Elkington Park

Elkington Park, ye King of Parks.
This park juts out on a rocky Balmain Peninsula, looking out to the Parramatta River and Cockatoo Island. It has the well-​manicured but rambling feel of an old English estate — picturesque pretend wilderness.
There are tall palm trees and wide, heavy figs. Plenty of shade, and a bit of a hill to climb when you’re walking back home. There’s peculiar postmodern play equipment (it used to be excellent creepy wooden stuff, before they made it all «safe»), and a public toilet that gives you the heebie-​jeebies.
There’s a grand central rotonda (available for hire for parties), and it’s a 1 minute walk down to Dawn Fraser Pool. Best of all, if you go right to the end of the peninsula, you can explore rocky sandstone caves and alcoves (a favourite haunt of Balmain bong-​smoking teenagers). The end of the peninsula is also an off-​leash dog area, so long as you don’t get too close to the kids’ play equipment.