Canberra’s best playgrounds with caffeine close by
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Like many parents, I’ve come to learn every good play date should have two things: a decent park to help little ones burn energy (and if you’re lucky, nap later) and close proximity to caffeine for us not so little ones in need of a fix.
And though Canberra is home to some excellent playgrounds, not all of them are easy walking distance to cafés. With the help of Canberra’s play date/coffee aficionados, we’ve rounded up our city’s best playgrounds that are so close to a good cuppa you can smell the beans. (To make the cut, the parks had to be a decent size and under a five-minute walk with babies/toddlers/prams in tow.)
If we’ve missed some, let us know!
Woden
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Chifley Shops Playground
With A Bite to Eat and the Chifley grocer just a stone’s throw away, this playground also has ample shade, seating and grassed areas to spread out for a picnic. Bonus points for a change table inside the café!
14 Chifley Place, Chifley
Farrer Nature Playground
Grab a coffee at Fox and Bow Café and walk across the road to the Farrer Nature Playground, which features timber climbing structures, a sand pit, tunnel and climbing nets as well as a mountain bike track for older kids.
113 Lambrigg Street, Farrer
Isaacs Recreational Playground
Behind the Isaacs shops – home to the new Maple and Pine café – is a hidden gem, complete with two large playgrounds, beautifully shaded areas and even a pretend fort.
84 Julia Flynn Avenue, Isaacs
Notable mention: If you’re up for a longer walk, Eddison Park in Woden is about a 10 minute walk to the Woden town centre cafes and has multiple play areas and sensory play.
Tuggeranong
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Nina Farrer Park, Greenway
With Two Before Ten Greenway and Cafe Beetroot located conveniently nearby, grab a coffee and wander down the hill to this modern playground nestled alongside Lake Tuggeranong.
Located near the South Quay development at Lake Tuggeranong (opposite Bunnings)
Tuggeranong Park Playground
Just across the road from the Tuggeranong Town Centre and its selection of cafés, this playground is a hit with kids thanks to its sandpit and diggers, climbing challenges and shaded picnic areas.
25 Bartlet Pl, Greenway
Gowrie Shops Playground
With local fave Common Grounds just across the carpark, you’ll be set for the perfect play date – complete with spider web climbing and platform turning wheel for the littles.
7 Castleton Cres, Gowrie
Belconnen
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George Simpson Playground, Flynn
Just a five-minute walk away from Café Mame in Melba, this playground features sensory play, a range of climbing challenges and a cute “Fort Flynn.”
Sanderson Close, Flynn
Florey Shops Playground
With new local The Irvine nearby, this enclosed playground is a cute option for little ones looking to burn off energy.
36 Kesteven St, Florey
Macquarie Shops Playground
This playground is in perfect proximity to both Ricardos Café (for either coffee or mouth-watering dessert) and the Jamison Shops (handy if you need to pick up groceries on the way home.)
1 Jamison Centre, Macquarie
Gungahlin
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Crace Hilltop Reserve
As well as being close to Coffee Guru and The District, this reserve is home to two playgrounds. The smaller playground features a slide, swing and spinning ride, while the upper park has climbing mounds and a web climbing frame.
4 Thadoona St, Crace
O’Hanlon Place Playground, Nicholls
This playground is an easy walk from Federation Square, which has a range of cafés to choose from. Not to mention you can even make a day of it and visit Cockington Green, The Dinosaur Museum or the Canberra Reptile Zoo, which are also close by!
46 O’Hanlon Place, Nicholls
Franklin Recreational Playground
Okay, so it’s a little over a five-minute walk from Franklin’s Coffee Guru, but this playground is worth the longer walk if you can: it has a huge climbing rope frame as well as a toddler area with small swings, slide and bouncy toys to play on with soft fall sponge underneath.
78 Gwen Meredith Loop, Franklin
Inner South/Inner North
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Pod Playground
Pod Playground at the National Arboretum Canberra offers a play experience that’s close to nature. Let the kids run wild hiding in the acorn cubbies, clambering across the climbing nets, making music in the banksia cubbies and slipping down the tube slides while you admire the stunning views over Canberra with coffee in hand from the Arboretum’s café.
1 Forest Drive, Molonglo Valley
Yarralumla Playground
Choose from either Farmer’s Daughter or Beess and Co for your coffee fix at the Yarralumla shops before taking a leisurely walk down the road to the leafy Yarralumla Playground, which has a huge range of equipment for all ages (my daughter loves the turning spider web spinner and swing bridge) as well as ample shade and picnic tables.
Loftus Street (next to Yarralumla Primary School)
Glebe Park
Since this playground is in the centre of the city, there’s no shortage of coffee selections nearby (it’s also the perfect picnic space should the weather permit.)
Glebe Park, Canberra City
Telopea Park
This beautifully shaded park is a close walk to the Kingston Shops, the Kingston Foreshore or even Manuka, so there’s no shortage of coffee haunts.
Telopea Park, Barton
A number of businesses in the inner north/south have both cafes and outdoor playgrounds within them, including: The National Zoo and Aquarium, Rodney’s, Wildflour Café Fyshwick, Farm Shop Café Pialligo, Yarralumla Play Station and The National Botanic Gardens.
Feature image via facebook.com/NationalArboretumCanberra
