Inner city living for dogs is one thing, inner metropolitan life is another…read more It's seriously difficult for a dog to find somewhere to go these days what with the world going mad every time a bad owner lets their bad dog bite some child or elderly person. Everyone who owns a dog needs to find ways of socialising their animal, it's a natural thing to do because they are pack animals after all, and living a life of solitude does not suit them. Well here's a nice dog friendly spot you can bring the pooch in order for it to get out and have a bit of time to relax in a fresh environment as well as sniff the bottoms of peers. Bottom sniffing is one activity dogs can not get enough of. The second best thing to do is leave your mark. Widdle somewhere; preferably somewhere that other dogs have widdled, in order to play a kind of 'membership' game. Make yourself a member of the in crowd by leaving your mark. All of these things and more can be done at Pooch Park. It's provided by the West Torrens Council, and they keep it well lit into the evening, and make sure it is reasonably well looked after. It is a fenced off area, with two gate entrances so you can get the dog in, close the gate, then go that next step deeper... this way there can be fewer surprises involved. It's a great thing to have a nice sized dog park available in a heavily built up area with few outdoor spaces making dogs actually welcome like this.

Tedder Pooch Park (or you may, as I was, be told it's Findon Pooch Park) has to be the urban dog's…read moreidea of paradise. The day Leaf and I went there was light rain, that lovely Soft Irish Rain, so before entering the enclosed off leash area we took a walk around the park. I would imagine on a hot day this would be 'the' place to take a promenade with your pooch. Beautiful tall trees and a wide boulevarde where dogs have plenty of room to pass in the approved doggy manner, by arcing around each other not face to face as they have to on city side walks, this is truly a good long walk. By completing the circuit, we came back to the doubled gated off leash area. Being double gated it gives you a chance to 'suss' out who's who's, before entering. The off leash area is just perfect for City Pooches who are not able to really meet and greet other dogs in approved doggy style, so be prepared for lots of butt sniffing and general 'howdy doodys'. It's also a grand time for them to sniff and sniff some more, heaven only knows how many grand smells abound, and no chance of them picking up and eating anything totally undesirable as can happen on the urban streets. The park is very well equipped too with plenty of Agility Equipment for the fitness conscious dog to have a grand work out, or for those pooches who just 'wanna have fun'. A cutie little white gal was having a wonderful time trying to emulate the big guys, jumping over the tunnel. Plus there are bins, just in case of accidents, which is great no more having to walk miles carrying a bag of doggy doo! And for the humans, there's a great shade area, though please do watch your dog at all times! Plus the car park is a really decent size, so parking isn't a problem either. I understand the park is also well lit at night, so no excuses for not allowing your urban dog a little fun time in true doggy style. Leaf and I will definitely be back we had a real blast!

Harold my 8 month old puppy and I just love heading to this dog park! Generally friendly pooches…read morewith owners who don't mind a chat. Doggy poop bags are readily available from all entrances however that doesn't mean that people always use them so keep an eye out as you walk around. There is a cafe truck that usually rocks up in the late afternoon on Wednesday and Saturdays, a great way to warm the hands in the cold winter months. The downside to this park is the lack of lighting at night. In winter it's a struggle for the 9-5 workers to get home, pick up their pooches and then get to the park before darkness kicks in. Overall a nice dog park with lots of space for your four legged friend!

Bring the four legged members of your family here. The more the merrier, I say! On the corner of…read moreHazelmere Rd and Oaklands Rd there's a fantastic oval which turns into a dog park when sport isn't being played. It was so lovely to watch all the four-footed family members running around, enjoying the sun. One mother (of children and dogs) was walking the dog around the while the children played on the playground. The two areas are fenced off from each other but there's easy access from one to the other via child-proof gates. The playground obviously is a hit as you can tell from the photos. While it looks like the playground is more suited for younger children, there is a large climbing frame and a rubber hammock that proves to be a nice place to 'hang out' with your friends and chat....as older children do ;-) There are sheltered table/chair areas, a BBQ, and a drinking fountain but these are a little distance from the playground area. I was quite baffled by this. I would have thought there would be some shaded seating closer to the playground. Electronic toilets are closer to the playground than seating! hehehe The playground itself doesn't get a lot of shade so make sure you Slip, Slop, Slap. *Dogs allowed in dog park* *Working drinking fountains in both the oval and playground areas* *Sheltered table/chair areas* *BBQ* *Electronic toilets*

