Discover Canberra's outdoor spring adventures

The family friendly guide to spectacular spring activities across our parks and reserves.

With nature right at our doorstep, spring is the perfect time to get outdoors and explore Canberra’s natural wonders. To inspire you, we’ve put together our top spring experiences in parks across the ACT.

Pack a picnic and head out

With the warmer weather approaching, what better way to enjoy a spring day than by gathering around a barbecue? Most of Canberra’s parks and reserves offer great barbecue and picnic facilities.

  • The Namadgi Visitor Centre now has wheelchair-friendly BBQs where you can relax and enjoy views of Mt Tennent.
  • Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve has multiple BBQ and picnic facilities, Sheedy’s Picnic Area is close to the nature discovery playground so the kids can burn some energy while you cook.
  • Cotter Bend has picnic facilities and also easy access to walking tracks, wildlife, fishing and canoeing.

Find the ideal location for your sausage sizzle by checking out the Find a Park tool.

A couple sitting at a picnic table with food prepared while 2 children run to them down a hill

A light purple flower with yellow flowers behind it.

Go wild for wildflowers

There’s no shortage of spots across Canberra to discover a wide variety of wildflowers and Spring is the best time to see them in bloom.

Some of our favourite places for spotting beautiful blooms during the season are:

Different plants bloom at different times, for example you’re more likely to see alpine wildflowers later in the season (in November).

If you’re visiting Namadgi or Tidbinbilla and want to know the best spots to see flowers, just drop into either reserve’s visitor’s centre: staff are happy to help.

Please help protect our native wildflowers by staying on marked tracks and avoiding picking flowers or stepping on vegetation. This ensures future visitors and local wildlife can continue to enjoy these special spring displays.

Spot the Spring arrivals

Springtime is the best time to spot wildlife in our parks and reserves.

As the winter frost thaws, our local winged residents become more active. Beautiful robins, lively kookaburras and satin bowerbirds are busily building nests and tending to their young.

It's not only birds that are more active; the reptiles are also waking from their winter slumber. Look out for long-necked turtles or eastern blue-tongued lizards basking on rocks and logs soaking in the morning sun.

It's also a wonderful time to get a magazine-worthy picture of animals in their natural habitat. Many animals have their young during the springtime, so you may even spot a baby or two!

Disturbing native animals can endanger them or their young. If you see a wild animal, you should do your best to observe it without frightening or disturbing it. And never try to touch or feed wild animals.

A blue tongue lizard with its tongue out.

A view across a valley with some rocks in the foreground and hills and trees in the distance.

Tick off your New Year’s resolution

It’s never too late to get started on your fitness goals for the year, and what better way than exploring the tracks in our parks and reserves.

With the mild weather during spring, it’s a wonderful time to tackle some hikes around ACT parks and reserves. Whether you want to get your heart pumping or are after a leisurely stroll, the ACT has a wide range of walks for all ages and fitness levels.

Some great easy walks include:

Or maybe you’re a seasoned hiker ready for a challenge? Our recommended difficult hikes include:

Check out the walking and running section of our website to find your next wilderness adventure, and check out our safety advice before you go.

Before heading out, tell someone where you're going and when you expect to return. Carry plenty of water, wear suitable clothing and footwear, and remember that weather conditions can change quickly, particularly in alpine areas.

Play around in our parks

When you think about play spaces, parks and reserves may not be the first places that come to mind. However, many of Canberra's parks offer opportunities for outdoor play and exploration. From dedicated nature play areas to open spaces that encourage imagination and adventure, children can connect with nature while staying active and discovering the world around them.

Some hidden treasure play spaces in our nature parks are:

Visit Find a Park to find a play space in nature park near you.

A boy using a swing at a playground.

Two people sitting with their dog on a rock wall with a view across Canberra behind them.

Four-legged friend adventures

If you want to get out and explore in the warmer weather but can’t bear the thought of leaving your canine companion at home, there are plenty of options for you to bring your best friend along.

You can check our list of reserves where dogs are allowed on-leash and a few off-leash on the Dogs page , as well as tips on dog-walking etiquette. Remember to carry dog waste bags and take all waste with you. Keep your dog under effective control, ensure it remains on leash where required, and give native wildlife plenty of space.

If you have a four-legged friend of the horse variety there’s also a selection of trails available for equestrian use. Horse riders can access about 500 km of designated equestrian trails on public land in the ACT. Some of these trails are in our fabulous parks and reserves.

Top equestrian trails we recommend:

Help us to help our parks and reserves

Spring is also a great time to give back to nature. Volunteers play an important role in protecting and caring for Canberra's parks and reserves.

  • Spring doesn’t only mean new growth for native plants but also unfortunately for weeds. The good news is that spring is also the most effective time to target weeds while they’re in their sprouting stage.
  • You can help us with treating weeds by volunteering with ParkCare. ParkCare volunteers actively contribute to protecting, enhancing and interpreting the natural and cultural values across our parks and reserves.
  • Weeding is an important activity for ParkCare volunteers during Spring as well as a good time for revegetation, mapping and surveying of our flora and fauna, trail care and more!
  • If you want to learn more about ParkCare and volunteering in our parks and reserves, you can attend an upcoming online info session.

Two people standing in the bush wearing gloves and hats weeding a plant.