Parramatta Park - Main Entrance Macquarie St, Parramatta

Where do you start with Parramatta park?? There is so much to see and do here you could easily spend the day.  There is a fantastic playground, excercise equipment, a duck pond, a fruit bat sanctuary, a cafe, the river, bike/walking tracks, and access to the Parramatta Stadium and Parramatta pools.  There is also an abundance of historical sites that you can view such as Old Government House and Govenor's Observatory remains to name a couple

Toilets:

A few different toilet blocks around the park.

BBQs:

Yes there are BBQs scattered throughout the park in picnic areas.
Bins:
Yes bins are in picnic areas.

Seating:

Lots of seating, including benches and picnic tables.

Shade: There is heaps of natural shading making it a perfect area to spread out the picnic blanket. 

Bike/Walking Tracks:

There are heaps of tracks weaving through the whole park.  There main circuit though that is used by cyclists and walkers/joggers alike is the main road that circles the entire park. 
Playground Equipment:

The playground equipment is great for a variety of ages from 2-12.  There is a small flying fox as seen in the picture, see saws, swings,  and climbing equipment. With the regard to the main playground watch the little ones that love to run off because the duck pond is situated right behind here. There is also another playground closer to the Old Government house site.

Open Spaces:

There is so much open space here for football games, kite flying, cricket you'll find it hard to pick a spot.

Carparking/Accessiblity:

There is ample carparking and accessibility isn't too bad but there aren't many concrete paths through the park itself only around main circuit.

Fenced:
The main body of the park is fenced but the playgrounds aren't.
Gated:
The park is gated, there are two entrances the main entrance in Parramatta is open daily from 6am-6pm (8pm in Daylight savings), the Westmead entrance is open 10am-3pm Mon-Fri.
Entry fee:
No entry fee
Unique Attractions:
There are so many attractions to bring you to this park that I think the best way for you to explore whats on and the facilities is to browse the parks website. In the website you'll find special events that being hosted at the park, a park map, historical features and hours of operation.Click here: http://www.ppt.nsw.gov.au/

Duck pond behind the playground

Exercise equipment along side the playground equipment

Views of the open spaces and a Grey Headed flying fox, that lives in the sanctuary that can be viewed from in the park just before the walkway out towards the stadium.

Walk way linking to the outside of the park.

Central Gardens - Cnr Merrylands Rd and Cumberland Hwy Merrylands

This is a great park for kids of all ages as it combines outdoor park fun with fauna encounters.  This park is one of the larger parks in the Holroyd city council which houses various Australian fauna for kids and adults alike to view and observe.   The types of animals include emus, kangaroos, wallabies and native birds like galahs and cockatoos.   Although the cages and enclosures are a little dated the animals themselves are very looked after and the kids don't even seem to notice. 

There are a variety of areas to picnic with bbq's available as well as plenty of seating and shaded pergolas.  There is also a two seperate picnic areas that can be reserved through the council for private parties and functions.   There are also two seperate playgrounds suitable for kids between the ages of 2-10.   Please see below for a more comprehensive listing of the facilities available.


Toilets:
There are two plumbed toilet blocks one near the Merrylands Rd entry and one near the Paton St entry.
BBQs:
There are electric BBQs scattered throughout the park in the picnic areas both near the Merrylands Rd entry and Paton St entry.
Bins:
Bins are located throughout the park.
Seating:
Plenty of seating, picnic tables and park bench seating.
Shade:
There is plenty of natural shade and shaded pergolas in the pinic areas.  The playground behind the animal enclosures is completely shaded.
Bike/Walking Tracks:
There is a couple of walking tracks linking the different areas of the park.
Playground Equipment:
There are two playgrounds in the park both would be suitable for kids of about 2-10.  Although some parts are a little challenging so adult supervision is neccessary.  The largest of the two is behind the animal enclosures and is completely shaded. The ground covering is tan bark so be prepared that the littlies will get dirty.  The other playground is closer to the Merrylands Rd entry, to the right of the carpark and like the other one is shaded too.  Its a little more basic in terms of the play equipment with only a ramp and two slides so would probably really only entertain kids between the ages of 3 & 5.  Again might be challenging for younger ones so adult supervision would be reccommended. 
Open Spaces:
Plenty of space for ball games, cricket, kite flying etc.
Carparking/Accessiblity:
There is plenty of carparking available at the Merrylands Rd entrance as well as on Paton Rd on the other side of the park.  There is disabled parking in the Merrylands Rd carpark and wheelchair access from here is good via the concrete paths etc.
Water Bubblers:
Yes there are a few bubblers scattered around.
Fenced:
The entire park is fenced but it is a very large park with a non-fenced body of water so keep this in mind with toddlers.
Gated:
The park opens weekdays from 7.30am til 5pm and 7pm during daylight savings. The weekend hours are 9am to 5pm &  8am to 7pm during daylight savings. The only days the park is closed is Good Friday and Christmas Day.

