There are some playgrounds that will remain a hive of community activity long after the ‘newness’ has worn off and The Square at West Beach Parks is bound to be one of them.
Review by Lisa Bachmayer
This once vacant land underwent a $2.9 million facelift, courtesy of West Beach Parks and the State Government’s Planning and Development Fund, to become an outdoor community hub opened in December 2024.
It now features a brand new playground, kiosk, plaza, sheltered picnic areas, landscaping, public toilet block, a BBQ area, grassed areas and kiosk.
There were even some catchy tunes being piped through loudspeakers across the playground – the perfect way to kickstart those seaside party vibes!
With plenty of car parking, toilets, FIVE sheltered picnic areas – including one with a barbecue – and a kiosk, this is sure to be a favourite destination among visitors to the holiday park as well as the local community.
We had a little trouble finding it on our first visit, but you’ll easily find it by turning down Hamra Avenue off Military Road, between the mini golf and West Beach Adventure Park, behind The Big Wedgie Inflatable Water Park.
It is located at the end of the car park in a large space next to the West Beach Parks holiday park and along the coastal path, so you could ride your bike or scoot there to make an adventure out of it.
While the playground has a bit of all the traditional equipment – swings (two regular, one toddler and one basket swing), a bouncer, in-ground trampoline and a slide (on a mound that our two year old was easily able to climb), it is dominated by a long climbing structure that had children of all ages crawling all over it.
Alongside and within the bendy, wave-like climbing net structure that wrapped around a corner, there were attached windows to climb through, wobbly platforms to step between, a rope to balance on and a tunnel to climb through – which made for a lot more fun than a simple climbing net.
Our six year old played her own game of ‘the floor is lava’ as she climbed all over it and jumped between play equipment, avoiding the bark chips below, while we saw another boy treating it as a time trial obstacle course with his mum as timekeeper.
As well as keeping the climbers happy, it is also the perfect place to practice balancing skills, with numerous rock and wooden structures to tip toe or stride across, arms out.
There were also speaking pipes located either side of the playground, about 15 metres apart, which were actually rather fun to use because they were far enough away that you couldn’t just hear the other person talking in real life next to you.
A large ‘square’ or concreted plaza area will be a useful community space for future events such as markets, as well as already being christened by children on scooters, bikes and even in a pedal-powered go cart when we were there.
The kiosk was conveniently located next to the playground with its own seating area and was selling coffee, cold drinks, smoothies, cakes, breakfast options and light meals, including sourdough melts, Turkish rolls and sandwiches.
We’d like to give the landscaping a special mention, with plenty of benches, natural vegetation and THE BEST collection of rocks and logs to step between and balance on.
There’s also a large grassed area, so bring those ball games if you wish, including a gently-sloping hill – perfect for rolling down!
It is nicely complemented by coastal artwork, including story poles and a blue-ringed octopus sculpture (Paitya Marawiti) by Kaurna/Ngarrindjeri artist Allan Summer.
All in all, The Square at West Beach is sure to be a favourite among the community for many years to come and, dare we say it, those shelters have got ‘birthday parties at the park’ written all over them!
Things to Consider:
- There are shade sails over the playground, but there are plenty of unshaded areas your little one will no doubt want to enjoy, so bring that hat and sunscreen.
- Consider bringing beach gear if you’d like to extend your visit, but the beach isn’t really visible from the playground so your little one won’t be likely to see it and suggest going, unless you do!
- Toilets are located on site
- While the playground isn’t fenced, there is a good amount of landscaping between the playground and the carpark, but of course it’s important to keep those eyes peeled for runaway toddlers, especially while the vegetation is still growing.
- There’s plenty of space for a picnic or visit the kiosk on site for coffee, snacks and light meals. There’s also plenty of rocks and logs for the little ones to sit and eat snacks, so bring those snack boxes!
- There is a concreted plaza area, perfect for scooters or bikes.
- There are lots of bark chips and climbing structures, so we’d recommend the kids wear closed-toe shoes for comfort and safety.
Our favourite nearby coffee spots/cafes:
- Oceanique Kiosk is on site.
Location:
The playground is located at the end of Hamra Avenue, West Beach, off Military Road.
Turn down Hamra Avenue off Military Road, between the mini golf and West Beach Adventure Park, behind The Big Wedgie Inflatable Water Park (limited season December – March).
For more information and all enquiries please visit the West Beach Parks 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. All photos are by Play & Go.
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