Wainwright Park, Kingswood

I feel funny even writing about this park, because it is so big and central to the suburb of Kingswood, but I will highlight it because I only discovered it when I started systematically checking out parks during COVID. I have driven past it so many times as a local Penrith girl, but I hadn’t really looked at it. It is on the corner of Bringelly Road and Orth Street in Kingswood.

There is a wide variety of options at this park, and there is sunshade, and there are places for parents to sit. Mostly I don’t get to sit down though cause the kids are moving around to all the options. There is a public book library and a ‘tin bin’ or food library, a leave what you can, take what you need sort of situation.

The playground equipment includes slides, monkey bars, swings, and there is ample sunshade. There is a good ranger of options for different ages, though perhaps nothing for teenagers. There isn’t a rope climbing structure but there are quite a few climbing points on this set of equipment. There is a pretend cafe under one platform, and an abacus under another, so there are a few things for the smaller children. It is surrounded by grass and even currently a community garden of sorts. There are not a lot of places for adults to sit. Parking can be a bit tough, the side street tends to be full, I generally have to park on Bringelly Road.

I also love all of the animals on the fence around the park. I just had to take photos of them too.

Joanna Park, South Penrith

Joanna Park on Joanna Street in South Penrith is great if you have a child who considers themselves to be a bit of a true ninja, or if they want to play ‘the floor is lava’. There is sun shade and it is set in the middle of a large block or park, surrounded by quiet streets, so this might be a good park if you have a child who is a runner.

This park has swings, balancing options, a pretend cafe, noughts and crosses, cargo net, a ladder, a rock climbing wall, a double slide, a rope monkey bar (or slack monkey bars?) and plenty of places for the adults to sit. Last time that I went there was a broken TV there, the time before it was fine. I don’t know if there is normally trash at this park.

Edna Dunn Reserve, South Penrith

This is a great park, the only thing that lets it down is that it is next to Northern Road (at that point called Parker Street) and so it is no good if you have a child who is a runner. That said, the park itself is set a long way back from Northern Road, it has great sun shade coverage, and a good variety of equipment. To get to it you go to Mazepa Street, South Penrith.

When I took these photos the sun shade had snapped on one side, but it has since been fixed. There is a slide, a cargo net, a rock climbing wall (for small children), circular monkey bars, instead of a pretend cafe this one has a front that looks like a car, swings, and a climbing net shaped like a spider web. There is only one seat for adults to sit at is my biggest complaint about this park. It is easy to park on Mazepa Street and walk to the park. There were actually also a lot of sticks around and trees so if kids want to look for sticks or rocks for craft, or just to play with, there is space for that too.

Carmel Kennedy Memorial Park, Kingswood

I am actually not 100% sure what this park is called, it is on Second Avenue in Kingswood, across the road from Kingswood Public School, and next to Chapman Gardens Oval. This is a good park for a range of ages, the ropes are for older kids and there are toddler options too.

There is a structure that is essentially for younger kids, with a shorter slide, stairs up to the platform, and noughts and crosses and an abacus. There is also a larger rope climbing structure that is difficult for a younger child to meaningfully use. There is a sunshade and seating for the adults. There are swings including a nest swing. Whenever I am there there is a range of children of different ages on the equipment. There is some parking, though you probably don’t want to be trying to park there at school drop off or pick up time.

Parker Street Reserve, Penrith

This park is part of the large facilities that you access off of King Street in Penrith, but one side of it sits on Northern Road so the Council has called it the Parker Street Reserve. You have probably gone here with your school, or your kids’ school, for the soccer fields or an athletics carnival.

It has some stuff that was perfect for my children (4 and 6 years old at the time) and some stuff that was really only useable by teenagers or larger children. There are two slides, a pretend cafe, various things for smaller children to climb on, a firemans pole, monkey bars, a flying fox, and you can get to the slides by using a metal climbing frame or by stairs. You can see the soccer fields from the seats for adults, but there is a fence between the park and the soccer field so you don’t need to worry about a smaller child running under a bunch of adults playing soccer. The fence does not wrap around the whole park, so it isn’t ideal for children who run. There is no shade cloth but it is surrounded by trees and every time I have been there it has been mostly in shade, though I mostly went there in winter so I don’t know how the summer sun lands on this park.

Bunnings playground, Homemaker Centre, Jamisontown

This is hands down my absolute favourite, and often my children ask for it too. It is indoors, the staff are lovely, you can sit in the outdoor furniture section if you have no intention of spending any money, it is indoors, it has bathrooms, and on weekend in the mornings sometimes there is craft. The cafe has really cheap food and good coffee. Obviously there is a big slide and lots of climbing opportunities, there is a pretend cafe, an abacus and some of those play things on a wall that are good for toddlers.

Lions Park, Emu Plains

Lions Park is located on the corner of the Great Western Highway and Park Street, Emu Plains. It is behind the community centre, and it has toilets and quite a bit of undercover seating for parents. The parking on Park Street is a bit tight, I imagine on the weekends you would need to park in a side street.

I only have two basic photos but the website for Moduplay actually has detailed photos, you can have a look at those here.

This park has swings, a slide, and plenty of climbing options that don’t fit the usual box. There is a balancing beam, a small rock climbing wall, and a fence all of the way around. The fence doesn’t have a gate, but the opening is where the seats for the adults are. This is also next to a cricket or footy oval with a concrete pathway wrapping around it, that is great for a walk or a bigger bike ride (not toddlers it is a bit long).

Judges Park, Penrith

This park is next to the Penrith Bowlo, there is generally a fair amount of parking on the weekend or after school, and since I took these photos they have put a large sunshade over it. This is my favourite park to catch up with a Mum who has older children than mine, I feel like this is the park with the most options for older children. I don’t have older children though, I would love to hear in the comments from Mums who think another park is more suited?

There is a slide, a balancing beam (which is a bridge rather than stationary), a rock climbing wall, a cargo net, one of those ‘spider web’ rope structures, swings, seats for adults, a sun shade, and plenty of metal climbing structures that are physically too big for smaller children.

Bel-Air Road Reserve, Penrith

This park is simple, but it has everything you want for younger kids. It has slides, monkey bars, a spider web type rope climb, swings, a pretend car, and there are stairs to get up onto the platform. The seat for adults is a long way away from the park, but that is fine because it is set quite a way back from the road, and there is almost never another family there.

These photos are from a few years ago, this park now has sun shade.

Henry Bridgen Park, Penrith

Henry Brigden Park is on Thurston Street and Blaxland Avenue in Penrith, and they have recently added a sun shade to it. This is another park that is basic, but there is definitely enough for the kids to do. During lock downs I gave up coming here as there were often other families there too, but now it seems to be fine. It is surrounded by apartment blocks, and I think I just went a few times when there were already two and three other families there and there just isn’t enough in this park for that many families.

There is a big slide, my kids were initially scared to go up to it but that might be good for your situation, a pretend cafe, a flying fox, and swings. There is a seat from parents, it isn’t close to the park but the park is set on a large block and it is not close to the road. Even so, I don’t sit on the seat I end up standing or sitting on the larger swing.