A new park has opened up in Brisbane’s northside for kids and I’ll just say that it’s the adventure playground Brisbane has been waiting for. Located in Kedron’s expansive Bradbury Park, the playground contains a massive obstacle tower with ropes, nets and things to climb. Additionally, the park contains a 200-metre scooter track with humps and jumps, a magical forest, gym equipment, BBQ facilities, a dog park, a basketball court and an expansive grassy area.
The Adventure Playground Brisbane Fortress
There’s enough here to keep kids occupied for hours, and I love how the park provides lots of climbing and navigation for child development. If your kid is spending too much time in front of the computer, this place should get them physical and social again. It’s the adventure playground Brisbane sorely needed and there’s enough space to accompany your child throughout most parts.
I went with my 12-year-old and his friend, both of whom are pretty self-sufficient now. We all split up and I met up with them occasionally as I explored – because I’m a big kid and I had to do this blog post justice. The rope climbing here is great for older kids, and there are balancing poles, supported wire walks, climbing, and fun spaces to intrigue your child at every turn. It’s great the park is so big, as it accommodates for its burgeoning region of Chermside.
The Playground Culture
One thing I loved about the slippery dip at this adventure playground in Brisbane was the culture of etiquette – at least when I was there. Kids were yelling ‘done’ when they were at the bottom so the person about to slide could do so safely. I yelled out ‘thank you’, as I hauled my middle-aged body down the slide, which went quite fast actually. Check out my video in this post to see just that!
I also loved that there are little portholes at the top where children can venture up to, scope out the landscape and see the parents if need be. My son’s friend, Ruben, was putting his action figures in obscure places and doing photography with his phone. There’s ample opportunity for engagement at this place!
Bradbury Park Age Group & Safety
A lot of thought and effort has been put into the construction at Bradley Park. It’s big and there are many things to do. However, I’d say it’s aimed more at 8-year-olds and up really, as there are some challenging aspects to the obstacles, and in several places you’re quite high off the ground. Typically, parks are aimed at younger children, but I think it’s great the council has done this, as there’s a shortage of parks aimed at tweens around Brisbane.
I personally went through every obstacle in this adventure playground Brisbane park, climbing, sliding and jumping. My son said there are parts even he couldn’t do. However, there were also lots of younger kids having fun as there are plenty of safer areas. Of course, supervision is a good idea as it could get a bit dangerous given how busy it was when we were there last Sunday. However, it does help that the ground is made of soft rubber to cushion any impacts.
Given that the park is so new and grand, and the surrounding area of Chermside is rapidly growing, it may well be busy when you visit too. Just a few things to consider before your visit.
The Scooter Track
The 200m scooter track really tops this place off, making it the ultimate adventure playground Brisbane experience. There aren’t many places like this in town, with humps, jumps, banked turns and obstacles to travel through as you loop around the track. I also had a try and I struggled a bit, as my son’s scooter is pretty low to the ground (and let’s face it, I ain’t like I used to be!). Lots of kids were having fun in this section, and even though it’s designed for slightly older kids, the younger ones were sticking to their comfort zone and having fun too.
The track is also a fair distance from the adventure playground and the road, while being surrounded by grassy fields. This makes it less hazardous and well set up for supervision – families can relax nearby while the kids have fun.
Magic Forest of Bradbury
Another cool little space, especially for the younger kids this time, is the Magic Forest of Bradbury play area. This is a small, shaded forest with objects to explore and navigate, which invites imaginative play. Things to discover are the Magic Seahorse Window, a Guardian Throne, an Enchanted River, the City of Gold, a Village, Pebble Beach, Old Man Owl Bridge, Butterfly Bridge, Danger Swamp and Wise Old Turkey’s Nest. Of course, I missed most of these things but they’re marked on the map below.
I did see kids playing in this area for quite some time, as I spent a while exploring here with my dog Cookie. He seemed to like it too! Like the main adventure playground area, this place also gets kids practicing their agility and hand-eye coordination, as they’re encouraged to balance and jump to areas so they don’t fall in the ‘river’.
Other areas
As I mentioned earlier, there are quite a few other areas to explore too. There’s the outdoor gym equipment, which is positioned next to the Magic Forest of Bradbury. It’s pretty standard for Brisbane, but new, well constructed and we spent about 15 minutes here with the boys. Sadly I can only do two chin-ups now. Damn, I have to get back into the gym!
There’s a dog park in Bradbury Park too, apparently near the scooter track, although I didn’t see it. My partner was walking the dog while I was taking pics and filming the main playground, although she didn’t enter as my dog is capricious and not great with other dogs. Apparently, there’s a small and large dog section. There’s also a half-court basketball court near the scooter track, so you really could make a day of it here! Particularly given the facilities too…
Facilities
Perhaps unsurprisingly, as a new adventure playground Brisbane design, Bradbury Park is equipped with lots of amenities. A few of these are:
- Toilets
- BBQs, pathways, and picnic shelters. There were a few birthdays on when we were here too.
- The facilities are wheelchair friendly, although the playground equipment is sadly not.
- Lots of grassy space for picnics, lazing about or luxury child supervision.
- Bins
- Bubblers
- Food trucks (at least when we were there, most likely on a weekend). These comprised of an ice cream truck and a waffle truck. The ice cream guy was busy and making a packet!
- There’s a car park with quite a few parking spaces but it can get busy!
Bradbury Park is located on Rode Road in the suburb of Chermside, about a 15-minute drive from the city.
Check out my video at the top to get a better idea of this adventure playground Brisbane experience!
