My local park which I visit atleast once a day with my son. There is a great play area for a…read moredifferent ages that has very good shade. It can get a bit crowded at certain times during the school day with the kids come out for a break but for the most part there is always a place for the kids to play. There is a large grass area for kids to run about, a basketball half court and a cricket pitch. There are afew picnic tables that many people use for parties on the weekend and one bbq. There are many locals that frequent the park for a walk for their dog, take part in a bootcamp in the early mornings or even sometimes there may be a yoga class. Oh and there is also free wifi. There are toilets close to the park that are clean most of the time.

Gregory Park is a large sprawling park occupying the space between Baroona Road and Milton State…read moreSchool. It has a cricket pitch in the middle of it that is surrounded by a large circle of fairly-healthy grass and little else until you reach the extensive perimeter. There's a basketball half-court and a respectable, brightly painted public toilet in one corner and a playground in another. (The playground seems to be open to the public during the day, but I've seen the local school kids using the equipment during school hours.) Flanking the playground corner is a series of fence posts, carved and coloured to look like a rainbow spectrum of coloured pencils. Even as a (technical) adult, I have to admit this is a pretty cool effect. Another corner features a tennis court where I've managed to whack a ball over the net and the fence itself a few times. I can't remember the fee for using the court, but I remember thinking the price was insane even by the standard of already-exorbitant court rental fees across Brisbane. (If you don't care about price, the courts are pretty decent hard-court ones and the owners can be contacted on 0437 953 980). It's a friendly park and a lot happens here. Families have picnics and barbecues, people play informal games of cricket, football, basketball or soccer and some others come to just relax and just read on the grass. I went to a martial arts class here once and found being outside and training on the grass was a fantastic experience. I should warn you now, however - at night, I've seen fire twirlers and bongo players having a good old hippy hoedown in the middle of the park. Next thing you know, it'll be hacky-sack or soulful guitar playing. It could eventually turn into a Hippy Jam-Band Festival of epic proportions.

Webster Road Skate Park is located, on Webster Road, 100 meters behind Sommerset Hills State…read moreSchool. Webby, as known by locals, is a three level skate park where an intermediate skater/blader/biker/scooter can find some good lines. The park is quick and smooth and has a number of 4ft quarter pipes, transition and steep berms to do trick off. There are a few ledges that have been waxed up and are pretty fast. The centrepiece of the park is a 5ft kidney shaped bowl. There are a couple of gazebos around but the park is pretty bare of any shade. If you don't have any transport, make sure you pack a feed and some water as there is only one tap there and the closest shops are a good hike towards Chermside.

Just across from the entrance to St Lucia golf course is this picturesque and fitness-oriented…read morepark. Towering eucalypsts are home to big flocks of cockatoos who make themselves heard around sunset, as the joggers run along the track and make use of the purpose built exercise stations and neighbourhood kids shoot hoops in the dying late on the basketball half-court. They also have barbecue facilities and public toilets. There is a parking area accessible from Indooroopily Rd, but it only fits about 10 cars so it can be hard to get a park there.

Rikki Bailey park is a decent park with equal amounts of pros and cons. It's not particularly…read moreattractive, however, it does have ample play equipment. Let's start with the pros... Pros - There is playground equipment - Includes, slides, swings and climbing apparatus - There is a half-court basketball court - Picnic table and chairs under gazebo - Plenty of trees - Plenty of space Cons - Playground equipment looks quite weathered - There are too many trees creating hiding areas in the bushes - The play grounds dry and full of twigs and sticks - There are no parking bays, just side road parking - Far from amenities like shops, cafes and transport - Not the most attractive park Not the sort of park you go out of your way for. It has most of the features needed of a park, but it does look at little dodgy.

Something about this park makes me think of it as a smaller version of New Farm Park. A lot…read moresmaller. But New Farm Park is quite enormous so it's a bit of an unfair comparison. This one is certainly a respectable size; you could easily hold an impromptu game of cricket or touch footy here. It runs along the river, there's a kid's playground and there are trees scattered about, although they're not quite as huge and good for climbing as those in New Farm. It's pretty quiet thanks to it's sneaky location (take that New Farm). There's also a City Cat terminal here so it's easily accessible, if not by car then by river.

