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.

I have found a new favourite park. Can't believe I've never known about it before. In fact I have…read moredriven down Osmond Terrace at Norwood on many an occasion and noticed some lovely black wrought iron gates with lots of greenery behind them. This time however I discovered the park via its other entrance, around the corner on Magill Road. I truly believe this park has something for everyone. It's a stunner. This park has obviously been around for a while because there's a plaque inside saying it was opened by Don Dunstan back in 1978 but there are other notices saying it has just undergone a significant upgrade. All I can say to the Norwood Council is ... well done you guys! Great job! Not only is the park beautifully landscaped with accompanying paved areas, there is masses of seating, a playground, barbecues, toilets, a dog drinking fountain, a people drinking fountain and some great art has been created on bare walls to bring them to life as well. The quirkiest and cutest thing in the park would have to be the stump of an old tree that looks like a loo! At first I thought, what a cool seat under that tree but on closer inspection there's a hole in the centre that makes it look more like a toilet. Glad to see someone has a sense of humour when it comes to public spaces. Great park and there are good coffee shops just across Magill Road if you want to get a coffee and enjoy it outdoors. BTW I'm with Tegan - its not a little park!

Richards Park is rad - yes, it is like a secret park because non-locals often miss it - hooray! It…read moreis positioned behind the businesses on the really high profile corner of Magill Rd and Osmond Tce. It's not that small as alleged by my fellow yelpers, rather it has three joined but sort of seperated parts. There are two sets of play equipment, brand new toilet block, a bike parking area, a filtered drinking water 'station', bags for doggy doo, lots of green grass, lots of seating, a mural and a big fancy sign. I love it, so please don't come here unless you are very goodlooking, or intelligent, or interesting, or generally have something to offer, even if it's just chocolate. Otherwise, you're welcome to use it when I'm not. Thanks.

I remember coming down here as a kid because it was an adventure playground. Actually, I remember…read morefinding out able the place because of a map that I had picked up at a restaurant we had visited. Yeah, this place was okay, it was fun when I was a kid, but when I walked past it years later I have to admit that it wasn't all that great. Still, as a playground, it does have some charm, and does bring back some memories.

I'm absolutely jealous with the residents in St Peters as they have one of the best playgrounds…read morehere. They have the longest slippery dip in this suburb and that's just not fair for some of us who would like something similar in our backyard. Welcome to adventure land. If you can't make it to St Kilda playground, this is kinda mini (double mini version) of St Kilda. A long slippery dip awaits you and it stretches all the way down. I've seen many parents enjoy a fun ride down the slide with their kids in tow. Huge wooden timber fort awaits you in this slippery dip as you call out your mates to join you here. You'll also find a horse riding swing equipment, fantastic swings, flying fox and wait for it.....a long suspension bridge which will guarantee hours of fun, giggles and a bit of butterflies in your tummy! Plenty of benches and plenty of picnic spots to throw a rug here. The only downside I found was the council should have planted more trees here as it can get pretty hot during summer and you don't want to end up with a toasty butt on your way down the slippery dip! Overall: I heart Dunstan Playground.

This was a rather nice park that I sort of discovered as I was making my way along the River…read moreTorrens, though not by foot this time (however I have done that in the past, just to see how long it would actually take). Anyway, this park was actually rather delightful, especially with all the ponds that are located here. The main area is rather flat and grassy, but it is actually surrounded by ponds on three sides, though the side facing the road isn't one of them. It actually makes this place a rather lovely place to walk around. Yeah, I quite liked it.

I used to travel past this park quite regularly when I lived down in the area, namely because the…read morebusway goes right past it. However, I never got a chance to look around, despite even walking the length of the trail from where I lived and into the city. I suspect that the house was a farm that we build here back during the colonial period, though it wasn't open when I came past. The park surrounding it was rather nice as well, with the river nearby, and some nice trails as well. I probably should come and check out the house sometime, but yeah, I'm not really in a hurry to do so.