This is such a great place. With a playground, skate park AND beautiful bike/hiking tracks through…read morethe local bush land, this really is a pretty place. While it isn't the biggest playground, they certainly have designed it with a wide range of age groups in mind. There's a mix of rubber ground and bark chip ground with toilets right in the middle of the skating area and the playground area. I spoke to a local who said the skate park is great (I've been out of the skating scene for too long to know hehehe). There were a couple of broken street lights in the car park but he assured me that the park gets maintained and looked after well, and he was surprised to see the damage himself. Pack your family up, put the bikes in the car and head over here. It would be a lovely Sunday outing. This is definitely one to check out. It's such a pretty place and while there's more construction happening at the moment (looks like an extension to the playground) this really is a happy blend of playground and nature with plaques along the way with information about the wildlife in that area. *I didn't see a drink fountain or BBQ* *Dogs allowed...under effective control of course* *Stay tuned to this post, I want to check the tracks out more myself! :-) See you there!*

Minkarra Park is a great place to take the kids on school holidays when you just need to get out of…read morethe house. It has exercise equipment, large skate park, hiking trails, fenced dog park and playground with toilets. Whilst I mainly visited for the playground with friends, I was disappointed that it does not cater for crawlers or children under 2 very well. Some of the equipment was too high/difficult for them to climb and they spent the majority of the time on the rubber ground. There was also no toddler swing, so if your kids like swings as much as mine then it's not the place to go. That being said it s well kept and tidy, but probably suited more to 3/4yo and up.

I am definitely a fan of this playground but something held me back from giving it five stars…read more Perhaps it was the dated equipment, perhaps it was the lack of equipment designed for the much older children, perhaps it's the lack of shade over the playground, or perhaps it was the long distance to the toilets, I'm not sure but let me tell you what's great about this place. This playground is fully fenced and the entire space has a rubber flooring. There is a drinking fountain, tap, table/chair and BBQ all within close proximity to the playground. Unfortunately there isn't any shelter/shade over the table but with the massive gum trees in the park, there is some shade depending on the time you visit. This is a great place to come but for me, it slightly falls short of my 'destination' playground status. Maybe I'm having a bad day lol. There's PLENTY of space to kick a ball or throw a frisbee outside of the fenced playground area. *Dogs allowed* *Drinking fountain and tap* *Table/chair area (not sheltered)* *BBQ* *Toilets (walking distance)*

Finally! A park with toilets. I think I'd give a park three stars simply for having a toilet, and…read moreeverything else on top of that is a bonus. My kind of park is one that has a great moat of green protecting a toilet right in the middle. Nothing else actually matter. And a drinking fountain too? Benissimo! There's a wide area and plenty of space to play with balls. There's your usual playground. There's a barbecue. And that's about it. But there's nothing more you need. Of course, there could, perhaps, be a little more shade. We're in Australia, after all, not Siberia. But, regardless, this is a nice park. If it's your local park, it's worth being proud of.

This park is really quite extensive and I'm sure everyone will find some aspect of it that they…read morereally like. It's a very well set up place; toilets, ovals, tennis courts, playground and the list goes on. With my playground reviews, I always consider it a good sign if I can't take a lot of photos because people are enjoying the area. This is the case with this playground. There's so much to explore here. The only piece of advice I can give you is that the playground is behind the Scout Hall.

What I like about Ridge Park at Myrtle Bank is that despite its location in a super heavy traffic…read morearea the park itself remains incredibly quiet. Ridge Park is just down from the end of the freeway so there's never any shortage of traffic whizzing by. Amazingly, step just a few metres into the park and the traffic noise disappears. You can actually hear the birds chirping. This is both a dog friendly and people friendly park and there's no shortage of users. I love the open spaces for the pooches to run around and the plentiful facilities on offer here. Also in the park on the corner of Glen Osmond Road and Barr Smith Avenue is a memorial listing the names of fallen soldiers from World War I. From history buffs to boy scouts to four legged people, Ridge Park has something for everyone.

Yay! What a pleasant playground this is. The whole playground is fenced but there is a park (also…read morefenced to the road) where dogs can frollick during certain times of the day (See photos). This is quite a fun playground which would entertain quite a few age groups. There is a drinking fountain in the lawn park (where dogs are allowed). One of the biggest pluses for me is that the playground is under shade cloth sails!!!! Woohoo!! I love your work City of Unley!! *Dogs allowed in dog park, not in playground* *Drinking fountain in dog park*

This park is tucked out of the way, away from Greenhill Road, and is a bit of a secret find for…read moremany - even locals. I was a regular here with my kids for several years when we were living at Frewville, giving my wife a chance to study and giving the girls a run around in the fresh air, and we got a huge surprise when we returned not so long ago, just before Christmas, and found the fantastic renovations that had been done. McLeary Park always was a nice, safe, shady playground, with a quite elaborate climbing frame, almost a fort on stilts with a slide and netting to climb, and the spirit of that structure has been maintained with the more modern equipment in place now. There is still plentiful shade from the trees however the additional shade cloth is brilliant - I notice Unley and Burnside councils have made significant upgrades to a number of parks with shade and newer equipment. So, yet again, my kids had a ball here - three years older now, but just as enraptured. The only downside here is that there's no public convenience, so we had to pack up and head off to the nearby KFC for toilets. Other than that, beautiful place for a family picnic.

