Best Playgrounds In Melbourne For Older Kids

Best Playgrounds In Melbourne For Older Kids

Melbourne Playgrounds is a free on-line guide to thousands of Melbourne activities, products and services for Kids! Activities cover playgrounds (more than 2130 reviewed with photos), Play Centres, Aquatic Centres, skate parks, BMX tracks, miniature trains, sport and much more. I came across Ian and Mira from Melbourne Playground via their fantastic facebook page. They regulary share photos of parks and playgrounds around Melbourne to see if we can guess where they are located (I haven’t been able to pick one yet!).

I asked Ian and Mira if they could suggest some of the best playgrounds around Melbourne for older kids. I knew loads of places for the little ones, but not places that my older boys would like. Here is the fabulous list they have put together of 10 of the best playgrounds in Melbourne for older kids.

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There are plenty of great playgrounds for older kids in Melbourne and here are ten of the best and most exciting. Click on the full review if you wish to see more information on amenities like toilets, shade and tables etc.

1. Bayview Park, Point Cook

playground alamanda boulevard point cook
Welcome to Fear Factor – Melbourne’s biggest and steepest playground slide which starts from a hill with a huge Pirate Ship and is frighteningly steep! The slide is restricted to older children and teenagers of height more than 1.28m.

The pirate ship has a crows nest on the top deck as well as a fireman’s pole and binoculars for taking in the great view. The ship also has a tunnel, climbing wall, rope ladders and wide slide.

Located around the base of the hill are a large rope climbing frame, birds nest swing and covered sandpit. There is a basketball court at the base of the hill. Full review.

2. Alma Park East Adventure Playground, St Kilda

alma park east adventure playground alma road stkilda
Lots of adventurous fun including a long flying fox, big tree-house, very unusual play structures, a hexagonal frame with five swings and rope climbing frame. Full review.

3. Malahang Reserve, Heidelberg West

malahang reserve oriel road heidelberg west
Malahang Reserve has a great range of playground equipment spread across a large area including a Skate Park, BMX dirt-track and basketball court.

There are multiple long flying foxes, huge double pyramid rope climbing frame, huge birds nest swing, various fun swings and a huge structure with a paddle steamer theme. Full review.

4. Ruffey Lake Park, Victoria Street, Doncaster

ruffey lake park victoria street doncaster
Super adventure playground which includes a super slick curved tunnel slide, look-out tower, very long metal slide down a hill which starts from a hut, huge blocks with climbing holds and two long flying foxes. Full review.

5. Bicentennial Park, Chelsea

bicentennial park scotch parade chelsea
Two big mound slides form the centre piece of the playground. Pick your slide depending on how much excitement you want. There is a large amount of play equipment surrounding the mound which includes a rope climbing frame, wooden structure with various ladders and slides plus a large birds nest swing.

There is also a Smurf village with a music hut, story hut and play hut complete with a mooing cow in the middle of the village which kids of all ages can enjoy. Full review.

6. Bayswater Park, Bayswater

marie wallace bayswater park mountain highway bayswater
This large playground has a full size red steam engine, large high wooden structure with bridges, slides, ladders and climbing walls, two swings which can be swung around in a circle, large climbing frame in an elephant shape with a slide as a trunk, huge climbing frame with a large slide to get down and five swings arranged in a pentagon shape and everyone swings towards the centre. Full review.

7. St Kilda Adventure Playground, St Kilda

st kilda adventure playground neptune street st kilda
Chock full of play areas including a big aeroplane, big wooden horse with saddle, trampolines, tree for climbing, go-kart path, big metal slide, chook house, ride on dinosaur, various swings and slides, flying fox, cubby house, elephant, climbing frames, pirate ship, metal half-pipe, little basketball court, big tepee, big wooden castle with lots of nooks and crannies and a great tunnel slide.
The playground is supervised with designated opening hours. Full review.

8. Ballam Park Reserve, Frankston

ballam park reserve cranbourne road frankston
The reserve has two playgrounds suited to different ages. The area for older kids has a big wooden structure with various slides, climbing walls and ladders. There is a huge chain climbing frame, flying foxes, monkey bars, and a lot of other play equipment. There is a large area of open space featuring a basketball half-court, tennis wall, walking trails, ovals and an athletics track. Full review.

9. Caulfield Park, Park Crescent, Caulfield North

caulfield park park crescent caulfield north
The huge park has three playgrounds but the one at Park Crescent is best suited to older kids. There is a huge slide down the side of a hill which gives a nice adrenaline rush and a large amount of varied play equipment with emphasis on climbing. This includes a number of climbing walls and a very large pyramid rope climbing frame.

There is a basketball court with hoop at each end, exercise stations located around the perimeter of the park and heaps of grassy areas for ball games. Full review.

10. Ray Bastin Reserve, Narre Warren

ray bastin reserve norfolk drive narre warren
Brilliant playground with a rocket theme and you don’t need to be a budding rocket scientist to enjoy it. The central area includes a large rocket on a launching pad with very twisty tunnel slide and a huge realistic looking control panel. This structure also has lot of levels, tunnels and various shaped ladders. There is also a large moon buggy, extraterrestrial creature writhing in and out of the ground, rope climbing frame, and lots of other play equipment.

There is also a sensory trail which highlights different eco-systems, BMX jumps track and Skate Park in the Reserve. Full review.

Do you know of an excellent playground in Melbourne for older kids?