A few weeks ago, we organised a playdate! With the school holidays coming up, here’s a small playground in Melbourne’s south that’s worth recommending — Mckinnon Reserve Playground.
Our first impression was that it felt very nature-inspired and relaxing. The playground has lots of timber play equipment and green elements, making it feel a bit like taking the kids to a little forest. As soon as the kids walked in, they immediately started exploring every corner. Both the swings and the flying fox have seats for both adults and kids.
The most eye-catching feature is the large green three-level climbing and slide tower. Kids can climb all the way to the top before sliding back down, and ours happily repeated the loop over and over again.
This area is also connected to a toddler play zone built around a large tree, where little ones can crawl through, climb around, and enjoy tree-inspired play.
McKinnon Reserve Playground reviews
The playground is relatively new, probably only built within the last one or two years.
The play equipments like Timber cubby house with slide, Flying fox, Climbing wall, Monkey bars, Seesaw, Spinner (the type you stand on and spin), Small timber cubby houses, A little wooded area… that’s quite a lot of things kids can do here!
We saw quite a few kids searching for “treasure” in the little forest. Overall, there’s a great variety of things to play with.
It’s the kind of playground that encourages kids to slowly explore on their own.
There’s also plenty of space for riding balance bikes and scooters. There is also a Basketball court and a Large open sports field for running around.
Picnic & Relaxing Area
There is a covered BBQ area (it looks like bookings are required through the Glen Eira Council website), along with plenty of grassy areas and trees.
Older kids also have access to a separate climbing wall and climbing structure nearby with a bit more challenge.
The playground also has convenient facilities:
- Toilets
- Easy street parking
Parking
The playground sits on the corner of Tucker Road and McKinnon Road.
Traffic on both roads is fairly quiet, making the area feel peaceful.
You can park directly on the surrounding streets, where there are plenty of parking spaces, or use the nearby sports ground car park if needed.
One thing worth mentioning is that although there are quite a few trees, there’s actually less shade than we expected, so it can still get quite sunny on warm days.
Also, there is no sandpit or water play area.
Overall, it’s a very relaxing, nature-style playground where kids of different ages can all find something to enjoy.
Location: Search Mckinnon Reserve Playground on Google Maps.
Outside of school hours, street parking is available.