Inner city living for dogs is one thing, inner metropolitan life is another…read more It's seriously difficult for a dog to find somewhere to go these days what with the world going mad every time a bad owner lets their bad dog bite some child or elderly person. Everyone who owns a dog needs to find ways of socialising their animal, it's a natural thing to do because they are pack animals after all, and living a life of solitude does not suit them. Well here's a nice dog friendly spot you can bring the pooch in order for it to get out and have a bit of time to relax in a fresh environment as well as sniff the bottoms of peers. Bottom sniffing is one activity dogs can not get enough of. The second best thing to do is leave your mark. Widdle somewhere; preferably somewhere that other dogs have widdled, in order to play a kind of 'membership' game. Make yourself a member of the in crowd by leaving your mark. All of these things and more can be done at Pooch Park. It's provided by the West Torrens Council, and they keep it well lit into the evening, and make sure it is reasonably well looked after. It is a fenced off area, with two gate entrances so you can get the dog in, close the gate, then go that next step deeper... this way there can be fewer surprises involved. It's a great thing to have a nice sized dog park available in a heavily built up area with few outdoor spaces making dogs actually welcome like this.

Tedder Pooch Park (or you may, as I was, be told it's Findon Pooch Park) has to be the urban dog's…read moreidea of paradise. The day Leaf and I went there was light rain, that lovely Soft Irish Rain, so before entering the enclosed off leash area we took a walk around the park. I would imagine on a hot day this would be 'the' place to take a promenade with your pooch. Beautiful tall trees and a wide boulevarde where dogs have plenty of room to pass in the approved doggy manner, by arcing around each other not face to face as they have to on city side walks, this is truly a good long walk. By completing the circuit, we came back to the doubled gated off leash area. Being double gated it gives you a chance to 'suss' out who's who's, before entering. The off leash area is just perfect for City Pooches who are not able to really meet and greet other dogs in approved doggy style, so be prepared for lots of butt sniffing and general 'howdy doodys'. It's also a grand time for them to sniff and sniff some more, heaven only knows how many grand smells abound, and no chance of them picking up and eating anything totally undesirable as can happen on the urban streets. The park is very well equipped too with plenty of Agility Equipment for the fitness conscious dog to have a grand work out, or for those pooches who just 'wanna have fun'. A cutie little white gal was having a wonderful time trying to emulate the big guys, jumping over the tunnel. Plus there are bins, just in case of accidents, which is great no more having to walk miles carrying a bag of doggy doo! And for the humans, there's a great shade area, though please do watch your dog at all times! Plus the car park is a really decent size, so parking isn't a problem either. I understand the park is also well lit at night, so no excuses for not allowing your urban dog a little fun time in true doggy style. Leaf and I will definitely be back we had a real blast!

Great memories of push-bike riding asa teenager, thru the Golf links and to try and see the model…read moretrains.

What a great little (big) place to take the family. This place has far more then your usual reserve…read morewill offer. Wait for it. It has a train (little train). Ok it is a miniature train, but you can ride on it. What else does this park have that you have given 5 stars to I hear you say? Well it has archery boards, and an awesome track for your remote control cars. I was a bit of a distance away and was on a school excursion so couldn't wander far but some big kids (adults) were testing out their skills on this day. It has a great viewing area raised high off the ground so if this is your thing then this is the place. Unsure of whether there was a BBQ but they do have a new toilet block and plenty of shade around the place.

Ideally, this would be a five star rating but I had to leave room for improvement. This little…read moreripper of a park is getting MORE equipment added to it so I had to leave an extra star for a review at a later stage. If your dog or your child needs room to run about, this is the place to come. There is SO much room! The playground is fairly new and the entire play equipment area has a rubber floor. There are electronic toilets, BBQ, sheltered table/chair area, and a drinking fountain that needs a little servicing. It's one of those wonderful drinking fountains that have a lower collection spot for the off-run of water so the four legged pooches can have a drink also. Attached is also a tap. To be honest, if it wasn't such a great set up, the play equipment wouldn't be all that great. This is definitely a toddler park with one piece of equipment that reminds me of swinging around on the old lop sided hill hoist (which isn't suited for toddlers at all). This is a lovely place to be. The BBQ looks like it's the oldest piece of equipment of the whole area but it still looks like it gets used (it was a rainy day, I didn't try myself). This has all the makings of a wonderful 'destination playground' so hopefully the new equipment can help it get that one last star. *Dogs allowed (bags available)* *Drinking fountain (needs servicing)* *Sheltered table/chair* *entire rubber flooring*

