The Birchfield Reserve is a great little hidden gem in Wantirna South. While only small, it has so…read moremany features that make it the perfect place for countless children's games. There is a little playground with two swings that is, as usual, surrounded by tanbark. The area around this is pretty flat and has a good spread of grass. There is a long line of pine trees along one side of the park and they are perfect for the game "What's the time Mr. Wolf" or even "Forty-Forty". Hide and Seek would also be good, but it'd be pretty obvious that you would be hiding behind a tree because there is really nowhere else to hide! The park doesn't seem to be very well attended to as there were three trees lying on the ground that had fallen over at some point. There are three paths that lead to the various exit points - two out of three are cement but one is loose stones and crunched up cement. The birds here were really noisy but there was no other sound so it was actually really peaceful. The streets that border the Reserve are all courts or dead end streets and there is barely any traffic at all. I really enjoyed spending time in this Reserve.

Templeton Reserve is quite la-di-da compared to the other reserves in the area. For starters it has…read moreits own driveway that winds up to a large carpark on site. Higher still sits the clubhouse, which is converged on by football teams and their families and coaches come weekends. There is a football oval on the right and it is common to see kids down here practicing. Next to the carpark and furthest from the footy oval is a decent sized playground. It too was being utilized by a group of children - perhaps because of school holidays, I'm not too sure. Either way the playground looked good enough to warrant decent popularity. There are a few different ways to enter the park on foot and there are walking tracks provided for convenience. I really liked that there was a row of pine trees lining the edge of the park and separating it from the road. It made the park look a lot nicer and contributed to its more upper class feel - well as upper class as a park can feel when there are kids everywhere. It is a nice place for a walk, and great if your personal trainer has told you to find some hills to run up - yep, that was the reason I was there. Warning - there are some real calf-killing hills so I wouldn't let your personal trainer find out about it or you'll be there faster than you can blink!

Ashwood Reserve, which, if you follow the path, becomes Jingella Reserve and then Holmesglen…read moreReserve, is a lovely place to go for a short walk. It's made up of a series of ovals that are used on the weekends for local soccer teams, local rugby teams and probably local footy teams, with a nice path running alongside that is popular with dogs and their walkers alike. I really like to walk it at night - there aren't many people on the path and because it's the suburbs it's beautifully peaceful. The air smells like trees and the only sounds are one's feet crunching along the gravel and the frogs (yes, the frogs) croaking in the swamp. It's pretty wonderful.

Central reserve is exactly that, a reserve right in the center of Glen Waverley…read more This is a lovely venue for whatever your activity may be. There is a skating park, a playground, an oval with football goal posts as well as an additional football oval with an overlooking stadium. On weekends it is very regular to see football clubs here having a game, children climbing around on this funky looking orange rope obstacle, and teens skating/rollerblading about the place. This is also a great venue to hold a children's party thanks to its central location, bbq facilities, abundance of parking spots and wide-open area for running around.

For many years the lake at Banksia Park was empty. But now, the park is restored to its former…read moreglory after strong rains and volunteer work. The park backs on to the Heide property and features walk trails, a cherry blossom garden, a playground and a lake filled with black pacific ducks and waterfowl. The walking track that takes you in a loop and along the Yarra River is a great place to spot local wildlife including parrots and honeyeaters .The soundtrack is the bellbirds that sing in the branches of the trees. Gums, wattles, and other native trees provide beautiful scents and attractive foliage along your walk. This is a leash park, and you are encouraged to clean up after your dog. There are little barbeque areas and a few bins. The open grassy spaces are great for getting a group of friends together on a sunny day, and the nearby playground provides an excellent place to let the kids run around. Banskia Park is perfect on a sunny day with a lot of space to host a barbeque or go for a walk. In the warmer months you may have to watch out for snakes.

I love the dog park at Banksia Park!…read more There are so many other great owners who are super friendly and will talk to you about your dog and other dog-related chats. I love that there is a fence so that all dogs are safe within the vicinity! Additionally, it's not an open space, there are bushes and trees that break up the land so that shyer dogs can get away and have some space to themselves! However, I wish that the grass was cut a bit more frequently and that there was a doggy poo bin with doggy bags. Another difficult issue is that the entrance gate closes at 6pm on the dot when it is not daylight savings - pretty hard for owners to get to the park after work during peak hour traffic. Other than these, it's a great dog park and I love the people and their dogs there!

Great recreation area with plenty of grassy room for your pooch to wee, poo and stretch his or her…read morelegs and perhaps sniff some fellow doggies. There's a walking path on the perimeter. Also has a cricket pitch, stadium seating, cricket test pitches, etc. Heaps of trees around the park for shade or a picnic. Right next to the Carnegie swim centre so all your leisure areas are in one convenient location. Tram stop located nearby for PT users. This whole park seems really quite nicely maintained. Definitely my new local fave. X

Monash Council and whichever goodwill group they could scrounge up recently did a massive upgrade…read moreon the playground at Federal Reserve, so the slides are no longer dog friendly (my dog used to love running down them). That minor complaint aside, the new playground is fantastic. Federal Reserve is probably one of the more people friendly parks around. In the space not much bigger than a footy oval, there's a walking/jogging track, a great playground, several different types of natural environment, a bike humps track (it's a loopy track with lots of mini hills in it, really good for the kids to race around on their bikes), a tennis court, a water fountain, um... Lots of things. Great to take the kids, a picnic, and a good book for the afternoon.

If you go on the trail on park rd it is the best, dogs are allowed off the leash and the trail goes…read morefor a while and there a multiple trails to choose from. There is also a very shallow river which dogs can go in. So good i come here a lot.

Heaven to dogs and dog walkers; the Koonung Creek Reserve is one enormous canine playground…read more An off-leash park, there are trails and ovals where dogs of every breed imaginable disport themselves and owners chat. The Reserve also features a little lake, playground and exercise equipment set up periodically along the main trail. The trail is ideal for beginner runners as the hills aren't very steep, and there are a few benches and drinking fountains set up along the way. The track that I normally take stretches from Bulleen Road along the Eastern Freeway to Doncaster Road. Its only short but makes a nice loop, and you aren't too exposed to the freeway sound. Keep your eyes pealed for Eastern Rosellas, Rainbow Lorikeets and other native wildlife around the lake, and if you've got kids with you the playground is great and includes a barbeque area and toilets. The only downside is certain cyclists who speed along the track. Aggressive and not inclined to stop or let you know if they're approaching make sure you keep an eye on your pets and kids. This doesn't occur every day, but I have witnessed poor behavior on the cyclist's part from time to time.