Central · Grafton
Park Road, Parnell, Auckland 1010
Established city park containing museums, memorials & the entire blast crater of Pukekawa volcano.
4.64.6 out of 5 on our rating
A guide to Auckland's green spaces
Find a good park.
Spending our whole lives in Tāmaki Makaurau,we've come to appreciate the great parks in our beautiful city, and wanted to share our knowledge and general information to help others: whether the playground is fenced, the parking is a mission, if there are toilets.. a general hub to help you find a good park.
The rating
Always scored
Prams and access, scenery, toilets and water, parking, safety. These five decide whether a visit works, whoever you came with.
Scored by purpose
Playground, picnic and BBQ, and shade for family parks. Off-leash and walking tracks for dogs. Food and coffee nearby for a date. Nothing else counts.
One honest average
The overall number averages whichever factors apply. Playground, prams and access, food and coffee nearby, and picnic and BBQ count half. They say more about how you’re visiting than about the park itself.
The same 1 to 5 everywhere
Every factor has a written 1, 3 and 5 to score against. A 1 on toilets and water means nothing on site. A 5 means an accessible one by the playground, and a fountain that works. So a number means the same thing in every park.
Checked where it counts
Nearly every park here has had its facilities read off a council or operator page, then dated and linked. The handful we haven’t got to yet say so on the page.
All eleven factors are written out at the full scale, inside How we rate a park.
Questions
How is the overall score worked out?
It averages the factors that apply to that park: five shared ones, plus a few specific to whether it is a family, dog or scenic spot. Four of them count half as much as the rest, being playground, prams and access, food and coffee nearby, and picnic and BBQ. Those say more about how you are visiting than about the park itself.
What does “Facts checked” mean?
That the facilities were read off a council or park-operator source on the date shown, and we linked what we used.
Can a park pay to rank higher?
No. There is no sponsorship, no advertising and no paid placement anywhere on this guide. We try to maintain the integrity of this site as a hub for nature lovers.
How often do scores change?
Roughly once a week, when we sit down and review them. Most scores come from our own visits, though a few lean on online reviews or anecdotal opinion where we haven’t been ourselves. We try to stay as objective as we can.
