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PARKS IN TOOWOOMBA
Parks
- Queens Park
Toowoomba Botanic Gardens, children’s playgrounds, picnic tables, toilets, playing fields, dog off-leash park and more. - Laurel Bank Park
Sensory garden, picnic tables, children’s playground, public toilets. - Picnic Point
Views across the Lockyer Valley, lookouts, waterfall, walking trails, children’s playgrounds, public toilets, picnic areas. - State Rose Garden at Newtown Park
Picnic tables, rotundas, walkways and the
fragrance of hundreds of roses!
- Webb Park
Children’s playground, BBQ and picnic tables, views and a great “flying fox” - West Creek Park
In Kearneys Spring - Palms of the Nile walkway and lagoon, children’s playground, picnic tables and public toilets. Murray Clewett Wetlands. - Waterbird Habitat
Lagoon teeming with birdlife, picnic tables, public toilets. - Gumbi Gumbi Gardens at USQ
Aboriginal trail with native plants; - Japanese Gardens
Waterfall, lagoon, bridges and many walkways. - Middle Ridge Park
Children’s playground, sports field, half basketball courts and public toilets. - East Creek Park
Walk and cycle paths, exercise equipment. - Lake Annand Park
Manmade lagoon, children’s playground, picnic tables and BBQ, public toilets.
Mountain Bikers are Spoiled for Choice
Toowoomba mountain bikers are a bit spoiled – they have Australia’s most exciting trails right on their doorstep!
Where to start:
Mt Peel Bushland Park
Near Drayton: Features 7km of beginner trails and bushwalks. There are some tricky bits to test your mettle and also some very steep climbs which could be sketchy for absolute beginners.
Jubilee Park
Redwood: Here you’ll find 28km of professionally designed trail network to test your skills. The park’s varied terrain is gnarly in places with lots of rock gardens, jumps and switchbacks to keep the adrenaline flowing.
Stenner Street Skills Park
Middle Ridge: With five dirt jump tracks ranging from beginner to expert, this is the place to hone your skills. The tracks include tabletops, gap doubles, rollers and berms.
Mountain Bike Mecca
Hampton/Crows Nest: The recently launched Mountain Bike Mecca features carefully mapped off-road trails that will take you through pine forest, grass tree groves and good old bush tracks. There are sensational views and places to stop for coffee too.
Brisbane Valley Rail Trail
If you have some time on your hands and feel like testing your endurance, head to Yarraman and the start (or finish) of the 160km Brisbane Valley Rail Trail. It’ll take you through Toogoolawah, Esk, Fernvale and to Wulkuraka in Ipswich.
Escarpment Adventures
In 2016, 19-year-old Alyssa Azar became the youngest Australian ever to summit Mt Everest. Her love of hiking and trekking developed from an early age through the many trails around the Toowoomba Escarpment including Redwood Park and Tabletop. Alyssa is currently studying at USQ.
“My love of trekking and adventure began in Toowoomba where I grew up. From an early age one of my favourite things to do was spend my weekends hiking the local trails. What I have always loved about the local hikes in Toowoomba is the variety of different trails with plenty of options to choose from with different terrain.
I can get an adventurous training hike in while being so close to home. I love the physical challenge of the hills, the feeling of freedom when I am out hiking or running and the beauty of these areas. I love being able to get out in the fresh air so close to home. I never felt bored in my training sessions while training for various expeditions over the years, because there are so many options right on our doorstep.
My thirst for adventure started in Toowoomba and took me to the Top of the World.”