Taylors Park Playground

Taylors Park is a quiet pocket of lawn and old trees set back behind the houses of Mount Eden, Auckland, and its small public playground¹ has a pair of green tube slides that run down the bank. Away from any through road, it is the kind of place parents describe as clean, quiet and rarely crowded.

Equipment

The play area is a compact, timber-edged patch of soft surfacing on the western side of the park. The tube slides are the standout: they start from a timber landing at the top of the slope beside a tree and twist down into the play space, and reviewers single them out as the fun part. Alongside are a swing set, a basket swing that one visitor says is just as relaxing for adults, and a couple of spinning pieces. It is a modest set-up that suits under-fives and younger primary kids best; older children will run out of challenges quickly.

Practical Info

The council lists the playground at 39 Mont Le Grand Road,¹ and the end of the Mount Pleasant Road cul-de-sac sits right beside the park.² A path leads in from the street between the houses, and the play area sits well back from traffic, although it is not fenced. Parking is on the surrounding residential streets.

Big established trees ring the lawn, and reviewers mention lying in their shade listening to the tūī. The play area itself is out in the open, though, and one regular's only complaint is how sunny it gets, so bring hats in summer. The wide sloping lawn is good for rolling down and for a picnic rug, and there is seating beside the play area. We could not confirm toilets here.

For toilets, a splash pad and a basketball court, Mount Eden Playground at Potters Park is about 400 metres away on Balmoral Road, with accessible toilets beside the playground and what the council calls Auckland's first water splash pad.³ Taylors Park makes a good quiet stop before or after it.