The 6 best parks in Canberra

This little slice of nature in Yarralumla is the perfect compromise for a break from the hustle and bustle of city life without having to venture too far away from home. Weston Park is less than a ten-minute drive from the CBD but the atmosphere will make you feel miles away from modern society. While nibbling on their own snacks, picnickers have been known to encounter some furry friends munching away at the grass. In addition to kangaroos and wallabies, there’s a petting zoo – but the fun doesn’t stop there. You can also kayak, swim, paddleboard and barbecue. 

Located just minutes away from the centre of Canberra and on Ngunnawal land, Commonwealth Park is Canberra’s go-to, all-purpose park. Each year it hosts Floriade, Canberra’s annual celebration of flowers and Australia’s largest spring festival. The festival transforms the gardens with over one million tulips and daffodils cropping up alongside cultural performances, markets, music and horticultural workshops. It is also home to Stage 88, which hosts sporting, cultural and musical events throughout the year.

If you’ve got a free afternoon, grab the binoculars for some bird watching or pack your favourite snacks for a picnic at Black Mountain Peninsula. If you’re feeling a little more spontaneous, lace up the boots for a go at one of the many hiking tracks that offer epic vistas over Canberra City. Most of the walks are only a couple of kilometres long so they’re the perfect post-picnic stroll, and the views at the top from Black Mountain Tower are something pretty special.

It doesn’t get much more appropriate than having a United Nations park dedicated to peace in Australia's capital for diplomatic affairs. Built in the United Nations International Year of Peace (in 1986), the park was renamed in 2010 after the Japanese city of Nara who gifted Canberra with the park’s contents. You’ll find cherry blossoms, Japanese lily of the valley, maples and a staggering five-storey pagoda by artist Shinki Kato that’s an ode to the architecture of the historical Nara. You can find this little pocket of oriental goods alongside Canberra Beijing Garden in the Lennox Gardens District in the National Triangle. Sandwiched between the National Library of Australia and Lake Burley Griffin, your itinerary for exploring is virtually all laid out for you.

Who said you need to venture far out of the city to reconnect with nature? This four-hectare-wide urban park, located opposite Canberra Centre shopping mall, has something to entertain all ages. The children’s playground is a little less feral and a little more mystical so it won’t be difficult for little ones to imagine they are playing in forests of faraway lands. As for the adults, Glebe Park’s English elms, formal gateways and rotunda will make you feel like you’re strolling through in the 19th century rather than the 21st. Whether it’s a scenic lunch break from corporate life or snapping shots for a wedding, Glebe Park has a whole lot of charm. 

If you travel on over to the leafy suburb of Barton, you’ll find Telopea Park. It’s a long narrow strip of parkland that adjoins the Manuka Oval and Pool all the way to Bowen Park on the front of Lake Burley Griffin. Barton is somewhat of a historic town in Canberra, and this park has actually been traced back to Walter Burley Griffin’s early 1918 design for the emerging Canberra. That makes Telopea Park one of the oldest parks in Australia’s capital and it’s named after the scientific label for Australia’s native waratah. Expect shaded cycling tracks and walking paths, plus lots of green space to set up a picnic.