If you’re a Lilli Pilli local then the chances are you may have already visited Turriell Bay Road Reserve, which was upgraded last November.
It was a playground we hadn’t checked off our list yet though, so we used our latest playdate to do just that.
The playground is on the corner of Turriell Bay Road and Lilli Pilli Point Road (next to Lilli Pilli Public School), and you won’t have any trouble finding a parking spot.
Parents of young ‘runners’ will be thrilled to find that it is fully-fenced off from the busy roads beside it, and the kids can do as much running on the grassed area next to the playground as they like!
For young bike and scooter riders, not only is there a paved scooter path surrounding the play equipment, but there’s also a netball court perfect for practising your riding (or netball or basketball) on.
The gate is low enough for clever four and five-year-olds to open, but closes automatically so shouldn’t present a danger unless you have toddlers hovering around it.
The play equipment is all set on bark and includes two swings (one supported baby swing and one standard swing for bigger kids).
The largest structure boasts two slides (one quite large and one small), a rock climbing wall, a rope bridge and rope climbing nets, a sliding pole and small pretend shop front.
You’ll also find some small jumping stumps and a fun sit-and-spin ride that all ages can enjoy.
The playground is missing a shade cloth, and though there are a few big trees around they don’t provide a lot of coverage (we were there in the middle of the day) so you might be best to time your visit for the morning if summer heat is an issue.
It’s not a massive playground but with the grass and courts beside it, there’s enough here to entertain kids aged 2-12 for a good hour or so.
There are three park benches for on-looking parents and carers or you can spread yourself out on the lawn beside the equipment.
While there aren’t any toilets at the playground itself, if you head to the shops across the road they do allow customers to use theirs.
We got some ice-creams from D-Lish on Port, which is conveniently open from 7am-7pm. It’s a mostly-takeaway shop that also has $3 kids milkshakes as well as coffee, biscuits, banana bread, burgers, salad, chips, etc You can take them back across to the playground like we did, and leave your rubbish in the bin on the way out.
Or, if you have kids that you can still sit in a cafe with, in the same block of shops as d’Lish you’ll find Vitalo, a cute little cafe that offers an incredible breakfast menu (including pumpkin waffles, acai bowls and all your B and E favourites), as well as salads, wraps, frappes and fresh juices. They’re open from 7am-4pm.
Quinoa and pineapple porridge from Vitalo
And if you happen to be there after 4:30pm you may even want to grab some Thai to take home for dinner from Tuk Tuk Thai takeaway. While I can’t personally vouch for them, their Google Reviews rating is excellent.
So no matter what time of day it is, if you haven’t had the time or energy to sort out food for the kids, or yourself, you can conveniently grab something across the road from Turriell Bay Road Reserve.
Still playground hunting? Have a browse through some of our other Sutherland Shire playground reviews.
