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Buggbuddys guide to playgrounds with nature play in Perth! The ultimate guide to the best nature playgrounds and parks in Perth! Kids love burning off energy at parks and playgrounds, and Perth’s got some of the best in the world. Best of all, they’re all FREE!
Why do we love nature playgrounds?
Nature play gets kids back in touch with nature. It provides important learning opportunities as well as a chance to get grubby and build or play with natural materials. In other words, a chance to delight in water play or let kids can get hands-on in mud kitchens or work together at sand tables with their friends.
We’ve also added details of where playgrounds are close to local coffee shops, cafes and restaurants. Therefore you can grab a bite to eat before or after your play, or grab a takeaway coffee on the way. Don’t forget your reusable coffee mug! 😉 Get out into nature play today and make some precious memories with your kids today!
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The playground at Yokine Reserve is fabulous for kids of all ages and abilities! It is fully fenced AND double-gated, perfect for keeping little escape artists contained. Yokine Reserve Playground has such a great array of play equipment that is suitable for kids of all ages and abilities. The playground has two roundabouts which Miss 4 loved! Roundabouts seem to be missing from almost all playgrounds these days which is a shame as they are such great fun. One of the roundabouts was very unusual as it had a climbing net attached. Swing area with swings, a hammock and a Read more…
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Enright Reserve playground in Hamilton Hill is a great place for the whole family! With a nature-based playground, modern playground, and exercise equipment – there is something for everyone. The nature-based playground is great for children of all ages, my toddler could easily climb the old tyres to the plastic tunnel slide. My older children loved the challenge of the brightly coloured obstacle course. Other features include a teepee. A plastic tunnel to crawl through or walk across. As well as balancing and stepping logs. The modern playground has a great verity of equipment for different ages Read more…
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Lathlain Park is found to the north of Mineral Resources Park – aka the home of the mighty West Coast Eagles! It’s a lovely little spot, across the road from the small but mighty Lathlain cafe strip, and larger playgrounds at both Rayment Park and Tom Wright Park. We’ve been along with some takeaways from Laika Café in the school holidays and been lucky enough to spy the Eagles training. As well as Laika (with it’s own basketball court), there’s Kettle Café and a fab new bakery to check out on the strip too. It really is a gem of Read more…
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Ridge Park Byford is located within the beautiful estate of Byford on the Scarp, expanding over a 1.7ha area it includes two separate playgrounds, including a newly built nature playground surrounded by mature trees… giving you the feeling of being in the country when you’re still in the suburbs! The first playground we visited is perfect for younger kids, featuring train-themed equipment, each carriage of the train offers different imaginative play experiences. In the first section, toddlers can pretend they are driving the train or crawl through the small tunnel. The second carriage is a passenger car. The third carriage Read more…
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Wattle Grove Nature Playscape is a great little nature playground which uses naturally occurring and purpose built play features. Found on Lenihan Corner, off Hale Road in Wattle Grove is this little pocket of bush in suburbia surrounded by house and shops. There is a naturally occurring creek nearby (not fenced). There is also a pathway to covered picnic benches away from the main playing area. The park features a set of five swings in a circle, one is a toddler swing. This is a little different from the usual swings in a line and could be fun with a Read more…
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Sometimes small parks deliver a big play and this is the case at Copley Reserve Belmont. We recently stumbled across this small park which is located near the shops on Kooyong Rd Belmont. Copley Reserve Belmont is very much part of the community as the park has a small community garden at the edge and the pathways lead through housing to further grassed areas and benches. The park features a nature playground that has been set up using a lovely fig tree as natural shade. Most of the playground is woodchip style base except for the sand area with two Read more…
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Banksia Grove Nature Playground is a small nature-based playground located between Dragonfly Road and Potoroo Street on the Eastern Side of Banksia Grove. The wooden play equipment is perfect for helping children with balance, coordination and confidence. The equipment features balance posts with rope, twisted net, shaky bridge, balancing beam and a little wooden table with posts for chairs. In addition to the nature-based play equipment is a tripod swing – a favourite with my children as they can all fit on together and being a smaller park there wasn’t a wait to get on. Banksia Grove Nature Playground does Read more…
