Centenary Lakes - Cairns Botanic Gardens, Queensland, Australia
4.5 (191 reviews) Spent Ranking #3 in Cairns Region Bodies of Water • Nature & Wildlife Areas
Great place for children and adults alike
The Centenary Lakes nature park has a great playground for children with waterplay, fairy garden, fossils to uncover, and ropes to climb set within a broader nature reserve which makes it great for picnics and longer walks as well. From Centenary Lakes you can also take the boardwalk through the rain forest to the botanical gardens. Sign posts within the park are not great and you can easily get confused.
Address
64 Collins Avenue Next to the Botanical Gardens, Edge Hill, Queensland 4870 Australia
Mobile
Website
http://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/cbg
Current local date and time now
Sunday, May 12, 2024, 19:27
User Ratings
4.5 based on (191 reviews)
Excellent
56%
Good
31%
Satisfactory
9%
Poor
2%
Terrible
2%
Reviews
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4Jason R 5:00 PM Dec 22, 2022
Ahhh, the serenity.
Kids playground, picnic area, serenity for the parents. Picturesque, lovely habitats, and informative. Without sounding too corny, did feel a sense of zen and tranquillity with the lake areas and the botanic gardens. One thing though, during the wet season remember to bring the mozie spray.
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4scottcabal 5:00 PM May 19, 2008
A really nice place to spend a few hours
The Centenary Lakes are a free facility next to the Botanical Gardens nearer the outskirts of Cairns. It is well worth visiting them as you can combine them with the Red / Blue Arrow walks, a visit to the Botanical Gardens and a visit to the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Also visiting the park around the lakes is free. The main attraction is the lakes themselves - I had wanted to visit them since seeing a photo in my guidebook, so it was convenient they were near my hotel. They are a nice place to walk, cycle, have a picnic or just relax with the children or a loved one. There is a wealth of wildlife here as well as park benches and cycle paths. I believe in summer there are BBQ facilities available in the picnic area too. In addition to the lakes you can walk along a walkway over a large section of preserved rainforest called the "Rainforest Boardwalk". There are signs along the way telling you about the plants you see and about the conservation of the rainforest. At the other end of the boardwalk is the Botanical Gardens which I didn't visit but they looked nice. Next to the gardens is the entrance to the red / blue arrow walks which provide great views of the city and the surrounding area. You can easily walk to the Flying Doctors from here too. I would highly recommend visiting the lakes. If you're at a hotel slightly out from the centre chances are you'll be near them but if not it's a nice area to spend the morning exploring anyway. They're a place that many people seemed to forget about when I was there. I know it was winter but by European standards it was a really nice day with great weather but only a few other people were exploring the area.
