Best Local Parks Around Carolina

When it’s time to stretch the legs and go exploring, a wonderful variety of parks and outdoor spaces are waiting for you.

The new Frontier Recreation Reserve in Aintree genuinely offers something for everybody. It’s home to an exceptional array of sports facilities, including tennis, netball and basketball courts, two ovals for cricket and AFL, and casual kick-about areas. Here you’ll also find a thrilling skate park and a brilliant adventure playground that’s ideal for all ages. The Reserve also boasts a clubhouse pavilion, barbecues, open air exercise zone, and even its very own Indian restaurant. Best of all, this incredible sports precinct is just a six-minute drive from Carolina.

At the other end of the scale, the quiet, almost secret Parkway Reserve in Caroline Springs, makes a wonderful escape from the hubbub of everyday life. Hugging a tranquil waterway, that regularly attracts ducks, galahs and other native birdlife, its grassy lawns, beautiful lakes, quiet picnic spots and simple play equipment make the perfect place for young families to enjoy a serene natural setting close to home. It’s also a very popular spot to walk the dog, with its meandering paths and ever-changing scenery.

Equally restful and connected to nature, Ridge Park – also in Caroline Springs – follows the meandering Kororoit Creek and forms part of the longer, proposed Kororoit Linear Park. Already, there’s plenty to see and do in this delightful riverside park. While you’re cooking up a treat on the sheltered, well-maintained barbecue, the kids can let their imaginations run wild on the modern country-style playground just across the grassy playing field. Older kids will love exploring the creek, on the lookout for native frogs and fish. Even in winter, this is a truly beautiful slice of the neighbourhood, with the gentle river shrouded in morning mist.

Both the Parkway Reserve and Ridge Park are around seven minutes by car from Carolina.

For a more urban waterside experience, Lake Caroline Reserve is the perfect all-round destination, giving you options that’ll see you shopping one minute and strolling outdoors by a glistening lake the next. Nearly 2km in length, the lakeside walkway

takes you past open lawns and playgrounds, fitness equipment, public art, and picnic areas that provide dreamy views across the water – especially at night as the lights from the surrounding homes and nearby shopping and dining precinct glimmer on the surface. The wide variety of cafes and restaurants will keep you well fed throughout the day, making it very easy to enjoy an entire afternoon and evening at Lake Caroline Reserve.

Of course, we’ve left the best till last – Carolina’s very own parkland spaces and gardens. The centrepiece is the planned 1.29-hectare Grand Linear Park, which winds its way across the address, and will be only a short stroll from every home. Complete with lawns and quiet reading spots, a series of challenging exercise stations, and more than 4 kilometres of tree-lined walking and bike paths, the parkland links to surrounding open areas and Carolina’s peaceful wetlands, which make the ideal backdrop to just sit, relax and reflect on how wonderful life is, when the heart of life is at Carolina.