Brisbane heat and small children are not a great combination once the clock ticks past ten in the morning, so a water play park with somewhere shady to sit has become our non-negotiable for school holidays. We’ve spent the past few months driving out to parks across the south side, the bay and up towards the Gold Coast, mostly chasing recommendations from other parents rather than anything official. These are the ones we’d send a friend to.
We’ve already written up Alexander Clark Park in Loganholme, Frew Park in Milton and Bradbury Park in Kedron before, so we’ve left those out here and focused on the ones we haven’t covered yet.
Mabel Park, Slacks Creek
If Alexander Clark Park is already on your list, Mabel Park is a natural add-on — they’re both in Logan and went through Council upgrades around the same time. Mabel Park’s $1.8 million redo, funded through the Division 3 Local Infrastructure Program, gave it a bright yellow play tower with two tunnel slides, a dry creek bed with misters and water pumps, and a junior bike and scooter track with mini road signs so kids can practise stopping at “intersections” before they hit real roads.
Our daughter is three and went round every single piece of equipment at least once, which is the best review a toddler can give a playground. There’s sand under the smaller fort for the diggers, logs and stepping stones for balance, and enough shade from the surrounding trees that a hot afternoon is still manageable. It’s also barely a kilometre from Ikea, so a Mabel Park morning and an Ikea lunch is a fairly efficient way to run a school holiday.
Good to know: Mabel Park is on Paradise Road, Slacks Creek. Free entry, free parking, toilets on site.
Underwood Park, Priestdale
Underwood Park is less a playground and more a small sports precinct that happens to have a playground in it. There’s a boardwalk around a lagoon where you’ll spot ducks and the odd wallaby, a BMX track that hosts actual competitions, a skate park, and the FUNderwood Hollow adventure play space with castle-style towers built for the five-to-sixteen crowd. It’s one of those parks where you can drop a picnic blanket and let different kids in the group peel off to different corners without anyone getting bored.
It’s a good pick if you’ve got a mix of ages — a toddler happy with the nature play section and a nine-year-old who wants to ride laps of a proper track — because most single-playground parks can’t cover both.
Good to know: entry via Underwood Road, Priestdale. There’s a coffee van on site most days, and the park hosts weekend markets, so check before you go if you want it quiet.
Crestmead Park
Crestmead Park is the one to know if your kids are past the toddler stage and want somewhere to actually go fast. The skate park was extended in 2023 and now has bowls, a half pipe and a set of stairs with a handrail that draws teenagers from well outside Crestmead. Separately, there’s a flat, shaded learn-to-ride track with mock street signs and road markings, which is a genuinely good spot for a kid who’s just moved off training wheels.
The playground itself is a black and orange climbing fort with rope bridges and lookout cubbies — no slide, which surprised us the first time, but nobody seemed to mind once they’d made it to the top. There’s no fence around the play area, so it’s one to watch a bit more closely if you’ve got a toddler who runs.
Good to know: Crestmead Park sits next to the PCYC, in Crestmead, QLD 4132. Free.
Archerfield Wetlands District Park, Durack
This one used to be a wastewater treatment site, which is not the pitch you’d expect for a great playground, but the transformation is genuinely impressive. It opened in September 2024 after a multimillion-dollar upgrade and went on to be named Brisbane’s Park of the Year. The playground sits on a soft sand base with leaky pipes, misting jets and water pumps built into the design, so kids end up problem-solving where the water goes rather than just splashing.
Because it’s built for the six-to-twelve range, it’s less exciting for a one- or two-year-old, but there are wide accessible paths, two sets of toilets and 133 car parks, so it doesn’t have that cramped, overcrowded feeling some newer parks get on a Saturday morning. If anyone in the group wants a longer walk, the Wetlands Discovery Trail runs almost three kilometres along Oxley Creek and is good for spotting birds.
Good to know: 455 Bowhill Road, Durack. Free, with BBQs and shaded picnic tables.
