Picnic Island Playground

Right on the riverfront in South Brisbane, this one earns its reputation with locals who keep coming back through summer. The water feature is the real drawcard — kids are soaked within minutes, so pack a change of clothes and don’t say you weren’t warned. There’s a solid mix of slides, swings, and climbing gear that keeps the 2-to-12 crowd genuinely busy, and parents get decent shade and benches to actually sit down while that happens. Parking is straightforward, the bathrooms are there when you need them, and the open grass spills out toward the river walk if the kids need to burn off extra energy.