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.

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.

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!!!

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.

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.

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.

Quite a simple playground with a springy see-saw, a couple of swings and a play equipment area with…read moreslide attached. Plus there's a tennis court, or you could use the court for anything really it is just a large bitumen surface. Not even a drinking fountain or seat let alone toilets. Still an ok park for a local though. Plus there is shade under nearby tree's on the reserve. Just take a blanket to sit on, hats to wear and water bottles.