Mount Cotton Community Park

Mount Cotton Community Park is a wonderful lakeside park, tucked away in a residential pocket of leafy Mount Cotton.

Flanked by a couple of wildlife-filled lakes (keep your eyes peeled for the odd visiting pelican), this sprawling parkland is a real all-rounder, and truly does has something for just about everyone.

The bright and colourful main playground will appeal to pre-school aged kids and older, with its mix of slides, tunnels, monkey bars, balance beams, and a challenging climbing web.

Toddlers are also well catered for, with their own mini fort featuring low-set stairs and slides, plus musical instruments, a sand activity table, and a large plastic igloo. Both playgrounds are covered by a shade sail and surrounded by sand, meaning parents can sit back and relax on one of the many provided seats, with minimal fear of a catastrophic injury taking place.

There's also a water play element, where kids can pump water before digging and splashing in the resulting stream. Hours of fun can be had here but it does get pretty messy so a change of clothes is a must.

Other features include a flying fox, basketball court, modern skate park, off-leash dog exercise area plus stacks of green space to run around on. The parkland also has wheelchair-accessible toilets, electric barbecues, covered picnic tables, and a network of wide concrete paths, ideal for pushing the stroller, riding a bike or walking the dog.

Nice to know – Mount Cotton Central shopping village overlooks the park if you're in need of picnic supplies or a coffee hit.

By Dominique Falk