Carlton Gardens Playground — Garden Design in Carlton, VIC

Who designed this steel and concrete hellscape?! It is the coldest, least imaginative playground I've ever been to. I feel like it's what a playground in Guantanamo Bay detention centre would look like. Very sad when you compare it to the one in Lincoln Square.

Oct 2025

Lovely playground located in Carlton Gardens. I love that they have created a big kids and little kids area with appropriate sized equipment. A big plus is the variety of equipment available, grassed areas for picnics and surrounding trees for shade. Toilets are available but not close by, so if need be, you might have to power walk your little ones to the closest public toilet available at Melbourne Museum entrance. The only downside to this park is the way they have created the bigger kids section. With so many high walls it is not easy at all to spot your child and if they are shorter than the wall, they are very easy to lose sight of/get lost.

Oct 2022

It’s a big garden with walking trails, basket ball court , climbing equipment and swings . Toilet facilities are also here . Nice for family picnic and get together . Remember to bring your own tables as there are only benches For seating . Playground is suitable for younger kids .

Jan 2022

This is a uniquely designed park with multiple layers of walls. The walls separate the view, making it feel many times larger. The very experimental design is very interesting. However, these walls make it very difficult to keep the children supervised at all times; I felt a little uneasy as I took two small children by myself. The grass around the playground is wide and away from the roadway, though, so parents don't have to watch their children closely all the time. The playground equipment is very ingenious. The playground equipment is very ingenious, with lots of little holes for children to climb through. The children run into the holes here and there like little animals in the forest. It's very cute. There is also another slide for small children, which is a good place to play for children under two years old. There are also slides and swings. The park has toilets, trash cans, and benches.

Oct 2021

This children's playground, in the Carlton Gardens and located just north of the Melbourne Museum, is rather unique when it comes to playgrounds. There are two tall tower structures, a big tunnel slide, smaller slides, musical instrument, monkey bars, fireman's pole, ladders and a climbing wall, as well as a sandpit all set in a hide-and-seek type maze of walls each having different sized holes cut into them making them fun for hiding and exploring. There are paths running through the maze, with a wooden deck in the middle that hides musical bells that chime when you walk on them. Off to the side is a circular area with soft surface for toodlers with toddler swings and a cubby house with a slide, sandpit, climbing frame and spring seesaw. Next to this older kids is an another area with a number of monkey bars and climbing frames, a flying fox and horizontal bars plus two double swings. There's lots to keep kids of all ages entertained while burning off energy. Being in the Carlton Gardens, this playground is set in lots of green space with beautiful well established trees including large Moreton Bay figs. It is certainly different and quite popular especially after school when the kids pour out from the primary school across Rathdowne Street.

May 2018