Keep the clan happy with the best Ballarat things to do with kids

Make friends with a meerkat or deep dive a sensory garden – this list of the best things to do in Ballarat with kids is your key to beautiful family memories.

Whether you need to fill an hour or want to dedicate an entire day to kid-friendly activities, Ballarat has a few tricks up its sleeve. From fun yet educational experiences to pure recreation, the best things to do in Ballarat with kids are made to busy budding brains and little limbs.

1. Sovereign Hill

hanging out at Sovereign Hill, Ballarat with kids — Make new memories with your kids at Sovereign Hill. (Credit: Tourism Midwest Victoria)

You may have your own childhood memories from Sovereign Hill as it’s been around since the 1970s, but the magic is even grander nowadays. Transporting visitors straight to the 1850s, the multi-award-winning open-air museum still earns plaudits from adults as it does little ones. The immersive attraction is set across a 25-hectare site (equivalent to the size of some 13 MCGs) and plays host to more than 60 historically recreated brick and timber buildings decked out with antiques, artwork, books and papers. It’s also staffed by costumed actors who can answer your historical questions and pose for photos.

Kids will adore every inch of the time warp with many of the venue’s activity costs included in your ticket entry. Pick up your licence and pan for real gold in a meandering creek, be awed by the Wizard Jacobs Magic Show, try your hand at old-fashioned boiled sweet making or candle dipping, go bowling, pay a visit to one of the workshops that spotlight older trades such as blacksmith and coachbuilder, or journey below the ground with a Red Hill Mine Tour and get a glimpse into what life was like for intrepid miners that descended upon Victoria’s goldfields in the 1800s.

Even the snacks are on brand with wood-fired and oven-baked pies, pasties and sausage rolls available. There’s also a bar serving up its own homebrew and the fancier New York Bakery restaurant to keep grownups satisfied. It’s worth putting aside an entire day to tick everything off, and it’s well worth noting that Sovereign Hill can accommodate those with additional accessibility needs.

Cost: Adult $52.50, child $33, family of four (2 adults and 2 children) $145.50, family of three (1 adult and 2 children) $103, additional child $28.50

2. Ballarat Tramway Museum

Visiting Ballarat Tramway Museum with kids — Let the young ones experience history in century-old trams. (Credit: Tourism Midwest Victoria)

While we’re exploring Ballarat’s unique roots, consider the Ballarat Tramway Museum in the Ballarat Botanic Gardens as a source of inspiration for young minds. Yet another interactive thing to do with kids, the hot spot invites you to jump aboard 100-year-old trams that roll you around Lake Wendouree. Luring crowds since 1971, the museum also boasts seven tramcars to stickybeak, plus a handful of separate exhibitions and experiences. There’s also a gift shop selling miniature replicas and other toys, and the attraction is fully accessible with a tram (No. 1029) that’s tailored to welcome those with access needs.

Cost: Adults cost $15, children cost $7 and families cost $40

3. Ballarat Wildlife Park

visiting Ballarat Wildlife Park with kids — This park is a must-visit for wildlife lovers. (Credit: Visit Victoria)

Set among 15 hectares of natural bushland and flowing with interactive activity, the family-run Ballarat Wildlife Park is bound to kill more than a few hours. Home to more than 100 free-roaming kangaroos, this popular activity will see your littlies discovering exotic creatures (hello tigers, penguins and meerkats) in addition to cuddling up to our famed native critters. And it’s not just those sleepy roos stealing your gaze. Wombats, dingoes, koalas, crocodiles, snakes and Tasmanian devils are all residents, so check out the day’s events schedule to help you learn more about your favourites. Delight your kids one step further with an animal encounter, providing them with one-on-one time with a giant tortoise, koala, cassowary and more.

Cost: Adults cost $42 (at entrance) or $37.80 (online), children aged 5-15 cost $21 (at entrance) or $18.90 (online) and families of two adults and up to four children cost $110 (at entrance) or $100 (online).

4. Tuki Trout Farm

catching fish with kids at Tuki Trout Farm, Ballarat — A kid’s first catch is a memorable moment. (Credit: Tourism Midwest Victoria)

Jump in the car early to smash out the 40-odd minutes it’ll take you to find Tuki trout farm and retreat just out of Ballarat proper. Ambitious anglers will delight in the attraction’s trout-filled pond where all your supplied gear (think rods, bait and nets) will help even the inexperienced attract a nibble or few. The odds are so good that visitors are encouraged to bring their own cooler box and containers to help carry catches back to the accommodation with ease. Best of all, once you do reel a sucker in, the team clean and package it up for you. How easy is that?