Yelp is fast becoming my favourite tool for keeping the kids happy this school holidays, it's a…read moregreat place to find somewhere to take them to burn off some energy - that's why I'm surprised to find Charlesworth Park missing from the list. This is a really spacious playground, tucked well away from all the main road traffic, in a nice quite corner of Campbelltown. Like most of the Campbelltown playgrounds, there is a great collection of play equipment, all well sheltered under a huge shadecloth canopy. I can't stress how satisfied this makes me as a parent, shade for the kids is a must these days - especially if, like mine, they have skin inherited from an English born father and a redheaded mother - five minutes in the sun and I have lobsters as children. There is plenty of equipment here, for toddlers to tweens. I imagine the teenagers would clamber over some of it, then settle down to carving their names into the tables under the shelter - it appears to be a tradition, although there's a lot of coats of paint on there too. There's also a circuit of exercise equipment around the park - really good exercise equipment. There are two full size tennis courts, a seperate basketball hoop, and a soccer frame. There are plenty of trees around, with benches in many spots, and a covered table area next to the bbqs. There's a drinking fountain, and a decent toilet, too. This is a jewel in the crown of Campbelltown, offering everything you need in a park - lots of space, excellent facilities, even some car parking off the street. Recommended.

This is one of those odd little reserves made into a kind of square being completely surrounded by…read morestreets. But not busy streets. Best thing about this one is the shade from all the beautiful big trees. Apart from that it has a BBQ, shelter / gazebo area, seating in and outside of the gazebo area and a rather smallish sized playground. It's quite a simple park but still had a real positive feel to it.

1 koala, 2 koalas, 3 koalas more!…read more As everyone has mentioned Adelaide is so incredibly lucky to have a conservation park like this only 20 minutes from the CBD where you can spot native wildlife, waterfalls, climb cliffs or just walk through bushland. There are a variety of different trails, some more challenging than Mt Lofty and others suitable for a casual "walk off our BBQ picnic lunch" stroll. You very rarely come across joggers zooming past you from the opposite direction or the chatty mothers groups power walking through the area and as a result it is more likely that you will see a koala or 2 and really feel like you are immersed in the outback. Key tips I have learnt from my adventures? There are 2 car parks: The first one you come across is for those who don't mind walking in and don't want to pay for parking. The second is for the lazybones and costs to park in. BBQ Picnics are popular on weekends: Get in early if it's a nice day and you want to secure a good spot (park at the first car park for picnic areas) Hikes come in 3 different levels: - First and Second falls (pfft easy) - Third Falls (there will be huffing and puffing and you will need time) - Note the signage for all of the walks is good but sometimes can get confusing if you're not sure which car park you're in or whether you're on the Heysen trail. You can't get lost though so no need for 2 way radios or anything. Enjoy the adventure and take the whole family if your little darlings are starting to drive you up the wall.

My husband and I stumbled onto this park. We wanted to do a little hiking and hope to see kangaroos…read more and koalas . We previously went to the Cleland Park, so we wanted to see these Aussie critters in their natural habitat. We started on the easiest path and found the stairs up to Giants cave and it's a shortcut to the higher hiking trails without having to kill ourselves on the hard-steep trails. It was about ~134 steps and then some paths up a bit higher but we were rewarded with seeing a wonderful waterfall, echidna, koala and one kangaroo. Parts of the hike was a bit steep, and the hike down was a bit long but if we had to do it going up, we'd likely complain the whole way . We both agree, it was a great day. We spent about 2 hours and got some blisters and sore calfs to show for it! Highly 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.

This place is missing a 5th star as missing toilets! Another beautiful water world to make you need…read moreto go too. However it has pretty much everything else covered. There are lots of BBQ's, heaps of space, seating, shade, drinking fountains, lots of water area's / lakes with heaps of birds and ducks around so bring along some bread to feed them. There's walking or riding paths all the way around and through this reserve and it is really quite large. There's a reasonable playground area, fully fenced as well with more seating and shade over the Kew Drive side of the park. There is also a small block of shops right at the edge of the reserve. Nice place to spend a day and get a pizza or something from here if you don't want to bring a BBQ. Some awkward streets to get through but you can easily find parking around the park at various spots.

The reserve is great for a walk around, lots of wildlife and shade around the ponds. Not the best…read moreplayground in summer due to the metal slide which was extremely hot at midday on a day that was fairly mild