Roma Street Parkland, Brisbane CBD
We keep forgetting Roma Street Parkland exists, and then we go back and remember why it shouldn’t be forgotten. It’s free to enter, 24 hours a day, sits right next to Roma Street Station, and covers a genuinely surprising amount of ground for something in the middle of the city — fern gully rainforest walks, a lake, a spectacle garden and two separate children’s playgrounds in the Upper Parkland.
The kids’ favourite part is the Xpress Fun Train, a trackless train that loops through the gardens on weekends and extra days during school holidays, for $6 a ticket. If you’re coming from further out, the train is genuinely the easiest way in — plenty of Queensland Rail routes are only 50 cents a trip at the moment, and you come out of the station practically inside the park, which saves both parking and petrol.
Good to know: enter via Roma Street Station or Albert Street. Spectacle Garden and Fern Gully close at dusk; the rest of the parkland is open all night.
Johnston Park, Bulimba
Johnston Park is the one for people who find big parks overwhelming. It’s small, close to home for anyone on the east side, and got a nature-inspired redesign — a “critter and wildlife” theme with climbing equipment, ladders and slides, plus a proper expansion of the swing area — that Brisbane City Council delivered with local playground designer Austek Play.
There’s a good stretch of mature trees left standing around the playground, so shade isn’t a problem even in the middle of the day, and a half basketball court and open lawn if the kids want to run rather than climb.
Good to know: 24 Johnston Street, Bulimba — parking is easiest from Banya Street or Lang Street.
Beth Boyd Park, Thorneside
Beth Boyd Park is the pirate one, and it earns the theme. The main structure is a multi-level ship with lookout holes, a tower and a slide, plus a second, smaller ship-front facing straight out over Moreton Bay, so at high tide it genuinely feels like you’re about to sail off. Around it are treasure chests, barrels and an “X marks the spot” digging pit, along with an in-ground trampoline and a water play section with pumps and a pebbled stream.
The seaside ship structure has no shade, so we’d go early or bring hats, but the second covered playground has climbing nets, swings and a sand table if the sun gets too much. Bring a spare set of clothes — the water play area will get someone wet within about four minutes.
Good to know: Thorneside, Redlands Coast. There are cafes just across the road if you want a coffee once the kids have worn themselves out.
Lorikeet Park, SkyRidge (Worongary, Gold Coast)
This is the furthest drive on the list, but it’s worth mentioning because it only opened in late November 2025 and it’s unlike anywhere else nearby. It sits on a ridge above the new SkyRidge estate with a genuine view down to the Gold Coast skyline, and the playground is split by age — younger kids get their own space, older ones get a flying fox, big slides and climbing structures next door.
Our three-year-old tried almost everything and called it her favourite park, which from a three-year-old is a fairly strong endorsement. Because the whole estate is brand new, the streets are wide, clean and easy to navigate, which is a small thing but makes a big difference when you’re wrangling a pram.
Good to know: corner of Sandpiper Terrace and Skyridge Boulevard, Worongary. There’s a 180-step stair climb and a 500-person amphitheatre if you want to make a longer visit of it.
A few quick ones worth a mention
If you’re out that way, Thornlands Community Park is fully fenced and a good option for families in the Redlands, and The Hills District All Abilities Playground in Everton Hills has a fully fenced, bee-themed design with swings, sandpit and slides. We haven’t fact-checked every detail on these two the way we have above, so treat them as a starting point rather than the full picture, and check current opening details before you head out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Brisbane park has free water play for kids? Most of the parks above have free water play — Mabel Park, Underwood Park, Archerfield Wetlands and Beth Boyd Park all have water pumps, misters or pebbled streams, and none of them charge entry.
What should I bring to a Brisbane water play park? A spare set of clothes, sun hats and sunscreen are the essentials — most of these parks have some shade but not full coverage, and the water play areas will soak kids fairly quickly.
Is there a Brisbane park good for both toddlers and older kids? Underwood Park and Mabel Park both manage this well, with a nature play or toddler-scale section alongside a bigger structure or bike track for older kids.
Looking for more Brisbane days out? Have a read of our reviews of Alexander Clark Park and Frew Park, or browse the full Brisbane school holiday activities directory for more ideas.