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Dixon Park now has a fantastic new nature playground which is packed full with many fun features. There is a log tree house with various ways to get up to the top. You can choose to take the rope ladder; Or climb up the log notches; Monkey bars and a fireman pole also provide excellent challenging fun, especially climbing up the pole! Challenge friends to a race around an obstacle course … different level stepping logs lead around the treehouse and a rope balance beam and wobbly wooden bridge. By far the most popular item was the water and sand play Read more…
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Mueller Park Playspace is clean, fun, fresh and imaginative for all ages, but we love it especially for its safety, accessibility and appeal to toddlers. It is easily accessible from the train (Fremantle line, West Leederville stop), but parking can sometimes prove challenging. Mueller Park Playspace was commissioned in 2009 as an initiative to improve facilities for children with disabilities. Equal access is catered for through the inclusion of “activities and spaces that allow the exploration of the physical world through the use of sight, touch, sound and smell”. Specialised play equipment was included for use by children with a range of Read more…
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Fantastic new playgrounds that have a strong focus on nature play are popping up all over the Perth area. Researchers at the University of WA have found that natural playgrounds provide children with more opportunities than typical pre-formed playgrounds to develop gross-motor skills. Bannister Creek Nature Playground in Lynwood combines traditional play equipment with more natural elements, providing opportunities for children to use their imagination and explore. The playground is predominantly sand and wood chip based and is shaded by lots of big trees. Bannister Creek runs, behind a fence, alongside the playground. The playground contains lots a whole host Read more…
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The small but mighty nature-based Jurien Bay Oval Playground at the Jurien Sport and Recreation Centre has to be Perth’s most unique playground! The playground was brought to life by the same team who built the very popular Jurien Bay Foreshore Playground and is inspired by the home of Jurien Bay’s local football club, the Bulldogs. The standout is definitely the Bulldog climbing structure which also features two double slides – I love all the finer details like the spiked collar and rope leash. The boys also thought it was hilarious climbing up the dog’s butt 🙈 There is a Read more…
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Occupying a beautiful spot along the banks of the Swan River, Bardon Park in Maylands is a great spot to play! There are two playgrounds located at Bardon Park. The first, closest to the car park, is relatively new and contains some unique play equipment and a focus on nature play. You’ll find a birds nest swing. A net bridge A couple of balancing beams. An unusual roundabout. An arched climbing frame. A musical area. A very cool flying fox which provided Miss 4 with endless fun! And resident wildlife in the shape of these two snails and two tortoises. Read more…
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We discovered this great little park just around the corner from Little Banksia Cafe in Kensington. It has a lot of features including a nature play area and playground. The main play area is covered with shade sails and the nature play area is shaded naturally. The afternoon we went was warm so the natural shade and trees around the park were lovely. The playground area is sand based and has a good range of equipment. It has a double swing, one toddler and one normal and a bouncy balance board. There is a monkey bar activity for large older Read more…
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CY O’Connor Hub Playground is a lovely drive to Mundaring Weir, through Perth’s Hills. You can get there from Kalamunda or Mundaring. Not only is the huge dam essential to WA’s water supply, but it’s a lovely spot for a family picnic. There are historical, natural, play and educational attractions in the “CY O’Connor Hub”, which is found on the north side of the weir, accessed by a road behind the Mundaring Weir Hotel. Here you’ll find modern picnic tables, shelters, BBQ facilities and lawn for kicking a footy or throwing down a rug. The main attraction is the pipeline themed Read more…
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If you live in or around the Mandurah area be sure to check out this brand new spot at Lakelands for morning tea and a play or after school hangs. Situated in the new development on Dragonfly Boulevard, it’s approximately 6 minutes drive from Lakelands shopping centre and Library on the Mandurah road. The nature play park is nestled between a beautiful open green space and mature trees. A peaceful little area close to the Paganoni reserve, where on a good day you might be lucky enough to spot some of the local kangaroos. The stand out feature of this Read more…
