Top FREE Water Parks for Kids in Sydney

We are so lucky to be blessed with so much warm weather, and so many fun ways to cool off! Apart from our beautiful beaches, there are fantastic local playgrounds with water features dotted around Sydney for more FREE fun in the sun.

Here are our top picks of fountains, splash pools and fun sprinklers your kids will love:

The Playground, Darling Quarter

For adventure in and out of the water, the huge play area at Darling Quarter Playground is an absolute must! Surrounded by the hustle and bustle of Darling Harbour, this impressive play space is a kids oasis, right in the city. The playground is a wonderland of balance ropes, giant swings, a jumbo ring, a big slide and slide hill, a flying fox, an octonet and more! After tackling that terrain the kids will need to cool down, and the ‘Water Works’ is the place to do it. It’s a masterful maze of waterways where kids control the flow, via water switches, water gates, a water wheel and an Archimedes water screw! Plus, it has pump stations, water squirts, and sand pits with diggers.

Blaxland Riverside Park, Homebush

Blaxland Riverside Park is a unique play space with a diverse range of activities and challenges for kids of all ages and abilities – and it’s home to the largest outdoor water play facility in NSW. Plus there’s a double flying fox, mega-swing, tunnel slides, scramble wall, spinning play disk, Viking swing, and a multi-level tree house, all spread over 3 hectares along the Parramatta River. With its amazing architectural equipment and bright, cheerful colours, this spectacular waterside park is a world away from your average playground.

We checked out the epic playground at Blaxland and it sure does have the WOW factor.

Cables Wake Aqua Park, Penrith

What better way to stay active and cool off than at Cables Aqua Park... the ultimate INFLATABLE water park, with slides, runways, climbing structures and jumping pillows galore! This one isn't free but is SO worth the $20/pp price for a 50-minute Aqua Session (or pay $30/pp for 2 x 50-minute sessions). There is also a free wet play area for kids under 6, so bring the whole family along.

Pirrama Park, Pyrmont

If you’ve got playground fatigue and need a change of scenery, the harbourside Pirrama Park is the place for you! The award-winning, multi-million dollar creation is one of the most thoughtfully designed parks in Sydney. Kids immerse themselves in the play space while parents soak up the surroundings. The unique adventure playground has fun water play features like sprinklers and fountains, which are a hit on a hot summer’s day. There is also a big sandpit, climbing structures, slippery dips, swings and musical play equipment to keep little adventurers entertained. There’s plenty of room to ride a bike, kick a ball or have a picnic!

Livvi's Place, Marsden Park

Livvi's Place Elara in Marsden Park is a 7,400m² playground featuring a water play zone, a flying fox, slides, swings, climbing nets, a carousel, fun glider, trampoline loop and a basketball half-court - and a really cool bike track. Spend the whole day here in the good weather! 

Steel Park, Marrickville

Steel Park has a lovely playground with equipment to suit both the littlies and older children, surrounded by plenty of space, lots of grass, poplar trees providing great shade and a great view of the Cooks River. However, its Waterplay Park is still the main drawcard. The interesting series of water features include interactive fountains, sprinklers and misty spray elements, designed to encapsulate the total water cycle and demonstrate an environmental process in action. It’s safe, creative and lots of fun.

Wild Play, Centennial Park

The Ian Potter WILD PLAY Garden has one of Sydney's best water play parks and is making a splash with its artesian water play area complete with water jets. There's also 10-metre long Banksia Scrub tunnels, wobbly rope bridges leading up to a climbing tower and cubby house with a super slide to bring kids back to ground level, teepees, a swamp area, dry creek beds, and lots more. So it's a good one for the whole year!

Putney Park, Putney

Right on the waterfront, the beautiful Putney Park is an expanse of lush lawn and natural wonder. The fantastic main playground boasts a huge tube slippery dip, large climbing net, lookout tower and combination equipment. Plus, it is heaven on a hot day with its large water feature – two shaded paddling pools linked by a little stream for hours of splashing fun. For the older kids, there’s another playground near the river with a huge spider rope climbing frame suspended over a big sandpit. There is also a smaller playground at the southern end of the park with equipment suitable for young children.

Nurragingy Reserve Water Park, Doonside

The water park at Nurragingy Reserve is a huge gem for Western Sydney kids. This free water park facility features a number of fountains, hoses and waterfalls to help you cool off while having fun in the picturesque Western Sydney Parklands. The bonus also comes with the huge playground alongside the water play area, with sandstone, jarrah logs, river stones, recycled timber sleepers and shipping ropes. 

