We’ve just dug up another gem of a playground in the south-east. My son flatly refused to leave.
It has everything a playground should have — stuff for the kids, fitness equipment for the adults, and enough space for a family BBQ gathering, all in one spot. Most important of all: there’s an indoor toilet. Once he’d worn himself out climbing, he could switch to digging in the sand. There’s also a free excavator-style digger, and my son rode it for ages.
Right across from the playground there’s a community centre, and as it happened there was an event on that day so we could go in and look around. Inside there’s a nappy-change area, and it was very clean.
Next to the playground there’s also a spot set up for older kids to scoot and ride bikes, and the lawn is huge, which makes it really family-friendly too.
It’s only a 3–5 minute drive from Chadstone Shopping Centre, so once the kids are worn out you can just head straight over for shopping and a meal — the whole day sorted in one go. The car park has plenty of spots right next to the playground, super close, though it’s probably a bit busier on weekends.
30 Rob Roy Rd, Malvern East VIC 3145.
We only found it by chance, and it turned out to be the real deal
We were having lunch with the kids at Chaddy, and partway through the meal someone suggested finding somewhere outdoor nearby for the kids to play once we’d finished. That’s how we found this Phoenix Adventure Park, just a few hundred metres away. Once we got there and saw it in person, it was so cool — the whole playground is built from timber. There’s a library and a cafe right next to it too. Forget an hour or two of play, you could easily spend a whole day here.
A timber playground hidden away in Malvern East
Unlike the bright, colourful plastic playgrounds everywhere else, this one is a natural space gently wrapped in wood, almost like a tiny village stepped straight out of a fairytale book. The slides, the rope bridges, the little timber cabins — all of it is raw timber, and it has real texture to it. When my son was just past one, he didn’t really get into it, but now that he’s past two he’s climbing up and down non-stop.
Now that it’s autumn, this park gets maple leaves too, and paired with the timber play structures it photographs beautifully. Next to it there’s also a skate and bike park, plus more lawn, a library and a cafe, which makes the whole outing feel properly relaxed. It’s three minutes by car from Chadstone Shopping Centre, so once the kids have burned off their energy, heading over for a browse and a bite to eat is a pretty good option too.
Playground: Phoenix Park Adventure Playground. Parking: lots of free car parks nearby. Address: 30 Rob Roy Rd, Malvern East VIC 3145.
How his confidence with it changed between one and two
When he was just past one, he was fairly fearless and happy to try anything. By two, he’d started developing more of a sense of self-protection, and things like the rope bridge he’d actually become less willing to try.
Taking a child under three here still means plenty of climbing up and down after them, parent-work included. One thing I really like about this place: the standard of the other parents is generally high, and there are relatively few badly behaved kids. Parents here keep a close eye on their older kids and get them to give way to the little ones. Inside the castle, when kids meet each other in a narrow spot, the parents are quick to help them take turns too — fewer little conflicts, and it just makes the whole visit more relaxed.
Melbourne’s treasure park — parents can finally catch a breath
The ceiling of Melbourne playgrounds — a playground, a cafe and a library, three in one! Phoenix Park Adventure Playground, Malvern East.
If there’s a combination that can actually make parents’ lives easier while out with the kids, it’s this: a huge playground, a cafe, and a library — all in the same place.
Phoenix Park Adventure Playground is one of the most popular free family parks in Melbourne’s east. The whole play area is fenced, so kids can run and explore with a bit more peace of mind for the adults.
The play equipment includes multiple slides, climbing frames and rope nets, a suspension bridge and an adventure walking trail, monkey bars, a flying fox, and swings. There’s also a skate park right next door.
Once the kids are worn out, the cafe is right there, so parents can grab a coffee, a sandwich or a snack and take a breather. There’s a library too, where you can keep reading with the kids and cool off in the air conditioning — genuinely a one-stop outing.
Entry: free. Address: Phoenix Park Adventure Playground, Malvern East VIC. Suggested visit length: 2–3 hours, suitable for a wide range of ages.
The backstory behind the castle
This one has more history behind it than most playgrounds you’ll find. Phoenix Park’s timber fort was designed by local schoolchildren and built by around 600 community volunteers back in 1998, which is part of why it feels so different from a standard council playground — it was genuinely community-made, right down to volunteers’ names etched into the fence palings. The neighbourhood house next to the playground does have toilets inside, which lines up with what we found, and the precinct also runs to a library, a cafe and a children’s hub alongside the skate park and BBQs. If you’re coming by public transport rather than driving, East Malvern station on the Glen Waverley line and the 612 bus along Chadstone Road both drop you nearby.
Would we go back?
Without question. If your family likes this kind of nature-play, timber-fort style playground, it’s worth reading about Kilpack Park in Carlingford, which has a similar climbing-heavy, nature-surrounded feel on the Sydney side, and it’s worth checking our school holiday dates before you go, since a castle this popular gets busy fast in the holidays.