Glenelg Foreshore Playground Review
The foreshore of Glenelg has long been a place for visitors and locals alike to visit with the historical jetty, eateries and attractions, but the $1.3M Glenelg Foreshore Playspace installed in 2015 has given this area a new purpose. It’s a great place for families to stop and enjoy the atmosphere, and to spend some time playing and relaxing.
Editor’s Note {November 2021}:
The Glenelg Foreshore Playground has had another update with soft fall surfaces and some wheelchair-friendly equipment.
Sand and bark has been replaced with soft fall surface making the playground accessible for wheelchairs. There’s a roundabout and mini in ground trampolines suitable for wheelchairs. Not having fencing and gate to navigate makes it easy to access too.
For families with little ones the lack of fencing is something to be aware of. From one side of the playground there is no visibility if your child is on the other side of the big slide.
A sunshade was previously added in 2017. This made it great for hot days to keep the sun off the metal slide. Plus on rainy days it keeps the slide from being wet too (as we found when we visited below). There was a whole group playing there while it was raining.
Viewed from the jetty, the playspace blends beautifully with the foreshore. Everything is very natural – there is plenty of sand for kids to run through and play with interspersed with plants and towering Palm trees which should provide an increasing amount of shade as they grow.
The climbing frames and the majority of the playspace features are made from solid wood so everything has a strong, sturdy feel about it. The ever popular in-ground trampolines seemed to appeal to all ages.
Unlike a standard playground, there is a lot of room for kids to let their imaginations turn simple wooden poles or logs into jungles, or to imagine they’re on a desert island (or maybe that’s what I would imagine)!
The playspace at Glenelg is easy to find. If you arrive by tram, simply jump off and head towards the jetty and if you glance to your right, you won’t be able to miss the spacious playspace which has something for kids of all ages.
It has been hugely popular ever since it opened and has been teeming with children the times we’ve visited, but everyone seems content to get on with the business of playing. The hurdy gurdy was packed like a subway train, but everyone made room and slowed down to allow passengers to disembark.
There is plenty of seating around the main play area for parents to sit and enjoy watching their little ones balance on a log, walk the wobbly rubber suspension bridge, climb the rope bridges, splash in the lagoon or relax in a swinging hammock. There is also a boardwalk which is designed to allow children with limited mobility access to the elevated water pump.
Perhaps the most appealing part of the playspace for the older children is the very generous slide and climbing dome which houses a tunnel and an adjoining rope tunnel. The wide slide means several kids can slide down at once together.
This is quite a large structure and seems to be more suitable for children 6 and over. There are apparently child-operated water misters for the slide to keep it cool on hot days.
Safety Note: Please be aware that the playground is not fenced at all so it can be difficult to visually track children, especially when they are playing on the large slide and tunnel as you can’t see behind it. Also hard if you have more than one child to keep an eye on and the playground is full of people. Fortunately the littlies tend to congregate in the main sandy play area.
Toilets are located very close by in the nearby alley.
TIP: There are water play features with sprinklers incorporated into the playground – be aware, a child might push the buttons and water will spray up at any time. Bring a change of clothes and a towel. Your kids will probably get wet!
The Glenelg foreshore playspace has enough different features to entertain children of all ages for extended periods of time and will encourage families visiting in the area to linger longer and enjoy all that Glenelg has to offer with plenty of eateries and shops along Jetty Road and at the Marina Pier.
The Mix 102.3 Giant Ferris Wheel by Skyline Attractions is open daily from late October until May 2022.
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