Queens Park in Ipswich

Queens Park in Ipswich is a destination more than a park with animals to see, playgrounds to adventure on and gardens to discover.

In the relentless search to find ways to fill our children’s days with wonder and adventure (yet without a hefty price tag attached), very few places can boast the ability to tick as many boxes as Queens Park in Ipswich. Queens Park was designed in 1862 as the first park ever to be built in Queensland and, over the years has grown to be a much-loved family favourite and it’s not hard to see why.

Queens Park Ipswich – The Attractions

The park has lots of play equipment and boasts a café, Environment Education Centre, bush house and chapel, and the beautifully manicured, Japanese-inspired Nerima Gardens. But it’s the free Nature Centre (although gold coin donations are welcome) that gets the kids excited.

More like a mini-zoo, the centre’s pram-friendly wooden ramps wind invitingly between enclosures and beneath trees, around ponds and past cascading water features. Along the way, kids can marvel at an array of native animals, including kangaroos, wombats, goats, bulls, chickens, snakes, emus and bilbies – to name a few.

The barnyard section always seems to be a big hit as visitors can get in quite close to their farm-dwelling friends. Finish up your visit with a stroll through the enclosed rainforest bird aviary filled with colour and bird song. Read a detailed review of the Ipswich Nature Centre.

The Japanese gardens and Nature Centre do operate within set hours though, so it is best to ring them first on 07 3810 6666 first to check if they are open on the day you go.

Queens Park playgrounds

The state-of-the-art playground provides all the usual equipment kids love but also comes complete with a flying fox, sunken train, water pump play area, liberty swing and climbing wall. There are fort structures, twin tunnel slides (perfect for racing), a hammock, a large climbing net, numerous swings and spinners and much more to explore here.

Surrounding the playground are lush green parklands with large shady trees that are almost begging to have picnic blankets strewn out beneath their leafy canopies.

The local Jacaranda and Pine trees provide a picturesque setting and a natural assortment of craft materials. Children will love finding leaves and racing them down the water pump trails in the playground. They can spend a whole morning with just this activity alone and it’s great to see them assessing which leaves go faster and why, as they constantly update and re-work their natural boats.

Accessibility

Queens Park Playground is an all-abilities playground with a liberty swing and access for wheelchairs. The wide, flat pathways that create the route throughout the Nature Centre are also accessible by wheelchair.

Queens Park Ipswich – The Facts

Not Fenced
Toilets inc disabled access (2 toilet blocks)
Nappy changing facilities
4 Electric BBq’s
Rubber base around equipment
Lots of shade over the playground
Cafe
No fitness equipment
You can walk dogs but there is no dog off-leash area
Water nearby, including river stones
Water pumps where children can pump the water and watch it run down the little streams made.
2 carparks. Free parking and disabled parking.

Although there is easily a full day’s worth of fun and exploration at Queens Park, there are also many other great spots nearby that might be worth a visit while you are in Ipswich. The Workshop Railway Museum is always a massive hit with the kids, as is the ever-popular Ipswich Art Gallery. Nearby Playgrounds in Ipswich include Grande Park and Discovery Park, both fenced.