Is there anything better than enjoying some fresh air on a warm day—especially if there is food involved?! A relaxing picnic doesn’t have to be a big, planned event; fill a basket with a few favourite treats, gather your family, and head outside. *when restrictions ease.
From verdant parks to pristine riverbanks, these are some of our team’s favourite local spots to get outdoors and roll out the picnic rug this Spring.
Pioneer Park
Pioneers Park – Peel Street, Berwick
Pioneers Park contains paved walkways, shaded-seating and a great playground for the kids. It includes the old primary school, which is now home to Pioneer Café (tag them) Offering a fantastic breakfast and lunch menu or enjoy a sweet treat and sit outside with a coffee or glass of wine and watch the kids in the playground a few metres away. It’s very “English country garden” with beautiful rosebushes and manicured grass, surrounded with Australian native trees.
Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne
Ballarto Road and Botanic Drive, Cranbourne
Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne offers a natural bushland experience alongside the Australian Garden, an award-winning, contemporary botanic garden featuring the plants and ecosystems of south-east Australia. The bushland includes over 10km of walking tracks, six kilometres of cycling tracks, a lookout tower, picturesque shelters, bbq’s and playgrounds. There is a range of visitor programs, as well as self-guided walks available throughout the year.
Wilson Botanic Park
668 Princes Hwy, Berwick
With 39 hectares to be explored, the park has over 1000 different plants species, with both natives and exotics. You can see over 80 different species of birds as well as turtles, frogs, lizards and snakes. Keep this in mind as you enjoy the park. You can use the designated picnic areas and BBQ facilities to relax with friends, and kids love the playground. You can also explore the wonderful walking tracks around the park. Also home to Berwick’s newest popular café Gather: Food, Coffee & Co open daily from 7am-3:30pm.
Lakeside Pakenham
Lakeside Pakenham Lake, Pakenham
A picturesque setting with all amenities – toilets, children’s playground and a cafe next to lake with great food and good coffee. A great place to walk your dog, capture the sunset, enjoy a packed picnic with the entire family or a tranquil escape to simply sit in your car, sipping a coffee & just relax.
Akoonah Park
Corner Princes Highway and Cardinia Street, Berwick
Beautiful surroundings with a great bush-walking track – a great family friendly atmosphere and perfect for pets. There’s a coffee van from Monday-Saturday which offers great coffee and sweet treats. Akoonah Park Market is a great place to meet family and friends, choose something fabulous to eat and wander the stalls. The market includes over 350 indoor and outdoor stalls and operates each Sunday. The Market brings products and services from all over Victoria. These include food, fresh produce, flowers, plants, handcrafts, tools, work gear, eco products, artwork, pet supplies, bric-a-brac, pony rides, jumping castles and a lot more.
Lysterfield Park
Horswood Rd, Lysterfield
Rising from the southern foothills of the Dandenong Ranges, Lysterfield Park is the perfect place to explore nature with friends with a huge variety of recreational activities. There is a 6km Lake Circuit Trail for walking or jogging or ride 24km of mountain bike trails or relax at the lakeside picnic areas. There are two picnic areas along the lake, both of which have toilets, picnic tables and free electric bbq’s. Keep an eye out for kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, echidna’s, wombats, and platypus.
Kurll Park Lookout and Picnic Grounds
109 Brundrett Road, Narre Warren North
You are spoilt for choice when it comes to Kurll Park with its scenic lookout, picnic grounds and expansive parklands. There are some picnic tables and seats near gum trees and past these an oasis of bushland – trees, shrubs and grasses. At the park’s highest point a bench overlooks sweeping vistas of urban streets, farmland and hillsides. Open parkland provides plenty of space for a game of footy or cricket or the kids to run around.
