St Clair Playground

St Clair Playground sits right beside the beach on Esplanade, and a 2025 refurbishment turned it into one of Dunedin's more distinctive play spaces, with mana whenua stories woven into the site's design and theme.

Equipment

The refurbished playground has a tube slide, a sand play area, a nature play area, a palisade climbing structure, an easy swing bed and a new seesaw, with the previous standing swing reinstated. A new accessible ramp was added while the site's existing sun shading was kept in place.

Access and Inclusion

The easy swing bed and accessible ramp were both part of the 2025 upgrade, designed to make the playground more usable for children of different ages and abilities. Mana whenua contributed to the design and theme, adding local stories to the site.

Practical Info

St Clair Playground is at 1 Esplanade, right next to St Clair Beach. On street parking is available on the Esplanade, and the beachfront cafes nearby make it easy to extend a playground visit into a longer outing.