain and a small toilet block. There's lots of room to spread out, and you can easily drive in to the park to unload vehicles to save trips back and forth. My kids absolutely adore the playground here - it's not the biggest or the best around Adelaide, but it is nice and new, in very good condition, there's a good variety of equipment, it's so well shaded they can play there pretty much any time of day, it's a few minutes stroll from home, and it's never crowded but there's often company there to play with. All round, Lovell Reserve is a bit of a winner.

Black Hill Conservation Park is huge, and filled with excellent bushwalking trails. For those who…read morelike a good jaunt into nature, you're bound to find it here - it does come with a couple of caveats though. Much of the Black Hill area is a mobile black hole, so don't get caught up on being able to rely on your phone for communication when you're in there. A local snake expert showed lots of signs of snake activity, and managed to chase a brown out of a creek bed while I was there once, so be wary of our slithery friends, too. Weekends are a walkers haven, you'll see plenty of company on the trails - plenty of parking abounds on Maryvale Road, but you'll find the best spots along Montacute Road fill up fast.

This is a great little playground, with plenty of shade over little kids and bigger kids…read moreplaygrounds - there are tables and chairs available, plenty of grass, no water, barbecues or toilets though. It's accessible from streets in three directions so there's plenty of nearby parking

This park is up the top end of the River Torrens Linear Reserve, the start of a beautiful scenic…read morewalk, or ride, that can take you along the Torrens all the way into the City or across to West Beach - it'd be a fairly hefty walk right over to the beach from here, but I am reliably told that people do ride all the way over. This little playground is well sheltered, big sails offer shade from the sun, and the equipment is in very good condition. There's a couple of benches for adults to relax while kids rampage on the playground, but otherwise there are no facilities like toilets or bbq's. Both my daughters have learned to ride a bike without training wheels here - there's a nice gentle slope to the hill that let them gain some speed and balance, well removed from vehicles and traffic.

The ARC at Campbelltown is a community recreation centre offering a gymnasium, cafe, two swimming…read morepools for lessons, recreation and kids fun, a number of courts for many sports as well as conference facilities. A recent complete overhaul/rebuild has resulted in an impressive building, both inside and outside, with some common sense decor, lots of light and glass, and a feeling of space. The common areas have some very comfortable seating, kind of in shapes of jig saw pieces, which aren't bolted to the floor so you can move them together or apart depending on whom you're sitting with. Upstairs, with seating overlooking the courts, there are three sitting levels or rather three carpeted steps allowing for some comfortable and complete viewing. We came for the Murder City Roller Girls bout between the Dames and Valkyire. My kids have never seen roller derby and were rather confused but I like to expose them to a bit of everything and it was an enjoyable Sunday evening outing. Their foundation memberships start at just under $14 per week which also makes them great value and competitive with all gyms even though they offer so much more.