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A block from the Daglish Train Station, tucked away down a suburban street is a brilliant new playground. The teeny tiny Jersey Street Playground in Jolimont packs a big punch with great traditional equipment and nature play that will keep kids aged from about 3 years and up entertained. The small playground is partly shaded by mature trees and surrounded by bushes that have little winding pathways in-between – perfect game of hide and seek. A wooden fort-like play structure is great for a little imaginative play. There are two ways to get up to the fort, a sloping climbing Read more…
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The Jo Wheatley All Abilities Play Space is an amazing park purpose built for all ages and abilities. Carefully built around and under existing trees, covering 10,000sq m with wheelchair access throughout, a sensory garden, flying fox, climbing obstacles, slides, swings, picnic areas, water play, toilet facilities and fully fenced… it certainly ticks all the boxes!!! The main wooden structure has ramp and stair access, decks, two slides, and a balancing beam. Underneath there is a cubby house with a shop window and fun coloured glass blocks. There is a nature play area that backs onto the wooden structure, Read more…
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Gingin is a small and quaint township with a mighty new playground that is jam-packed with features and caters for children of all ages! The playground is nature-based, one of the main features is the Gingin Tower which includes two slides, a rope ladder and bridge. Other nature-based elements include stepping stumps and logs. One of my favourite features is a wind upturned tree windmill – the tree is from a local farmers property. Gingin Outdoor Activity Space has a swing for everyone! Two standard swings, a toddler swing and a birds net swing. As well as a big 360-degree Read more…
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This fantastic playground & recreation space can be found in the new Mojo Urban Living estate in Cockburn Central. The playground is a great mix of nature play amongst traditional equipment with a combination of soft fall, sand and wood chip ground cover. The traditional swing has 2 seats plus you’ll find the always popular Bird Nest/Circular swing. The main play structure offers various ways to get to the slide area platform, be it a log ladder, rope ladder, log steps or a climbing wall. The whisper tubes are heaps of fun! Although I’m still waiting for my Read more…
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The Canning River Regional Park extends over 6km and offers a range of activities to suit all the family. The Kent St Weir area offers a great family day out with lots of facilities including toilets, drink fountains bike repair kit. There are seven things you can do with the family at Kent St Weir. Have a Picnic – The Kent Street Weir area is perfect for a picnic with family or friends. There are large expanses of grass and some shady trees to throw your rug down. If you prefer there are a few covered gazebos with picnic tables Read more…
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Nestled in a leafy corner by Lake Claremont is a lovely naturally shaded playground. Lake Claremont Playground is a good mix of nature play and traditional playground equipment. The playground base is sand surrounded by grass and wood chips. There are no shade sails, but most of the equipment is naturally shaded by the large surrounding trees. There are stepping stones, logs and ropes to climb on, some with wooden platforms or balancing logs connecting different parts of the playground. At one end, there is a small slide and two swings, and a cute wooden cubby house with a pipe Read more…
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Hillarys Beach Park, Whitfords Nodes Hillarys Beach Park at Whitfords Nodes has undergone a revamp. This family friendly picnic spot now features a new playground including both traditional and nature play equipment. With it’s inclusive design, this park is sure to be a hit with kids of all ages! We were surprised at the size of this park. This was our first visit and I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen so many picnic tables in one place! Approaching the playground, Miss 5 was excited to see all the new equipment. She headed straight for the traditional section first, Read more…
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Rossiter Pavilion and Playing Fields in Piara Waters, in the Holland Park Estate, boasts a small playground packed with natureplay and adventure for curious, energetic kids. The first part to grab Miss 4’s attention was the three in-ground trampolines in the middle of the playground. She bolted straight to these first off, and came back to them many times over the course of our visit. She even managed to get me on one once or twice! On walking into the playground, the first thing I spotted was the nature play and messy play items. To the left, we found balancing Read more…