This playground seems a little disjointed. There's a very small toddler playground near the tennis…read morecourts and a larger playground under shade cloth that is designed for older children. There's a rotunda area that you could set up with table and chairs although there is a table/chair in the sun just outside of the rotunda. There is also a BBQ in that same area. There is a lot of space here so if you brought bikes, they would definitely get some use, although the area is quite hilly so little ones might need to be supervised. The shaded playground is a great set up. There's a lot of different equipment for older children and would suit Primary School aged children. In my view, it's a shame the two playgrounds aren't closer together, at least on the same hill. There are toilets at the beginning of the park...not too far for little children to walk but it is right next to the car park. I'm not sure what Burnside Council has against putting in drinking fountains, but here's another playground without one. *Dogs allowed* *BBQ* *Rotunda* *Tennis Courts* *Shaded playground for older children* *Toilet block*

This playground would stand on it's own two feet, but to be saddled up beside another playground…read more(Goodale Reserve) is a brilliant idea! Both of the playgrounds are new and exciting. While the Goodale Reserve is a great toddler park, the AA Bailey Rec Ground is suited for older children. There is a sheltered table/chair area (as well as some not sheltered) and BBQs. I can't remember seeing toilets but with this being such a big facility (oval and playgrounds) I'm sure there would be some nearby. Check out my review of Goodale Reserve to see photos of the toddler park. *Dogs allowed* *Sheltered table/chairs* *BBQs*

I would hazard to guess that there hasn't been a weekend go by when there hasn't been someone using…read morethis playground/park. It gets a lot of visual attention from people driving by so you've probably seen it in your travels. There is a relatively new car park down Evans Ave but there's still parking down Norman Walk also. A small agility playground has been set up near the Evans Ave car park. There are also swings here and the rest of the play equipment is just a short hop, skip and a jump across the bridge. The playground in the main area is entirely rubber floored and is a cute place for toddlers to hang out. Toilets are close at hand and so is a sheltered table/chair area. At the time I was here, there were about 8 men in Parks and Wildlife uniforms on and I didn't feel like asking them to smile so unfortunately there's no specific photo of that area. You may be able to see it in the background of other photos though. There's also a rotunda available but it's purely shelter, no seating or tables (BYO!). The lawn area is great and many amateur cricket game has been played here. *Dogs allowed (on leash)* *Sheltered table/chair* *Rotunda* *BBQ* *Toilets*

I went to school up the road from Mitcham reserve and over the years we got up to all sorts of…read moreshenanigans here. It's a diverse park in terms of structure, shape and options which should make it accessible to pretty much anyone. We used to come here to play on the playsets, later to have a kick, to go for runs along Brownhill Creek, smoke clandestine cigarettes, and then later still have picnics and chill out with friends. It's hard to call it an actual reserve considering it's mostly just a big space of lawn spotted with benches, play equipment and a rotunda with a creek running through it. Yet, it's a nice place to relax in the shade of a massive gum, and super easy to access.

At the risk of sounding over the top I LOVE THIS PLACE!! It was love at first sight. To think I…read moreused to live a few streets from here and didn't know about this place. Ahhh, how times change after you become a parent. I was so delightfully touched by this place. THIS is yet another playground/park area within the Unley Council that screams "WE LOVE OUR COMMUNITY!" I really, really, REALLY want to give this a five star review but to tell you the truth I was so blown away by it that I didn't look for half of the 'extras' I normally try to find in a five star review. Let me run through some things with you; fully fenced, dog park (see times on photos), shade sails, entirely rubber floored, drinking fountain and snake fountain (I think this is for the four legged members of the family...check out photos), equipment for varying age groups and abilities, table/chairs. The playground itself is a little dated but this is such a wonderful set up the dull grey doesn't even matter (to me anyway). I'm coming back here to check it out further and I'll bring my daughter with me so I have an excuse to swing and slide and climb. *Dogs allowed* *Drinking fountain* *Shade sails*