This is such a great place. With a playground, skate park AND beautiful bike/hiking tracks through…read morethe local bush land, this really is a pretty place. While it isn't the biggest playground, they certainly have designed it with a wide range of age groups in mind. There's a mix of rubber ground and bark chip ground with toilets right in the middle of the skating area and the playground area. I spoke to a local who said the skate park is great (I've been out of the skating scene for too long to know hehehe). There were a couple of broken street lights in the car park but he assured me that the park gets maintained and looked after well, and he was surprised to see the damage himself. Pack your family up, put the bikes in the car and head over here. It would be a lovely Sunday outing. This is definitely one to check out. It's such a pretty place and while there's more construction happening at the moment (looks like an extension to the playground) this really is a happy blend of playground and nature with plaques along the way with information about the wildlife in that area. *I didn't see a drink fountain or BBQ* *Dogs allowed...under effective control of course* *Stay tuned to this post, I want to check the tracks out more myself! :-) See you there!*

Minkarra Park is a great place to take the kids on school holidays when you just need to get out of…read morethe house. It has exercise equipment, large skate park, hiking trails, fenced dog park and playground with toilets. Whilst I mainly visited for the playground with friends, I was disappointed that it does not cater for crawlers or children under 2 very well. Some of the equipment was too high/difficult for them to climb and they spent the majority of the time on the rubber ground. There was also no toddler swing, so if your kids like swings as much as mine then it's not the place to go. That being said it s well kept and tidy, but probably suited more to 3/4yo and up.

YAY!!! Thank goodness I get to review this playground...it's such a nice change from all the…read moreordinary and unimaginative playgrounds in the area. This playground absolutely blew me away when I stumbled upon it. This street is a little 'industrial' so to find this wonderful park was exciting. It's nestled in among the trees so there's dappled shade over most of the playground. There are BBQs, shaded table/chair areas, lots of nice lawn areas, toilets, a drinking fountain (that works!!!), a skate ramp and LOTS of wonderful play equipment that would suit a variety of age groups and abilities. This is definitely a 'destination playground'. There's plenty of room if you want to spread out a blanket and have a picnic, or there are a couple of BBQs ready for sizzling. To find this playground was such a great feeling, I can only imagine how children feel when they see the place. I can't wait to take my daughter here and see her try out all of the equipment. *Dogs allowed, under control* *Working drinking fountain* *Shaded tables/chairs* *BBQs* *Toilets* *Skate Ramp*

There's a slight possibility that I'm being a little generous with four stars; it's probably worth…read moremore like three and a half stars but it was such a nice area with LOTS of space for the children to completely exhaust themselves. Look at all the room behind the playground. Can't you see your children riding up the gentle hill and then turning around and having fun flying back down? The playground itself is quite entertaining as it is, but to be in such a great spot with so much space added to my "I love a playground" spot in my heart ;-) There is a shaded area with seating but no table. I couldn't see a drinking fountain either, otherwise I wouldn't have hesitated to stamp a four star rating all over this baby (we all know how much I love a drinking fountain! It's strange the obsessions you conjure up after reviewing a million playgrounds) It's all bark chipped with paved pathways in between the play equipment and the seating area. *Dogs allowed* *No drinking fountain* *Sheltered seating area*

Perhaps the actual playground equipment doesn't deserve a three star rating, but the extra…read moretwinkling gets added because of the massive area. This playground links in with the other park lands in the the surrounding suburbs. You could bring your bikes to ride around in this area, or make a longer day of it and ride through the whole park area. Generally, there's trees lining the footpath/bike tracks and a few playgrounds, albeit not very exciting ones, along the way. I was quite surprised I didn't see a drinking fountain here. I know they don't usually work any way but still, hydration at possible places of rest would be great. Toilets would be along the track somewhere but they aren't here. The playground is mostly metal and wood. The slide looks dangerous of summer so make sure you check it isn't hot enough to cook an egg on before tender little bottoms slide down it. The swings have rubber flooring and the playground is bark chipped. *Dogs allowed* *No drinking fountain* *No real shade on the playground at all*

