Have visited here on a couple of occasions. Cappuccino and iced coffees were very good. The Korean…read moreStyle Beef Bulgogi Burger is recommended too. Kids enjoyed the pancakes!

I religiously ran the 7km stretch of the Bay Run with faithful furry friend Fergus, several times a…read moreweek for a solid year. On the very first run we did, back before the new cycleway and second bridge, he got scared coming up onto the Iron Cove bridge pedestrian walkway and baulked on the lead. He was only a pup at that stage, and even though I was buggered, I ended up carrying him the full extent of the bridge - and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise (best pickup move ever!) To every girl that we passed I said: He's all tuckered out, and the responses they cooed could be summed up by "Awwwww he's soooo cute!" and out would come the smiles (and the numbers... ha!) To every guy that we passed I muttered gruffly: Hurt his leg, which produced knowing nods in response. The staffy breed is tough as nails after all they don't give up! This run is amazing for people-watching but also for spiritual awakening. I used it as a weightloss weapon to assist in shredding 17 kilos in 3 months. The reason it is so effective is because : - You can pace yourself with other walkers/runners fore and aft - You get an inspiring view the whole way around (water, sunshine, greenery, boats, grass, beautiful people) - You can start wherever you want - You can go in either direction When I was living in Drummoyne, my street backed out onto the 2 km marker, so I started there. My run back from the gym in Five Dock would spit me out at Nield Park (between 2nd and 3rd km mark) and I would shuttle back home in the opposite direction. Favourite starting point is the Drummoyne Rowers opposite Brett Park and heading away from Iron Cove bridge. You'll fly by Nield Park, Rodd Point, UTS Rowers, Le Montage Restaurant, the Psych hospital, Leichardt Park and King George Park, before rocking back onto the Iron Cove Bridge, then peeling off to jet past The Cove cafe, Drummoyne Swimming Centre and back to Brett Park. Wowsers it's good.

When it comes to parks in Sydney focused at families, this one sure raises the bar. While my first…read moreimpression was terrible, that quickly changed. Out for a bit of a drive on the weekend my family and I ended up on the other side of the river from this park. While there was an awesome area for picnics at the Wangal Centenary Bushland Reserve (review http://frid.co/uGIdV5 ), it did not have any playground area for the kids to burn off some energy. So we jumped back in the car, waited 5 min for the ferry to let us on, and then crossed the rivet over to Putney park. One of my friends from twitter had suggested this park as a great place to take the family, so I thought it worth a try. Parking the car at the start of the park it really looked nothing special. The first thing I saw was a massive slippery slide... but the angle was such that the kids had to force themselves down it. Maybe good for little kids? In any case, seeing a glimpse of the water through the trees I figured it was worth a walk down there to have a look. Finally finding some stairs down, the park opened up in to a wide grassy section with BBQs and covered tables. You could probably fit a couple of hundred people down here if you so desired. It was massive, and basically right on the water. But it did not finish there. As we walked around the bay, past the toilet blocks, we could see a climbing gym and a heap of things to keep the boys occupied. That said, they did not even touch the climbing area as up some stairs and towards the happy screams of kids was a massive water feature. Basically it has two wading pools connected with a stream. It is a little bit worrying to see so many rocks around, so close parental supervision is required, but my boys stripped off straight away and started splashing to their hearts content. Hell, this place even has a water slide. This place has to be one of the best parks I have found in Sydney. It is worth checking out.

Love putney park! It is a great place for family picnics with beautiful waterviews in the…read morebackground. You can sit and watch the boats rock in the bay while your snags sizzle away on the electric barbeques. There are large grassed areas for running and kicking a ball plus you can keep the kids entertained with the two fun playgrounds. For the warmer days there is a fun splash paddle pool for the kiddies.The water play area has two nicely landscaped shallow paddling pools with a little river running between them. Definitely worth a visit for a family fun day out!

A park which overlooks Pirrama Park and Sydney Harbour on the cliff end of Point Street in Pyrmont…read more I think I have only been here a few times but I think that's something I should fix by going here more. It has fantastic views of the harbour and of the Sydney Harbour Bridge which is good for picnics, taking a nap or watching the fireworks. There are a number of benches located around the park which are carved from sandstone which is a nice touch and something different compared with other places. Good for people who lives around Pyrmont to go relax and enjoy the breeze, and its also good for people in general to go have a picnic or just to enjoy the views.

