Playgrounds in Dunedin

Dunedin's playgrounds are free, characterful and freshly invested in. Woodhaugh Gardens is the all-rounder (4.5 stars from hundreds of reviews): a playground with a flying fox beside a duck pond, native bush loop walks under centuries-old trees, free push-button BBQs and a paddling pool in the warmer months.

Two of the city's playgrounds have just been rebuilt. St Clair Playground reopened in mid 2025 right on the Esplanade with a new tube slide, sand and nature play and an accessible ramp, its design telling local Māori stories. Navy Park in South Dunedin reopened over the 2025-26 summer with a new flying fox, climbing tower and inclusive net spinner, plus a sensory woodland walk built from the timber of its old navy fort.

The neighbourhood picks each have a hook: Ocean Grove Playground sits behind Tomahawk Beach with WWII gun emplacements on the bluff behind, Elwyn Crescent Playground in Green Island is loved for cardboard sledding down its embankment slide, Fairplay Street Playground in Fairfield pairs a toddler playground with genuine learn-to-skate mini ramps, and Bayfield Park adds a playground with step-free paths on the Andersons Bay inlet.