From Hardcastle Park, you can see the Woolstore Apartments that line Teneriffe, as well as glimpses…read moreof the beautiful city skyline behind it. It is a small sized park with plenty to offer. There are plenty of things to keep the kids amused at this park including, a half-court basketball court, colourful playground equipment, twisting slide and swing set. There are benches scattered throughout the park and plenty of healthy bushy trees providing lots of shade. There are BBQ facilities found within the park as well as picnic tables. The Hawthorne Ferry Terminal is also located at this park, making it a convenient and fun place to visit. If you plan on driving, you will find the area might be packed with cars with ferry commuters, so catching a ferry would probably be best during weekdays.

This is such a good little park for an intimate get together. It sports these features:…read more- wood fire bbq - pizza oven - communal veg garden (good for little kids to explore) - toilet - shelter + tables - playground set - basketball court - bus stop (for the 198 route which runs every half hour or so from 8am to 6pm) The garden is run by community group Spiral. The garden beds, shelter and oven were built by them so please respect their hard work while you use the facilities. The 198 bus runs there from the middle of Boundary Street, and along Hardgrave Road. It also returns you to Vulture Street. In the morning there are various exercise groups that use the area. Read the sign in the park erected by Council for the full story of this donated area.

On first inspection, Lyons Park, or Paradise Park as it's better known, appears to be a fairly…read morehumble little park, with some nice grass, a playground, a basketball half-court and a shelter for eating--just a standard park. Look a little closer and you'll find that the shelter is home to a clay pizza oven and beside it sits a thriving community garden! Someone has put some effort into making this a special little park. I haven't tried out the pizza oven myself, but I've heard from a couple of friends that it takes a bit of preparation. There is some wood in the park, but you might not want to risk it being damp from rain, otherwise you'll never get your fire to start. Taking some good firewood along is advisable and getting the fire started a couple of hours in advance means you'll have a nicely heated oven and some good hot coals on which to place your pizzas. You also don't really want to be preparing your pizzas in the park, unless you've got everything chopped up and ready to go. For ease, bring them ready-made so you can stick them straight in the oven. Be sure to bring implements for getting the pizzas in and out! Cooking pizzas in Paradise Park is probably an activity best suited to people who live close by (like a couple of streets away) as it does take some forward planning. If you're the organised type, however, and don't mind packing a huge picnic basket, take a basketball and frisbee along with a good group of friends and settle in for a couple hours as you prepare the oven.

Murray Duus park and skate bowl is on Edinburgh Castle Road, Wavell Heights and has lots of…read morefacilities nearby. The Wavell Heights Community Hall, Bowls Club, Scout Group and Kung Fu and Karate clubs share the park area, and the park itself has BBQs, seating and a small playground. There is also a skate bowl, which has a small concrete bowl for skateboards and BMX for juniors. Murray Duus park also has a fenced, 'off leash dog' area, opposite the Wavell Heights Bowls Club. There is a dog poo bin, water tap and seats in the area.

Residents of Holland Park are so lucky to have Glindemann Park at their door step. People talk…read moreabout increasing house value by adding a swimming pool or being close to public transport. If you ask me, the houses off Lawn Street should be worth a fortune by having this field of gold at their door. Glindemann Park has 2 main play areas- up the hill is for the younger kid. It is mostly a shaded fort structure. Older kids need to manoeuvre down a tricky gully to get to the lower area which has a climbing web, swings and slides. There's also a third area a little distance away with a basketball half court and a small skateboarding square. There are a few picnic tables and BBQs but not heaps. I haven't come down on the weekends but I imagine it would be a really popular family picnic destination. The only problem I foresee is that this park is not fenced. This is a particular issue as the toddler area backs onto a fairly busy road. Mums and dads - have fun but keep an eye on roving, young children.