As a dad, knowing the best parks to take the boys to use up spent energy is a MUST. This one, is…read moreone of the best park I have found. It is massive, broken up into various sections so that there is always somewhere to chill out, and it is well equipped. Here is a quick list of it's features: - an adventure cycle track - a constructed dry creek bed play area (mind the crocs) - a play area for toddlers - a play area for older kids with spider net & flying fox - an open grassed area for family ball games (just be careful of the drains) - 1/2 basketball court - toilets - barbeques - picnic tables, seats and shelters - free parking oh... and for something you'll be hard pressed to find at any other park it also has.. - a fenced off dog exercise area - radio control car dirt track Well worth checking this place out if you want to have a kids birthday party.

Really fun park, there is a fenced dog play area, remote control car dirt race track, flying fox,…read moreand lots of kids play equipment

This is a large park catering for different sporting events and for recreation…read more At one end of the park is the modernist playground for the little ones. The local council has paid a small fortune to provide this park for the local community. The swings are timber trimmed and the play equipment is a Thomas Tank. Playing fields are available for baseball. There are cricket nets for various teams for training. Then there is just the open space for running teams. Of an afternoon it is doggy playground. All the locals bring their dogs along to socialise. There is a huge range of dogs and the people are very friendly. Just don't forget your doggy bag.

You wouldn't know Blackman was even there unless you had a reason to go there. Much like Tasmania,…read morefrom what I hear. Down in the dark depths of suburbia - Lane Cove, to be precise - there's a hidden wonderland of playing fields, a vast purgatory of grass known to cricketers, footballers, locals, and the dog-walking community. Possibly a few Ultimate Freebee-ers, too, it's hard to say. They're an elusive bunch, and prefer to stay far away from prying eyes. It can get swampy underfoot after the rain. it's right on the rivers edge so not a lot of amazing drainage, but with that said the river itself is nice, and whenever you're here you feel far away from the city, people, or the aforementioned prying eyes. It's nice. An idyll, almost.

Stunning place - great facilities, peaceful, and wonderful vistas in every direction.read more

Sydney has a lot of beautiful parks, but the expansive Callan Park has to be one of my favourites…read more Home to and starting point of Sydney's Bay Run (http://www.bayrun.com.au/?page_id=33), Callan Park is the perfect setting for exercise, dog walking and water-side strolls. Plus, as it was once the grounds of Callan Park Hospital for the Insane, it has bucket loads of eerie history. Heaps of off-leash dog areas means that any trip to Callan Park will often involve puppy encounters. The bays here are great for taking your pup for a swim as well (although locals say not to let them venture out too far due to lurking giant dog eating fish i.e. sharks) and double as a nice place to pop your own feet in the water. There's one inlet in particular that is my favourite spot to clear my head, a rock jutting out over the glittery water with five or six old wooden boats propped up on the shore. The bay run is a beautiful exercise backdrop, but if 7kms is a little daunting then the Callan Park Oval is an equally nice spot and committed crowds come here to prove it. If you prefer to escape the heat of middle-of-the-day exercise, the sports field lights are switched on at night, meaning you can get your night-time run in without tripping on an exposed root cloaked by the night. Callan Park Hospital for the Insane is now home to Sydney's School of Contemporary Arts (SCA). Many of the original wards remain, and a trip to the grounds at night time make for a particularly creepy experience (especially if you have a great story-teller in your midst). The history is worth checking out, but if it's not your kind of thing then the buildings are quite beautiful none the less. In summary, Callan Park is a) Beautiful b) Water-side c) Picnic friendly d) Exercise friendly e) Dog friendly f) Historical g) Interesting/Eerie h) Beautiful

Another one of Sydney's fantastic parks is Callan Park, located South-East of Rozelle and North of…read moreLilyfield. It's a very large park situated on the former location of the Callan Park Hospital for the Insane. It was part of the Rozelle Hospital complex with lines Iron Cove. I'm not sure if there may be some institution buildings still being used, but you can definitely see them scattered across the land. Now, it's filled mostly with empty ovals where people run laps, play with their dogs, or picnic. There are also lovely paths to jog or bike along (including the Bay Run, which passes right by), kids' playgrounds, and a playground designated for "cardio," with chin-up bars, benches, and poles. According to the Sydney City Farm website, the park was actually designed using 19th century landscaping meant to be therapeutic. For me, a run along the cove was definitely therapeutic.

Fabulous waterfront park on Sydney harbour in Balmain. I go there most days of the week with our…read moredog and he loves it there. It's a reasonably big park with fabulous views of the city and harbour bridge. The Balmain ferry also goes from the edge of this park and you have a large off leash dog play area here. Fabulous part of town :-)