Discover the Ultimate Adventure at Glenthorne National Park – Ityamaiitpinna Yarta’s Amazing Nature Playground.
If you’re looking for a fun family day out then you’re going to love the new (and massive) adventure playground at Glenthorne National Park – Ityamaiitpinna Yarta. It’s an absolute winner – for kids of all ages and abilities. There’s a lot for the adults to enjoy too.
Review by Brooke Hendry
Located south of Adelaide in O’Halloran Hill, this new adventure playground is huge, spanning a whopping 7,000 square metres, making it one of the largest play spaces in South Australia. There is just so much to explore here and after visiting this playground it has instantly become our new family favourite.
A Paradise for Play and Exploration
The Glenthorne National Park – Ityamaiitpinna Yarta playground isn’t just huge – it’s bursting with fun at every corner. There’s such a great range of nature play equipment that all blends in perfectly with the surroundings.
For the Slide Lovers
The kids will love the three thrilling slides. The largest of the slides had the kids whooshing out pretty fast! It might be a good idea to get ready to catch your little rocket as they zoom out the end for the first time.
Climb, Swing, and Soar
For young climbers and aspiring acrobats, a great range of rope and log climbing elements await. There are also swings, a basket swing, see-saws, and more. The most favourite piece of play equipment for my children was the double 25-meter-long flying fox – it promises pure exhilaration!
Inclusive Equipment
We love that the adventure playground was thoughtfully designed for more than just fun – it’s been created as a space for all, with a dedication to inclusivity. There’s a range of accessible equipment helping everyone to join in on the fun.
Nature, Water and Sand Play
They really left no stone unturned when creating this fabulous playground. There’s a low-level creek full of pebbles and rocks that runs through the middle of the playground. Bridges, logs and climbing structures have been built to enable crossing over it. It’s great for a bit of exploring and water play.
There’s also a sandpit, cool wooden tee-pees scattered around to encourage imaginative play, and a fossil dig area for the young archaeologists.
A Hub of Convenience
The visitor hub with shelters, picnic areas, BBQ facilities and clean toilets ensured we had everything we needed for a fantastic family day out.
Cultural Significance, Heritage and European History
The Glenthorne National Park – Ityamaiitpinna Yarta isn’t just about play and exploring. It’s a symphony of adventure, history, and nature that invites visitors to connect with their surroundings in a meaningful way.
The adventure playground showcases Kaurna carvings and sculptures, a tribute to the rich cultural legacy that breathes life into the land. The Kaurna People are the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters of the greater Adelaide region, including Glenthorne National Park – Ityamaiitpinna Yarta.
The Kaurna People have nurtured a profound connection with the land through their customs and Tjukurpa, which includes cultural stories and lore. Their deep relationship with Country is the guiding force behind Glenthorne National Park – Ityamaiitpinna Yarta’s management and development. The national park has been co-named Glenthorne National Park – Ityamaiitpinna Yarta in recognition and respect for the Kaurna People.
The park’s history is diverse. It was colonised in 1839 by Major Thomas Shuldham O’Halloran, SA’s first police commissioner. Over the years, it has served as a farm, a military horse training ground in WWI, and a research facility from 1949. The historical building remnants on the site, dating back to the 1950s, will be preserved as part of the park’s heritage precinct.
Explore the National Park
Visitors can also explore the rest of Glenthorne National Park using the trails extending from the visitor hub, which are great for either walking or riding a bike. The trails feature interpretive signs and an interactive app, helping you to explore the Aboriginal and European history of the park, including its environmental restoration and activities for kids.
Take Bikes and Scooters
On the opposite side of the road from Glenthorne National Park – Ityamaiitpinna Yarta, is the O’Halloran Hill Recreation Park. For the more skilled riders, there are 18kms of mountain bike trails here to explore. The trails range from easy through to advanced and use steeper parts of the park for some thrilling downhill options.
If you’re not feeling that adventurous, but the kids want to burn some energy, then they’ll love the Majors Road Pump Track.
The pump track is adjacent to Glenthorne National Park – Ityamaiitpinna Yarta and alongside the Sam Willoughby International BMX facility.
It’s the ideal family day out – furkids included!
You could easily spend the day here with the kids playing, exploring, and having a whole lot of fun. Pack a picnic or BBQ, throw in the bikes or scooters (and the kids!), and you’re all set for a great day out in nature.
The family dog is also welcome to go along – just needs to be kept on a lead.
It’s like the Morialta of the South for those who have been to Morialta Conservation Park’s Mukanthi Nature Playground. If you notice some similiarities it’s because the clever team at Climbing Tree were involved in creating both.
Glenthorne National Park – Ityamaiitpinna Yarta truly offers so much for an adventurous (and FREE) fun family day out.
What we liked:
- This adventure playground is huge and offers plenty of fun equipment to suit kids of all different ages and abilities.
- We love how the playground blends in seamlessly with the national park.
- The visitor facilities are great, allowing you to bring a picnic lunch or cook a BBQ meal and make the most of your day out.
- It’s great how this playground offers more than just play equipment. There are so many opportunities for the kids to explore and have fun with imaginative play.
- When exploring the national park, you also discover and learn about the land’s history.
- And, there’s nothing better than a playground that has toilets!
Things to consider:
- The low-level creek is not fenced off and children are able to play and explore in there.
- The entire playground is not fenced and is very large/spread out.
- Currently, there isn’t much shade over the playground.
- Remember bikes and scooters for a bit of extra adventure.
Location:
Majors Rd, O’Halloran Hill
Opening Hours:
- Daylight Saving Time: 8am — 9pm
- Standard Time: 8am — 7pm
- Closed on Christmas Day and days of Extreme Fire Danger
For more information and all enquiries please visit the Glenthorne National Park-Ityamaiitpinna Yarta website.
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.
As per all our Play & Go reviews, this is not a sponsored post and our review is done completely independently.
Image Source: All photos by Brooke Hendry for Play & Go
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