Meadowood Reserve

Meadowood Reserve in Unsworth Heights, on Auckland's North Shore, has a brand new playground right next to the busy Meadowood Community House. It opened with a community market day in May 2026, and it is built for the whole age range: little ones get swings and a slide mound, while older kids and teens get a basketball half court, a small skate track and fitness gear.¹²

Equipment

The centrepiece is a climbing mound with slides down it. Around it are a net spinner, musical wind chimes, and a swing set with two bucket swings, two belt swings and an accessible basket swing.¹ Upright timber posts and logs make a jumping and balancing trail through the new planting, and there is a concrete table tennis table (bring your own bats and balls). The flat concrete paths suit small scooters and bikes, and the skate track has ramps and ledges for confident riders.

Access and Inclusion

Rubber surfacing runs to the basket swing and net spinner, flat paths link the play pieces, and the musical chimes sit right beside the path. Elsewhere the surface is bark. Fencing runs along the roadside only, so this is not a fully fenced playground.¹

History and Cultural

The old timber fort and swings made way for this renewal, shaped by a 2024 consultation in which locals asked for play for all ages, better drainage because the area often got very wet, more skate features and a better basketball area. The Upper Harbour Local Board added more shade and embankment slides to the brief.³

Practical Info

A covered shelter holds accessible picnic tables and an electric and gas barbecue, and there is a drinking fountain. A shade sail goes up over the slide mound in summer, and mature trees add more.¹ The 15 space car park is off Meadowood Drive, with a second way in on foot from Caribbean Drive. The reserve backs onto the Upper Harbour Highway, so expect steady traffic noise, although some kids love watching the trucks. Devonshire Reserve and Exeter Reserve are both a short walk away for a second stop.