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Perry Lakes Rope Playground is located on Perry Lakes Drive, near the corner of Meager Drive. The playground is fully fenced and gated, and I feel it would be more suited to children aged three years and older who have more strength to climb and balance. Perry Lakes Rope playground is made up of many ladders, rubber platforms and balancing ropes. My miss 3 particularly loved the rope suspension bridge. She had several climbs across this one. It was great for building on her balancing skills. She also liked the rubber hammock section attached to a series of rope nets, Read more…
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Braithwaite Park in Mount Hawthorn has recently had a makeover and now is home to a fabulous Nature Play Area designed primarily for 10 – 14 year olds. Although younger children will have just as much fun! Nature Play Areas have huge benefits for children and encourage them to play in more diverse, imaginative and creative ways. These Cubby Houses are going to provide huge scope for imaginative play once the plants grow around them. The Play Area is constructed around the philosophy of nature-based elements and includes features such as logs, stepping stones, ropes, obstacles, plants and a zip line! Read more…
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We recently visited the redeveloped Mundaring Community Sculpture Park. It is located on Jacoby Street across the road from The Mundaring Hotel (not to be confused with the Mundaring Weir Hotel) There is more than enough parking along the road as it seemed everyone was there to take advantage of the good weather after the rain. It is very impressive with the main focus being on nature play. There is a water play area, lots of rocks and logs to climb and walk across, rope bridges, swings and ladders and it’s all surrounded by big trees. The sculptures all around Read more…
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The newly redeveloped East Fremantle Oval area has been transformed into a fantastic family-friendly space, featuring a nature playground located in front of the Carnaby Cafe. The fort-style playground boasts multiple levels, a climbing rope, fireman poles, a slide, and a climbing wall. Children can also enjoy a wooden stepping stone and rope agility course. The playground features an all-abilities birdnest swing, free gas BBQs, seating, and water fountains, all under shade cloth for sun protection. Adjacent to the playground is a large grass area, perfect for picnics and ball games. Don’t forget to bring skateboards, scooters, bikes, and basketballs Read more…
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Just North of the river, nestled within the shade trees, is a nature park like no other! The Russell Brown Adventure Park in Mosman Park is located in Minim Cove, on the bank of the Swan River, just beyond the Mosman Park Tennis Club. Rusell Brown adventure park blends in well with the bushland, and you would hardly even know it was there. It’s well hidden in the bush with natural structures to climb on that are mostly made of wood, stone, and ropes. It’s an amazing nature playground with which features rope and balancing areas, large fallen trees to scramble on, Read more…
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If you are looking for your next playground adventure, look no further than the 4.1-hectare Hinckley Park locating in Hocking. $1.4 million redevelopment opened in July 2021 and features a bike track with fuel station, animals, traditional play elements, basketball court and more! DON’T FORGET THE SCOOTERS OR A BIKE as this is the highlight of the playground! The scooter/bike track is a great size and complete with road signs, pedestrian crossings and a fuel station… it is a pretty scenic drive too! The bike track is surrounded by woodchips where you’ll find nature play elements and life-size animals such Read more…
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Nature play in the heart of Perth. So large and magical you almost forget you’re in a city. Flowing creeks, waterfalls, rope climbs, mud kitchens and make your own cubbies. The possibilities here are endless. Rio Tinto Naturescape provides a picturesque place for your children’s imagination to run wild. There are multiple different areas that all seem to merge seamlessly into one perfect nature playground. The areas are great for big kids and toddlers with a lot of care and supervision in certain areas. The mud kitchen was a good first option for my daughter to get her stuck into Read more…
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Northern Parklands is a brand new playground as part of a redevelopment in Bentley. The parklands were created with the input of local school children and teachers and the outcome was a play space that is quite different from the norm. There’s a street games strip which is such a great idea and includes hopscotch, noughts and crosses, basketball and netball, a climbing frame mini obstacle course and mini skateboarding course. There’s also a nature play area which includes a flying fox and a nest swing. My favourites were the running track and learn to cycle course! It was a Read more…
