Osprey Reserve Playground
Ocean Grove is home to some fantastic playgrounds, such as Ocean Grove Park, Airlie's Playspace and Kingston Park. These playgrounds have great facilities and are popular with locals and tourists alike.
But if you're looking for some smaller, less-crowded places to take the kids, then Ocean Grove also has a number of lesser-known playgrounds located in quieter areas.
While these playgrounds don't have the facilities of the larger parks such as toilets, water fountains, rubbish bins etc, they're still well-maintained and have a good range of equipment and grass areas.
Here are four Ocean Grove playgrounds that are hidden away from the main roads and offer a quieter playground experience:
Crane Reserve
9 Crane Court, Ocean GroveCrane Reserve is in the 'old' Ocean Grove area in Crane Court. It's very small, however, it's location is great for smaller children as it is in a cul-de-sac which means there is very little traffic. The play equipment includes a slide, bouncer and swing set with regular and toddler swing. I'd recommend this playground for younger children.
Crane Court playground
The playground at Crane Reserve
20 Lorikeet Close, Ocean Grove
This is one of Ocean Grove's newest playgrounds and was created as part of the City of Greater Geelong's Playground Upgrade Program.
It is located at the end of Jabiru Close and Lorikeet Close and has a good range of play equipment set over pine bark, including:
Swing set with regular and toddler swing
Noughts and crosses board
There is a council sign advising that the usual restrictions apply ie. dogs must be on leads within 10 metres of the playground and dog litter must be picked up, alcohol is not permitted, motorbikes are not permitted and fires are prohibited.
Cuthbertson Reserve
36 Field Street North, Ocean Grove
Cuthbertson Reserve spans a distance of approximately 120 metres and is located between Cuthbertson Drive and Field Street North.
It's a quiet reserve featuring grass areas, a picnic table and a selection of play equipment.
The Field Street North entrance to Cuthbertson Reserve
The playground currently includes:
Swing set with regular and toddler swing
The play equipment at Cuthbertson Reserve
It is also being included in the City of Greater Geelong's Playground Upgrade Program and is due to be upgraded soon, so keep an eye out for some new play equipment.
Osprey Reserve
Osprey Close, Ocean Grove
Osprey Reserve features large grass areas, a picnic table and play equipment. It's hidden behind houses with access points from both Osprey Close and Achilles Court.
The entrance to the reserve from the Osprey Close side
The play equipment is set over pine bark and includes:
Swingset with regular swing and toddler swing
Fort with small and large slide
The playground and grass areas at Osprey Reserve
There is a picnic table and wooden seat near the playground. The reserve has a couple of trees that provide some shade, but aside from that, there is no other shade or shelter.
The picnic table at Osprey Reserve
Extra Information:
Parking:
For all four playgrounds, free street parking is available in the neighbouring streets.
Fencing:
Each reserve backs onto houses which provide fencing around the area. The access points, however, are open/unfenced.
Shade and Shelter:
The City of Greater Geelong Council has a policy of using natural shade in the area's playgrounds, so limited shade is provided by the trees. No shelter is available at any of the playgrounds above (aside from the small shelters on some of the play structures).
Toilets:
There are no public toilets at any of these playgrounds, however
The National Public Toilet Map has a list of nearby public toilets.