This was a really nice reserve. It was huge for starters, especially for something in the back…read morestreets. And it has been developed like a centrepiece to a whole heaps of streets that connect to the reserve. There was some shade, tree's, shrubs, paths, small hills to create more privacy to different area's. Plenty of room for ball games without having to limit yourselves. No fencing or toilets, in fact I didn't even see a drinking fountain. But it is always best to take your own water anyway if you plan to stay out for a while. There were really two playground area's, one with just bark chips covering beneath it and the other had bark chips but also had rubber matting directly under all the play equipment. There was some seating in the shade close to the play area's. This reserve also houses the Aldinga Scouts. Right next to their fenced off area there is probably one of the best BMX tracks I have seen. It is dirt but it is larger than other ones around and has some quite big jumps. Would keep my teenager occupied for quite a while I think.

Harold my 8 month old puppy and I just love heading to this dog park! Generally friendly pooches…read morewith owners who don't mind a chat. Doggy poop bags are readily available from all entrances however that doesn't mean that people always use them so keep an eye out as you walk around. There is a cafe truck that usually rocks up in the late afternoon on Wednesday and Saturdays, a great way to warm the hands in the cold winter months. The downside to this park is the lack of lighting at night. In winter it's a struggle for the 9-5 workers to get home, pick up their pooches and then get to the park before darkness kicks in. Overall a nice dog park with lots of space for your four legged friend!

Bring the four legged members of your family here. The more the merrier, I say! On the corner of…read moreHazelmere Rd and Oaklands Rd there's a fantastic oval which turns into a dog park when sport isn't being played. It was so lovely to watch all the four-footed family members running around, enjoying the sun. One mother (of children and dogs) was walking the dog around the while the children played on the playground. The two areas are fenced off from each other but there's easy access from one to the other via child-proof gates. The playground obviously is a hit as you can tell from the photos. While it looks like the playground is more suited for younger children, there is a large climbing frame and a rubber hammock that proves to be a nice place to 'hang out' with your friends and chat....as older children do ;-) There are sheltered table/chair areas, a BBQ, and a drinking fountain but these are a little distance from the playground area. I was quite baffled by this. I would have thought there would be some shaded seating closer to the playground. Electronic toilets are closer to the playground than seating! hehehe The playground itself doesn't get a lot of shade so make sure you Slip, Slop, Slap. *Dogs allowed in dog park* *Working drinking fountains in both the oval and playground areas* *Sheltered table/chair areas* *BBQ* *Electronic toilets*

Oooo, this one JUST missed out on a five star review but man, is this place fun. The play equipment…read moreis kind of average except it has one rather large draw card up its sleeve..........a flying fox! I'm not talking about the usual three meter metal structure that you see at a lot of playgrounds, and in its own right, is a lot of fun. I'm talking about a real swinging, cable, go-from-up-high-and-then-lower flying fox! As I was leaving a car pulled up with 2 girls about aged 9-10. They burst out of the car doors yelling "Yay! I LOVE this playground!" I wiped a small tear from my eye (joke) and walked away smiling. This is what playgrounds should be about. They should be a place where children laugh and run and play and balance and fall over, and try again, and get better at doing things every time they go there. The girls ran straight over to the flying fox and I can imagine they would have been there for quite some time. This playground also has a sheltered seating area in between the flying fox and the other playground equipment. There was a working drinking fountain but no toilets. *Dogs on leash at all times* *Some shelter and seats* *No toilets* *Drinking fountain*

We stopped here to eat our lunch the other day when we were out. Purely because it was nice and…read moreshady and had somewhere undercover for us to sit down at an actual table too. And when we turned up it was nice and quiet with no one else there. Not for long..... We had barely started eating when two dads rock up with their daughters (4 of them) for school holidays play obviously. Nice to see. They put sunscreen on and then ran straight to the flying fox. They took it in turns and did not stop or even look at any other play equipment. And the screams from 4 young girls on that type of equipment. Serious headache. So when we finished lunch my son went on the playground for a while and we both had fun with the spinning thing (even tho part of it was broken when we went, come to think of it two of the lights on the pathway were broken too). In the end I said to him let's go, you can go on the flying fox another day. I had warned him as soon as they got out of the car that if he wanted a go he better put his food down and go now before they get there, but he decided food was more important at the time). Plus another group came down as well with their cricket stuff and played on the grassed area. o it quite a popular place and we will probably visit there again one day so he can have a shot on the flying fox. Fifth star must be with the toilets because they aren't here either :-(