Brisbane families are lucky that Brisbane is a city bursting with parks and playgrounds. Here are some of the BEST playgrounds in Brisbane that our little ones absolutely adore!
Booker Place Park
A timber playscape at Bellbowrie, Booker Place Park is barrels of fun for little people. Plus, it has the added bonus of an off-leash dog park on site, so four-legged friends can come along, too. It has swings, slides, bridges and rockers, as well as barbecue facilities, making it a great picnic spot and one of the best playgrounds in Brisbane for the whole family.
Dorrington Park
Locals know Dorrington Park as the Enchanted Forest, and that’s the drawcard to this colourful fantasy playground in Ashgrove. Beneath the shade of a beautiful gnarly tree, there’s a talking toadstool (which tells a story at the press of a button), a climbing web and a store for playful shopping adventures. The site also has an amenities block and barbecue area.
Frew Park
Frew Park has given the former site of the Milton Tennis Centre new life, with a modern playground that has something for all ages. There’s a mini hurdy gurdy, tyre swing and traditional swings, mini climbing wall, slides and even interactive sound and musical equipment.
As a throw-back to its tennis origins, there’s a ping pong table as well — just BYO bats and ball. While it’s not gated, it’s still great for parties, with barbecue and picnic pavilions surrounding the play space making it a great playground choice for Brisbane families.
Guyatt Park
As well as being home to an upgraded playground, this impressive St Lucia spot now has Brisbane’s first ninja course, which will definitely get the kids’ blood pumping. The obstacles are designed for children aged 12 years and up, and will test their strength, endurance, coordination, balance and flexibility.
Hanlon Corner
This nature-themed park in Stones Corner has a variety of play options. From slides, to climbing equipment, swings, and an impressive sand play and water pump station, it’ll have your little explorer digging to their heart’s delight.
Karawatha Forest Park
Karawatha Forest Park holds the title as Queensland’s first nature play space and discovery centre. Instead of the usual playground equipment, you’ll find an idyllic bush setting with a water play area featuring an old-fashioned hand pump, dry creek bed with climbing structures and more logs and rocks than the kids can poke a stick at, literally. It’s definitely one of our all-time favourite playgrounds in Brisbane.
Afterwards, take a visit to the free Discovery Centre which gives you a bird’s eye view of the Karawatha Forest and other interactive experiences. It’s open Tuesday to Sunday, 9am to 4pm.
Lobley Park
Situated just 10 minutes from the Ipswich CBD in Churchill, Lobley Park is an aeronautical-themed park. It’s impressive kit-out includes a replica RAAF cargo plane and control tower (complete with X-ray machine and radar screen), making it a great play for all ages.
Milton Train Park
Got a train enthusiast? Take them to this wonderland in Milton, where a kid-sized railway station, steam train, pedestrian crossing and petrol bowser awaits. To add to the fun, actual trains also pass by the park, which also has other fun stuff like swings, spinning poles, an oversized hammock, and mini ice-cream and coffee shops for pretend play. It’s all gated as well. Adjacent to the park, there’s a large sports field with a mini basketball court and proper cafe for the adults.
New Farm Park
Arguably one of the most popular playgrounds in Brisbane, New Farm Park is set across 15 hectares and borders the Brisbane River. The enormous playground is nestled beneath gorgeous old trees and has everything a little adventurer could want – from a giant spider web, dragon-themed section, swings, and a wooden tree-top like fort with bridges galore. There’s a kiosk next to the playground for snacks and drinks too.
Pirate Ship Park
This epic playground in Scarborough proudly has Australia’s first ‘intrepid’ ship, the biggest in the country. At more than 18 metres in length, the ship has activities on the upper and lower deck that will keep the kids yelling ‘ahoy me hearties’ for hours.
Deck mates can climb stairs, gaze through binoculars to steer the ship, operate the cannons and wind their way down the bannister bars and slide. Below deck, there’s even a treasure chest, sleeping hammocks and play desks.
Riverside Green
With an awesome location beside the Brisbane River, Riverside Green is one of South Bank’s most popular spots for kids to run wild. The state-of-the-art playground is suitable for all ages, with a skywalk, climbing nets, slides, swings, giant hamster wheel and play boat.
Roma Street Parklands
This Brisbane playground is toddler heaven! With lakes, two playgrounds, bridges, waterfalls and walkways through subtropical rainforest to explore it’s a great spot to let them roam.
The playgrounds feature swings, ladders and forts, as well as a vegetable garden and worm farm. There’s also a train the kids will love, taking them on a 20-minute ride through the parklands, operating Wednesday to Sunday.
Victoria Park Playground
The kids’ imagination will be inspired at Victoria Park Playground, with this quirky play space in Heston. There are climbing ropes, a rock climbing wall, repurposed farm tractor and row boat, as well as a wooden fortress that connects all the interactive areas.
Our favourite feature is the two-storey cubby house that has a double slide so kids can race each other to the bottom. If you need any more excuses to come, the Victoria Park Bistro is right next door. So guardians can even sit on the terrace and have a coffee while keeping an eye on the kids.
Whites Hill Reserve
This is nature play at its finest. Located in Camp Hill, Whites Hill Reserve has so much to explore. There is sand and water play, a hidden forest trail, embankment slides, climbing structure, double flying fox and spinning equipment. Best of all, it’s fully-fenced for peace of mind. Check out the café near the parking lot, which is run by the not-for-profit Brisbane Metropolitan Touch Association.
By Josephine Agostino
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