Largs Bay Ice Cream Themed Playspace by the Sea – Playground Review.
Children and parents across Adelaide have been ice-screaming for this one: the brand new, long-awaited ice cream themed playground at the Largs Bay Foreshore.
The Port Adelaide Enfield Council has been upping its playground game with a spate of upgrades across the seafront and it has really served up the goods with this ice cream-themed, accessible playground. We braved the grey skies on opening day to get the inside scoop on this legen-dairy addition to Adelaide’s playground scene.
Its predecessor could be described as the soft serve of playgrounds; a sweet, seaside favourite amongst toddlers and preschoolers and satisfying for parents. It had a fully enclosed fence, an adjacent kiosk with plenty of outdoor seating, toilets, a seaside frontage and a nice collection of play equipment. It was nothing special but it did the job.
Its replacement, however, is the sundae best, the banana split of playgrounds. Not only will you find all of the above plus an actual banana split seesaw, there’s also a climbable ice cream cup with a slide, wafer and spoons, a splatted ice cream cone mound slide and a giant ice cream scoop feature with climbing frame.
All of the above were a hit with my toddler, along with the accessible trampoline, but her favourite thing to do by far was to walk up the splatted ice cream cone (none of those too widely-spaced ladder rungs here) and slide down the inclusive, impressively wide slippery dip, occasionally with a new friend alongside.
Other favourites among the steady stream of eager playground goers on opening day were the carousel, which constantly sported a throng of preschoolers whizzing around, voice pipes and the giant ice cream scoop feature with the space under the bridge proving to be a popular spot for picnics and games of hide and seek.
My five year old described the playground as “yummy” and was one of the many children attracted to the space under the bridge for imaginative adventure play.
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2024: The space next to the ice cream scoop, which was previously an empty pit with a wooden bridge across, has been temporarily filled with bark chips and will be permanently filled in soon. The news was met with disappointment from some children, including my now six year old daughter who loved the popular play feature and a three-year-old boy who wondered why the bark chips were there. But it did make for a more relaxed atmosphere on our weekday visit among the parents and caregivers of toddlers when I returned with my two year old.
The accessibility of much of the equipment makes it refreshingly practical and usable for toddlers, but it’s also a small win for the parents and caregivers of children with disabilities, who often find themselves tirelessly campaigning for more inclusive play opportunities.
The speckled, sherbet-coloured soft play not only evokes pleasant images of hundreds and thousands, it makes the space much more accessible for wheelchairs than bark chips.
Older kids will enjoy the climbing ropes and tunnel slide, offering a spectacular view across the sea and jetty.
The cherries on top are literally the shiny cherry sculptures, which are mostly ornamental – apart from being a small seat and climbing feature for toddlers and an ideal photo opportunity – but they’re SOOOO CUTE.
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2024: A brand-new, accessible public toilet block has been built next to the playground, just outside the fenced area. It features a Changing Places room with change table and hoist, four unisex toilets, two female cubicles, two male cubicles, two accessible toilets, baby change table and an outdoor shower area. It is another welcome addition for the parents and caregivers of children and people with disabilities, who often visit Largs Bay instead of the busy Semaphore Foreshore.
Meanwhile, if the sight of fibreglass ice cream cones and sundaes sends your mouths watering, you can buy the real thing from the adjacent kiosk.
We overheard a nearby parent comment the playground would be nice in summer and, of course, it would be the coolest place to be when the sun comes out. But while I’m normally not a fan of ice cream in winter either, this playground is too wonderful to be a seasonal favourite.
I won’t waffle on any further, but we’re nuts about this playground and we’re cone-fident you will be too.
Features:
- Playground replaced in 2024, with two swing sets, climbing ropes, tunnel slide and ice cream-themed equipment, including voice pipes, climbable slides, cherry sculptures and climbing frame. The ice cream scoop feature with bridge, which was previously a pit, has since been filled in.
- Accessible carousel, seesaw and trampoline. Inclusive mound slide.
- Fully-enclosed fence
- Shade sails
- Public toilet with a fully-accessible Changing Places change room and outdoor shower area
- Kiosk
- Shared seaside paths for pedestrians, bikes and scooters
- Beach and jetty
- Benches and a picnic table within the enclosed fence
- Large surrounding grassed areas
- Carparking
- BBQ and shelter about 100m away
- Suitable for children of all ages, especially 1-8 years.
Read more about the design process here.
For more information and all enquiries please visit the City of Port Adelaide Enfield website
Location:
Lady Gowrie Drive, Largs Bay (at the end of Jetty Rd)
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. All photos are by Play & Go.
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