Entry fee:
No entry fee
Unique Attractions:
The biggest draw card for this park would be the animal enclosures.  Here kids can get a good look at kangaroos, emus, native birds, wallabies, ducks and ibis.  As mentioned before the enclosures are a little dated but little ones don't seem to notice, they just love to be able to see the animals.  There is also a large dam/pond with ducks so pack some stale bread to feed them.

The park also has 2 picnic areas that can be reserved for private functions, these being the Pinaroo picnic area (max guests100) and the Yarrabee picnic area (max guests 200).  For more information call Holroyd council on 9840 9840.  There are also tennis courts on the Paton st side of the park for booking through the council.

View of dam/pond

Largest playground behind animal enclosures

Grassy field right of large playground

View of the Kangaroo enclosure

Playground on Merrylands Rd side

Yarrabee Picnic area available for reservation.

Holroyd Gardens - Brickworks Dr Merrylands

Pack the bikes as this park has its very own Road Safety Training track along with fantastic play equipment to suit kids of all ages.  There is a fairly new toddler play area along with a timber adventure structure more suited older children.  The park has numerous picnic tables along with electric BBQs and quite a large grassy area great for playing cricket or footy. Below is listed in a little more detail the facilities of this park.

Toilets:

Plumbed toilet Block.
BBQs:
Electric BBQs available in picnic area.  There is also a powerpoint available for use in this area.
Bins:
There are bins in the picnic area.
Seating:
There is a variety of seating both park bench style and picnic tables.
Shade:
There is a fair bit of natural shade but unfortunately none of the playgrounds are shaded.
Bike/Walking Tracks:
This park has a fantastic bike track which is a Road Safety Training Track using signs and symbols used in everyday road situations.  For example its uses broken lines, pedestrian crossings, roundabout signs, stop signs, giveway signs, keep left signs etc.
Playground Equipment:
Fantastic toddler (under 5's) play equipment which has recycled rubber flooring, its also semi fenced which is helpful when you have little escapees.  The timber structure which would be more suited to older children has slides and climbing equipment.   This playground is a little bit more challenging so younger children would need adult supervision.
Open Spaces:
There is a great grassy spot to the right of the picnic area that would be great for a game of cricket or footy.
Carparking/Accessiblity:
Plenty of on site parking as well as disabled parking.  There is wheelchair access to most of the park via the concrete paths.
Water Bubblers:
Yes
Fenced:
The entire park is fenced and the toddler play area is fenced also but not gated.    At the brickworks end of the park,  the exit/entry point opens onto a pond which isn't fenced.  I would consider this a bit of a hazard if you have small children that like to run off.  If visiting the pond take care as the water's surface is covered by algae which gives the illusion of a ground surface.  So don't step off the path into the pond.
Gated:
This park is gated and closes at 7pm during daylight savings.
Entry fee:
No entry fee
Unique Attractions:
The main unique attraction of this park would be Road Safety Training track.  Another attraction for history buffs would be the historic brickworks site which links through to Holroyds gardens, it includes a pond, picnic area, BBQs and old brickworks machinery and information boards with interesting information about the area.

View of timber play equipment

View of toddler playground

Tunnel slides as part of the timber structures

View to brickworks site