James Ruse Reserve Water Playground, Parramatta

James Ruse Reserve has a delightful shaded water play area with a variety of interactive water features like water jets and sprays. Kids of all ages will love getting into the aquatic action!

Granville Water Park, Merrylands

Granville Water Park is a sustainable splash park has an amazing array of fun water features which continuously collects and recycles its own water. The kids can splash about in the fountains, sprays and tipping buckets which dumps 1600 litres of water a minute!

Please note: the water playground at Granville Park is currently closed due to park upgrades and is not expected to reopen until mid 2021.

Cathy Freeman Park, Sydney Olympic Park

Our favourite feature of Cathy Freeman Park is the gigantic Olympic Cauldron with cascading water which the kids will love splashing in. There is a large grassy area perfect for picnics. You also have your choice of playgrounds nearby along with a variety of cafes. There is also an outdoor chessboard.

Blacktown Showground Precinct, Blacktown

Blacktown Showground Precinct has a fun waterplay zone that features a sheltered area with varying sized water troughs, a hand wheel water pump, a concrete water maze and spurts and sprays coming from all over – just perfect for the kids (and adults) on a warm, sunny day. There is also a Junior Playground for little ones featuring an activity unit, swings, a rotating ball, play tables, balance beams, rubber mushrooms and more! The Big Kids Playground boasts a Flying Fox, balance cable and beams, climbing units, slides and more!

Curry Reserve Water Play Park, Elderslie

Curry Reserve playground on Camden Valley Way features three play zones for all ages including a toddler zone, 36 play features including a toddler’s ‘discovery stream,’ a capacity for 176 users, shade sails covering two thirds of water play area and zero depth water. The water will be heated too so you can splash around well into the cooler months!

Walter Gors Park, Dee Why

A free water play park with abundant green space, Walter Gors Park includes playgrounds, a water play area, ping pong tables, outdoor bbqs and sheltered areas to realx under. 

Philip Ruddock Water Playground, Dundas Valley

The Philip Ruddock Waterpark was an initiative of Parramatta Council's ‘Cool Parramatta’ campaign to give western sydney repreive from the sweltering summer sun. Water features are integrated into fun playground equipment for hours of cooling off. There is also a playground with a fort structure, slide and some swings and nearby BBQs and picnic shelters for the whole family to enjoy.

Mary O’Brien Reserve, Zetland

Mary O'Brien Reserve boasts expansive lush green area for picnics and running around, two awesome age-appropriate playgrounds with lots of interweaving structures to climb and a water play area! Jets shoot water skywards on blue spongy flooring- perfect for a splash around.

Plough And Harrow, Western Sydney Parklands

Plough And Harrow playground has a hamster wheel, flying fox, a 5-way swing, climbing structures, a spinning ring, little cubby house with a slide and, of course, a water play area. It’s quite small, but gets the job done. It has a few pumps, and turnpikes that get released into a little mini dam of sorts that kids can direct the flow of by moving the rocks around.

Lizard Log, Abbotsbury

Voted the number 1 playground in NSW and the ACT, Lizard Log is a natural wonderland with a bushland feel that encourages nature play at its finest. It has all kinds of play equipment including a double flying fox, giant swings, climbing wall and slide, sand diggers and balancing beams - all made from recycled timbers and trees that died onsite. It’s water play area is small, but still worthy of a visit.

Taronga Zoo, Mosman

The children’s Backyard to Bush precinct at Sydney’s favourite animal sanctuary, Taronga Zoo, has some cool water play features that splashes over a sandstone frog-sculpture into a pond lined with stainless steel yabbies, ducks and lily-pads, plus pumps so that children can control the water flow through the shallow water play area. Kids can get barefoot and hop over stones embossed with dragonflies and make a big splash as water runs from pumps into troughs.

Werrington Lakes Playground, Werrington

After children exhaust themselves running and playing in the expansive park and playground, they can head over to the sandstone area where jets will shoot up and wet them on a hot day. This Penrith venue is well worth a visit, boasting a duck pond and BBQ area - everything you need for a family day out.

Livvi’s Place, Penrith

Livvi’s Place playgrounds are always terrific and this inclusive play space has a sandpit, trampolines, spongy flooring swings, a performance stage - and a large water play area with 6 water jets!

Vera’s Water Garden, Central Coast

Not technically in Sydney, Vera’s Water Garden is a colourful water paradise that is just so cool we thought it was worth including (and making the trip from Sydney for). It features a shallow wading pool and brightly painted water fountains for the children to splash about under and climb over. It’s perfect for little ones. It has ample shaded seating for the parents to sit back and relax while the children play.

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