Cost: Opt for the Fish & Dine package, which pairs a two or three course lunch in the restaurant (plus a $25 kids’ menu) with the chance to cast a line and catch your own fish and have it served pond to plate, or for a fishing-only experience – which includes admission and rod hire for $55 per family and $28.50 per kilo for fish.

5. Kryal Castle

visiting Kryal Castle with kids — The enchanting castle will let the kids’ imagination run wild. (Credit: Visit Victoria)

The kooky attraction you never knew you needed, Kryal Castle is a replica medieval castle with various activities on offer. Kids can try their hand at archery at the indoor range, find their way through the stone maze, watch on as knights in full armour face off in trials of jousting on horseback, explore the Torture Museum (if they’re 13 or over), go axe throwing, tiptoe around the Dragon Garden and Dragon Labyrinth, climb the Wizard’s Tower and even more. You can also stay overnight in one of the castle suites or a cabin, tiny house or camping site if you prefer.

Cost: Adult $42, concession $37.50, child (3-15 years) $31.50, family of four (2 adults and 2 children) $124.

6. Eureka Aquatic Centre

fun with kids at Eureka Aquatic Centre in Ballarat — Keep the kids cool and entertained with water activities.

Wear out little bodies at the Eureka Aquatic Centre , where warm days are best spent splashing around the venue’s three outdoor pools: a heated 50-metre pool, a learn to swim pool, and a shaded toddlers’ pool. There’s also an outdoor water play park as big and epic as those typically found in BIG4s (giant drop bucket included) and an outdoor playground and barbecue facilities. Post-swim, laze about the shaded areas that line the pool.

Cost: Adults cost $7.40, children aged 5-15 cost $4.50 and families cost $19.40

7. Lake Wendouree Adventure Playground

Lake Wendouree playground at Ballarat — Pass by a fun adventure playground as you stroll around the lake. (Credit: Tourism Midwest Victoria)

Located on the banks of lovely Lake Wendouree, and just across the road from the Ballarat Botanical Gardens (more on that shortly), lies the Lake Wendouree Adventure Playground. A castle-like structure, it features slides, several different kinds of swings, monkey bars, forts, climbing structures, tunnels, and more. Once you’ve exhausted the playground’s assets, take one of the walking tracks around the lake, which is home to ducks and swans.

Cost: Free

8. Ballarat Botanical Gardens

strolling around Ballarat Botanical Gardens with kids — The gardens are the perfect backdrop for your family photos. (Credit: Visit Victoria)

Ballarat’s sprawling green lung, the Ballarat Botanical Gardens , cover some 40 hectares. Added to the Victorian Heritage Register in 2010, it invites ankle biters to run loose across manicured lawns (also a great place for a summer family picnic) or wander among the vivid seasonal floral displays hosted in the Robert Clark Conservatory. Encourage interactive learning within the Sensory Garden, designed to stimulate sight, sound, smell and touch with its diverse range of plants, all chosen for their unique texture, colour or scent. The website even has its own Garden Explorer guide to all the species you might encounter along the way.

Cost: Free

9. Inclusive Play-Space

Inclusive Playspace at Ballarat — This playground enables children and adults of all abilities to socialise and play. (Credit: City of Ballarat)

More commonly known as Livvi’s Place Ballarat, the brilliant Inclusive Play-Space offers all abilities access to very cool play equipment. Think a splash zone, flying foxes, sand play equipment and even musical instruments. The park’s amenities are naturally inclusive, too, such as the Adult Changing Place, plus the entire space is fenced so you can take a well-deserved load off. (Kind of, for a bit, anyway.)

Cost: Free

1o. Gold Rush Mini Golf

Gold Rush Mini Golf in Ballarat — The outdoor and indoor courses offer fun for the whole family.

Home to two themed (and licensed) 18-hole courses, Gold Rush Mini Golf is a good spot to mop up free time together as a family. There’s both an indoor and an outdoor course. The former is named ‘Lost World’ and is an eclectic mishmash of the Jurassic period and the Middle Ages, while the latter is modelled on Ballarat’s gold rush history and features worn timber facades, props and Ballarat streetscapes. There’s also arcade games on site.

