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A timber fort near the city, with a long slide hidden on the hillside.
In Clifton Hill there’s a timber adventure playground tucked away where you can see the city skyline. In front of you are slides, a wooden fort and trees, and in the distance there are Melbourne’s tall buildings. It’s a pretty odd combination.
The long metal slide running down the slope is what grabs you first
The most eye-catching thing is the long metal slide laid down the side of the hill. From the bottom it already has a lot of presence, and when you walk up and look back down, the whole timber fort play area is spread out in front of you, with a bit of a “getting ready for the challenge” feeling. There’s a timber staircase next to the slide, so you don’t have to climb the slope every time.
If you remember the slide at Ivanhoe I shared before, this one is smoother to slide down by comparison, and my big boy likes it more.
There’s more here than one slide
The timber walkways down below wind around, connecting platforms at different heights and small towers, like a miniature fortress. Following the ramp is one route, and switching to the rope net, climbing ladders or the small rock wall is another challenge entirely.
Even better, both the upper and lower levels can be explored. Up top you walk across timber bridges, down below you crawl through rock caves, and when kids sit inside they feel like they’ve got a secret base of their own. A structure where you find your own way and wriggle around gives you much more room for pretend play and exploring than an ordinary slide does.
Younger kids have a low slide, spring rockers and swings to choose from, so they don’t have to start with the big slide. Kids who like climbing can try the monkey bars and the chain bridge.
The open lawn is the part I liked best
I really liked the open lawn alongside. You look up and there’s the city, and when you take photos you can fit the trees and the skyline into the same frame. Bring something to eat, sit down at the picnic table under the roof, and the tiredness of the whole week melts away.
A few tips from the visit
The long slide has real height, so choose according to your child’s ability, and an adult should be close by. The shade doesn’t cover all of the equipment, so remember sunscreen on sunny days, and touch the metal slide to check the temperature before your kid goes down. You can get here by public transport, and if you’re driving, it’s five minutes off the M3 and there’s plenty of parking.
Quarries Park Playground, Clifton Hill.
What else is worth knowing
Quarries Park Playground sits on the corner of Ramsden Street and Field Street, Clifton Hill 3068. Other listed equipment includes a sand pit, chain traverses, a flying fox and a fireman’s pole, along with BBQs and a table under shelter, and it sits next to a skate park. That fits the rock caves we crawled through, because the play space was designed with Jeavons Landscape Architects around quarry and industrial references from the site’s past, with elevated decks and bridges among constructed cliff faces, caves and tunnels, and it opened in 1994. It’s an older playground than it looks.
There’s one practical point your own notes don’t cover. Toilets aren’t inside the playground itself, but there’s a pavilion south-east of the oval that has toilets.
The shade comment is worth checking before you go too. Yarra City Council is progressing a playground upgrade at Quarries Park following consultation in late 2025, and has said it will look at increasing shade through additional tree planting and shade structures. The council’s Your Say Yarra page has the latest on timing, so check it for any works or closures before you make the trip.
Would we go back?
Yes. The slide was the draw, but the caves and the lawn with the skyline behind it are what made it feel like more than a one-trick playground. If your kid likes slides, the Ivanhoe one I mentioned is worth comparing, and you can check the Victorian school holiday dates before you go, since a playground this popular fills up during the holidays.
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