Burnside Adventure Playground
The Burnside Adventure Playground is an award winning playground situated within Kensington Gardens Reserve.
{This review has been updated February 2021}
Set amongst a natural landscape and huge gum trees, this beautiful play space is popular with children of all ages and abilities with an impressive selection of different activities on offer. From swinging and sliding to crawling and climbing there is an adventure around every corner.
The main playground entrance can be found on West Terrace, just off The Parade. The road will take you past the tennis courts and up to the car park. On a busy weekend it may be hard to snare a picnic table, but there is plenty of room to set up with your own chairs and picnic rugs. The enormous trees provide plenty of shade throughout the day and there are also BBQ facilities and public toilets.
Burnside Adventure Park’s numerous awards
In 2005 The Burnside Adventure Park won numerous awards including Play Space Design Innovation Category and Commercial Landscape Design.
Hemisphere Design’s concept for this playspace “incorporates a positive and imaginative outlook towards the provision of creative and stimulating play experiences.”
The first of these three elements is physical stimulation, such as climbing, jumping, running, swinging, etc.
The second element is interpretation, with mental stimulation that challenges and invokes the imagination of the children (and adults) with narratives, trails, and experiences that have an educational element.
The third experience is passive, where children and adults alike can sit and contemplate.
All Abilities Swing
In the middle of the playground is a large spider web climbing frame which is surrounded by two sets of swings, spinning cups, rockers and a clever turning circle great for balance. Children can follow the multi coloured path around the playground as it winds its way from one end to the other.
At the far end is a small hill with a slide and a couple of spinners. The park’s ground cover is a combination of coloured rubber soft fall matting and bark chips.
Tree Sculpture
The tunnel is situated here too with endless fun to be had playing chasey, hopscotch, hide-n-seek or just running over the hilltop and hopping from spot to spot.
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Burnside Adventure Park (2013 renovations)
The playground was renovated (completed Dec 2013) to include new soft rubber flooring and a 25m flying fox. The tennis courts nearby have also been resurfaced (one of the courts also has a basketball ring).
Parents of little ones should note the playground and all surrounding grassy areas are not fenced and there is also a creek close by which flows during the wetter months.
Stonyfell Creek
The creek running through this parkland at this end of the Reserve is a fabulous place to play and explore during the dry months. The bank is quite steep in places, but over the years our children have spent as much time playing amongst the trees and rocks as they have on the equipment. The children have also had some fun and left quite wet after playing in the creek’s shallow water on a wet day!
Kensington Gardens Reserve
Kensington Gardens Reserve runs from West to East Terrace and there is a wetland, nature play space and Kaurna Reflection Area that opened in January 2022 on the East side. It is situated alongside the East Torrens Kensington Gardens Tennis Club.
New Wetland & Fitness Circuit | Kensington Gardens Reserve | Review
New Nature Play Space & Kaurna Reflection Area | Kensington Gardens Reserve | Review
The Reserve is also home to three ovals (Ford, Waite and Parkinson) to play on and where you can also let the dog off the lead for a run (when not in use by sporting clubs). The Reserve also features multiple picnic bench seats and tables, BBQs, tennis courts and cricket nets.
Summary of Burnside Adventure Park Playground Features:
- Flying Fox
- Climbing Structures
- Slide
- Swings (incl disability swing)
- Spinners
- Rockers
- Picnic & BBQ Facilities
- Toilets
- Water bubbler
- Sports Fields
- Tennis Courts
- Basketball Ring
- Cricket Nets
- Walking Trails
- Car Park
Nearby coffee and food options
If you are needing a coffee or a bite to eat, the Erindale Shopping Centre is just around the corner on Kensington Road. Here you will find Foodland, a bakery, coffee shop, speciality shops and more.
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The Burnside Adventure Park and Kensington Gardens Reserve are maintained by the City of Burnside Council.
At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.
Image Source: All photos by Play & Go
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