Central Gardens Reserve is a free 12-hectare nature reserve in Merrylands West, and it earns the "reserve" in its name — two playgrounds, free native wildlife, remnant bushland and broad picnic lawns make it a full day out rather than a quick pit stop. Reclaimed from old clay pits and brick kilns and opened in 1976, it is run by Cumberland City Council and gated, with free parking at two entrances.

Why We Love It

• Free native wildlife at the heart of the park — kangaroos, wallabies, emus, a koala sanctuary and a nocturnal house with possums and fruit bats, all free to visit and documented separately as Central Gardens Wildlife Exhibits.

• An all-abilities playground worth the drive — the Paton Street playground was rebuilt in 2019–20 with a sand pit and water pump, in-ground trampolines, a liberty swing, a rope tower and a spinning tea cup, with rubber softfall and shade cloth over most of it.

• A second, simpler playground for the little ones — near the Merrylands Road entrance there is a smaller climbing gym with a bridge and slide, so toddlers are not dodging big kids on the main equipment.

• Proper bushwalking inside the suburbs — around 3.5 hectares of remnant bushland with educational trails, an accessibility boardwalk and stepping stones across the watercourse; the full loop takes about 90 minutes.

• Room to make a day of it — 12 hectares of ponds, an amphitheatre, a tennis court and wide picnic lawns mean there is space for siblings of every age to find their thing.