The Best Parks for Kids in Brisbane

The Best Parks for Kids in Brisbane

Brisbane has over 1500 parks to get out and play in – so if you’re looking for somewhere to take the kids this weekend to take advantage of the warmer weather, we’ve rounded up our customers’ top recommendations for the coolest parks around Brisbane.

City Botanic Gardens Playground (Brisbane CBD)

or any budding gardeners, wee wildlife spotters or rowdy runner-arounders, the playground area in the Botanic Gardens is the perfect spot to have a play date. There are musical play areas, a sand digger, slides and swings as well as a bunch of green space. The lush surrounds contain secret gardens and small lakes where kids can spot lizards, turtles and ducks, pick up leaves and flowers for a collage and have a relaxing day spotting all the interesting stuff.

For parents, they can relax under the trees and look out over the river – plus, if you take a bushwalk up the hill round the back of the Botanic Gardens, the new Gardens Club (previously the City Gardens Café) can do up a picnic basket for you if you call them up the day before to give them notice.

Broadwater Picnic Ground Park (Mansfield)

Perfect as the launching pad for anything you can imagine; this spot is already a favourite with locals – but is worth travelling for. With nearly eight hectares to play around in, it’s the perfect park for young minds to create their own adventure.

There’s a main playground with a double-slide, flying fox, spinning poles and swings – maybe not so good for toddlers, but perfect for the primary school set. A second playground has some easier equipment for littlies, plus there’s plenty of open space for everyone to run around and have a great time.

The Broadwater ‘Corner Store’ lets small shopkeepers meet the other kids on the playground and host a networking event, plus BBQ facilities and picnic tables gives the grown-ups a chance to catch up. There are also numerous walking trails along Bulimba Creek if you feel like stretching your legs.

Wynnum Kids Water Park (Wynnum Esplanade) & Manly Park (Manly)

For kiddie captains and pirate princesses, the Wynnum Kids Water Park is the best place for kids to weigh anchor and get their sea legs (safely!). Nestled next to Pandanus Beach, young families will love having a stroll along the esplanade – and at low tide, you can often see hundreds of soldier crabs scuttling across the beach.

The water play area (including spouting whales!) operates in summer, so it’s perfect for a cool off and it’s close to shops and cafes to grab an ice cream by the bay.

If you haven’t got the togs out of the wash yet, Manly Park down the road offers kids of all ages a chance to sail the seven seas while staying as safe as a landlubber. There’s an awesome boat with slippery slides docked in the playground, sandpits and rockers, plenty of green space as well as a huge climbing net for older kids.

Both parks have wheelchair accessible toilets, and while Wynnum has all the shops and cafes to feed your crew – Manly Park has electric BBQs, plenty of seats to enjoy some fish and chips, and the ice-cream truck sails by every so often to stop cabin boys and girls from getting scurvy.

Calamvale District Park (Calamvale)

One of the newer parks in Brisbane, this park will please even the most discerning primary schooler. With heaps for older kids to do, including a skywalk, flying foxes and rock-climbing equipment – the junior adventurer will have a blast.

Be careful with some of the equipment, like the giant metal slide that tends to heat up during the day – so maybe wait until it’s cool out to drop by.

Otherwise, there are BBQs, sheltered picnic tables and toilet facilities, as well as a dog off-leash area near the car park at Formsby Street, so the four-legged members of the family can play as well.

Honorable mentions:

Colmslie Beach Reserve (Murrarie) for their giant fish for little sea captains as well as flying foxes and bike paths.

Carindale Recreation Reserve (Carindale), also known as Rocket Park – is perfect for the pocket astronaut of the family, with a rocket, moon car, rope pyramid and moon rocks to climb.

There’s plenty to do around Brisbane these school holidays, but Motorama reminds kids and grown-ups to stay cool and pack the sunscreen, hat and water when you’re loading up the car for the next big adventure. And to make sure it's serviced and safe of course!