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Walter Padbury Playground is located in the Walter Padbury Park sporting complex in Thornlie. It is easily accessed from all car parks by a large internal path network so you should never have a problem finding a car park space! Walter Padbury Playground addresses all aspects of children’s play including balance, climb, slide, spin and discovery experiences and also venturing into the nature play theme. A sensory experience and access and mobility is provided as well as utilisation of different soft fall materials. The playground is good for children of all ages. For the younger ones, there is a small Read more…
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There’s a new nature play area in the Perth Hills suburb of Lesmurdie! Opened September 2019, the simple Paxhill Park Nature Playground can provide hours of entertainment to children that love to be in the great outdoors and have a wild imagination. The beautifully made timber play structures are impressive. Featuring easy to walk up ramps with hand rails, perfect for toddlers, or those uneasy on their feet. The fort like structure is perfect for a game of “king of the castle”. There is also a small climbing wall, with grips and a rope. As well as lots of logs Read more…
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This shipwreck-themed playground which opened in March 2018 is one of twenty parks planned within the in the thriving Yanchep Golf Estate! Perfect for toddlers and kids under 10, it certainly ticks a lot of boxes, and this is only stage one of the two-hectare park. As we arrived the first thing that caught my 8 year olds eye was the flying fox. She was a little disappointed it was only a single flying fox so she was unable to have races with her friend, instead, they happily took turns. The playground is sand based with a large blue soft-fall mountain Read more…
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G.O. Edwards Park on Burswood Road has recently had continued to have improvements and additions since the new playground opened in May 2018. The playground is now a nice mix of traditional playground equipment and nature play, more recent additions include exercise stops and a fenced dog park. Parking is available in the car park off Burswood Road. The first thing we noticed about the park was the steep red slide. As soon as our daughter was out the car she ran straight to this slide. The slide is built on softfall base and is enclosed. The slide is steep Read more…
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Located across from the WA Museum Boola Bardip is the Perth Cultural Centre Playspace, a quirky little play space which has a heavy focus on sensory play. The Playspace is fully fenced and gated and it is open daily from 8am – 7pm. It is recommended that the playspace is suitable most for children aged 6 – 13 years but children under that age can get a lot out of it too. Perth Cultural Centre Playspace incorporates art and nature with interesting items the kids can touch and explore like wood carvings and spinning wheels. There is even a spinning rock! Read more…
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Nestled amongst trees at Mary Crescent Reserve in Eden Hill is a small, but lovely nature playground that features a fun flying fox! The play area has been designed for kids of all ages, with equipment that appeals to primary school aged kids, as well as little ones. What all kids will go running to is the flying foxes, perfect for racing friends! One of the flying foxes has a “chair” for younger children and those less physically able. Be sure to take along a bucket and spade for a little sand play in the huge sandpit, which also Read more…
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Calling all climbers! The recently revamped play space at Flinders Park in Hillarys is ideal for kids who love a challenge. The playground reopened several months ago and now boasts various rope ladders and climbing frames, plus balance and stepping logs for kids to test their agility. The play structures are best suited to older children but my toddler was still able to climb up some of the ladders and enjoy the slides. Underneath is a pretend ‘store’ where all ages can employ their imagination. There is ample space for digging and sand play so it’s a good idea to Read more…
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Fee Fi Fo Fum… We smell a brilliant new playground (opened January 2019)! The “Giant Playground” at Bushmead housing estate is found in Perth’s foothills, just minutes from Midland and Kalamunda. Here, there’s a giant-theme, so kids will love to spot all the giants hiding in the park… There’s footprints, noses, eyes, toes and more! There’s a fun-tastic climbing structure, as well as a little nature play. The playground is dominated by a tall tree house-like structure, best for older kids, as all the ways to the top are via climbing nets. At the top, there is an enclosed tube Read more…
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Botany Park located in Hammond Park has just undergone a fantastic upgrade. It is now toddler-friendly fully fenced with various pool gate entry points. The original playground equipment still exists and features a bumpy slide, rock climbing wall, twisty ladder and swing seats. One of the fantastic new additions at Botany Park is a nature play area that features a wooden balance beam that has wobble bridge at one end and the water-sand play area at the other. You can either climb up the rocky mountain to the water pump at the top or scale the wall with the climbing Read more…
