Discover Ballarat East

Highlights of a visit to Ballarat East

For your trip to Ballarat East, you can consider a range of highlights: Toddlers Park as a public place for recreation and connection, cultural references in its interpretation, kangaroos at Ballarat Wildlife Park, and activities in nearby Woowookarung Regional Park. The options therefore range from community-focused public spaces to wildlife encounters, exercise and peaceful sensory experiences. The highlight that interests you most can help guide your choice of activities.

Toddlers Park: recreation and community

Toddlers Park is currently a public place for leisure and recreation, reflection and community connection. Work was completed in May 2026. The uses described include recreation, personal reflection and opportunities to connect with the community. This means the park cannot be reduced to a single leisure activity. If you would like to include a public place in your travel plans, Toddlers Park offers a distinct highlight alongside wildlife and nature.

Cultural references at Toddlers Park

The interpretation at Toddlers Park is located beside two public reserves defined by significant trees, the entrance to Toddlers Block, dating from 1929, and the red-brick school building from 1919. Toddlers Block is now an early childhood centre; the school building is now part of the shopping centre redevelopment. The years 1919 and 1929 provide specific historical reference points as you explore the area. The two buildings have different present-day connections: one is an early childhood centre, while the other is incorporated into the shopping centre redevelopment. This setting brings together historical dates and different contemporary contexts.

Kangaroos at Ballarat Wildlife Park

More than 100 free-roaming kangaroos live at Ballarat Wildlife Park, where visitors can hand-feed them. The number and the visitor activity described answer two different questions: how many kangaroos live there and what visitors can do with them. If you are weighing up a cultural experience and a wildlife encounter, hand-feeding is a specific point to consider. It makes this visit a different kind of experience from the parks’ public spaces and nature activities.

Activities at Woowookarung Regional Park

At nearby Woowookarung Regional Park, you can hike, run and cycle among Messmate Stringybark, Grass Trees and native heath. For a visit focused on exercise, there are three activities to choose from, all available in the same parkland. The plants provide a tangible connection to the landscape where these activities take place.

The dementia and sensory trail

A distinct highlight at Woowookarung Regional Park is the gentle 1 km dementia and sensory trail, created in 2021. It offers sensory features and peaceful places to pause. The paths are suitable for wheelchairs and support people, assistance dogs, and groups from aged care facilities. Compared with hiking, running and cycling, the focus here is on sensory features and peaceful places. This lets you choose between activities in the parkland and a trail with specifically identified sensory and quiet features.

Discover more destinations: Bentleigh East, Kilmore, Rheola, Dalyston, Swifts Creek, Amphitheatre, Boort, Koonwarra

For the broader travel overview: Victoria.