On the way to Samford on Brisbane’s Northside, just past Eatons Hill is a beautiful creek spot just perfect for Brisbane kids. Edward Allison Park is less a park and more a reserve with little to no facilities except for the beautiful freshwater Cedar Creek that runs through it, perfectly accessible by little feet.
You will find the park directly off the main road, fairly unmissable and popular on weekends as a rest stop. There is a distance between the parking and the creek, but most is a flat grassy field. The kids will still need shoes because it is littered with creek rocks as a reminder of its glory days when it ran a lot higher.
Creek play at Edwards Allison Park
Edward Allison Park is best experienced a week or so after decent rains. We often visit it at other times but we would only recommend swimming after it has been flushed out.
- Skimming rocks – There are lots of smooth rocks, and the kids had great fun collecting them and doing their best to skim rocks on the flat surface of the water
- Collecting rocks – We collected some rocks to paint for story and pet rocks.
- Dam making – teaching the kids how to build a dam, what it does and how we use dams for drinking water. I also chatted to my 6-year-old about how dams can impact ecosystems and why we must be careful to return the natural water course to the state that we found it
- Guppie collecting- Not much has changed since we were kids. There is still a massive thrill to be had by using a small net to collect guppies. We occasionally transfer ours to our pond but mainly just let them go.
- It’s not a fishing spot. It’s not deep enough for any decent fish, but it could be good to teach the kids the act of casting.
- An excellent Picnic spot- Even though there are no toilets, there is plenty of room. We only ventured a short way up but cedar creeks continued to run along for a fair distance, and there were plenty of places to put down a big rug and enjoy the sunshine and views. There was one random, somewhat run-down table.
- Bring the dogs. Because of the lack of facilities, we often find ourselves alone at Edward Allison Park. Our dogs enjoy the shallow pools and many an afternoon has been spent here simply watching our dogs enjoy the water experience.
Dangers at the Creek
There used to be another road that ran directly across this section of Cedar Creek. You can see a cut-up road and the old remnants of an uprooted tree with a massive tree root. My kids thought this was amazing, but it makes for some obvious point of possible danger.
Some steep embankments provide access to certain creek parts, and we recommend supervising your kids as they head down to the creek area. Once there, though, there are plenty of flat areas to sit and enjoy the space.
The creek at points is also reasonably fast running (but this is what you want), to ensure it remains nice and clean. That said, there are plenty of spaces where the run is small and the ground and entry into the creek is shallow. We like it because it offers something for the younger children but also amused the older kids.
If you want to find a creek location with facilities, then we highly recommend you check out Andy Williams Park at Cedar Creek which has both toilets and BBQs.
Where to find this lovely Brisbane Creek for Kids?
You can find Edward Allison Park on Eatons Crossing Rd. If you are heading towards Samford, Go past the turn-off to Clear Mountain and keep heading along the road. As you eventually head down the ridge, you will see an entry on the left hand side of the road.
Eatons Hill QLD 4037, Australia
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