Cost: Adults cost $18 for one course, children aged between 3-13 cost $12 for one course and families cost $54 for one course

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The Mornington Peninsula is a coastline of contrasts, where convict and military history meets shipwrecks, wild seas and adventures above and below the surface.

The Mornington Peninsula can be the kind of place where salt-tangled hair feels like a badge of honour – proof you’ve been somewhere wild, raw and real. Peel back the layers and you’ll discover stories that anchor this region to something other than its famed food and wine.

This land is the traditional Sea Country of the Bunurong/Boon Wurrung people. Long before grapevines were planted and artisanal goods were crafted, the Bunurong Traditional Owners lived in deep connection with the land and sea. Today, places such as Mushroom Reef Marine Sanctuary echo that tradition, with families exploring its rockpools in search of colourful sea stars and crabs at low tide and learning how these fragile ecosystems have been cared for across countless generations.

a group of people visiting the Port Nepean National Park — Take in the rugged coastal landscape at Port Nepean National Park. (Image: Tourism Australia)

A visit to Point Nepean National Park feels like stepping back through time. The fort, built in 1882, protected the narrow entrance to Port Phillip Bay until the end of the Second World War. It was here that the first Allied shot of the First World War was fired – at a German cargo ship trying to escape just hours after war was declared. Nearby, the old Quarantine Station, one of Australia’s first permanent quarantine facilities, established in 1852, still stands. Walking through the hospital and disinfecting complex evokes stories of those who arrived from faraway shores.

Not far from here is a story of survival that inspired the Aussie phrase ‘you’ve got Buckley’s chance’. In 1803, escaped convict William Buckley vanished into the bush near what’s now Sorrento. Everyone thought he had no hope of surviving, but he reappeared 32 years later, having lived with local Aboriginal people.

Even the waters here hold history. The infamous stretch known as The Rip, just three kilometres wide at the entrance of Port Phillip Bay, is among the most treacherous waterways. Countless ships were lost here in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and in 1967, Australia’s own Prime Minister Harold Holt disappeared while swimming off the coast, never to be found.

a seal swimming in Port Phillip Bay — A seal swimming in Port Phillip Bay. (Image: Tourism Australia/Two Palms/Harry Pope)

But for all its danger, the sea here also holds extraordinary beauty. Dolphins are often seen near Sorrento’s cliffs, while below the surface, seagrass meadows and rocky reefs teem with life. Marine tours offer a viewing to this underwater wonderland, while back on terra firma, walking trails lead along beaches, through coastal scrub, and over rock pools.

And if you think you’ll forget about the Mornington Peninsula once you’ve left? You’ve got Buckley’s chance.

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

the suite interior at InterContinental Sorrento — Luxury interiors at the historic InterContinental Sorrento. (Image: Greg Elms)

Point Nepean Discovery Tents is immersive glamping beside the historic Quarantine Station. Or upgrade to luxury at the 1875-built InterContinental Sorrento .

Playing there

an aerial view of Cape Schanck Lighthouse — Make your way to the Cape Schanck Lighthouse. (Image: Tourism Australia/Two Palms/Harry Pope)

Bayplay Adventure Tours offer eco-adventures from snorkelling with sea dragons to kayaking with dolphins and cycling Point Nepean. Cape Schanck Lighthouse is fascinating to explore on a guided tour, which takes you into the lighthouse and keeper’s cottage.

Eating there

Portsea Hotel is a beautifully restored 1876 Tudor-style pub right on the beach, serving seasonal local fare.

10 of the most entertaining things to do with kids in Ballarat

Make friends with a meerkat or deep dive a sensory garden – this list of the best things to do in Ballarat with kids is your key to beautiful family memories.

1. Sovereign Hill

2. Ballarat Tramway Museum

3. Ballarat Wildlife Park

4. Tuki Trout Farm

5. Kryal Castle

6. Eureka Aquatic Centre

7. Lake Wendouree Adventure Playground

8. Ballarat Botanical Gardens

9. Inclusive Play-Space

1o. Gold Rush Mini Golf

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Mornington Peninsula’s storied past: war, shipwrecks and a runaway convict

The Mornington Peninsula is a coastline of contrasts, where convict and military history meets shipwrecks, wild seas and adventures above and below the surface.

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

Playing there

Eating there